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FINANCE BOARD NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF POLICY

Federal Housing Finance Board Chairman Bruce A. Morrison today announced that James L. Bothwell has been named Director of the Office of Policy, effective December 8. Mr. Bothwell joins the Finance Board from the United States General Accounting Office (GAO), where he serves as Chief Economist and has been one of its top economists since 1982.

As GAO's Chief Economist, he is the agency's principal spokesperson on economic matters, the Comptroller General's chief economic adviser, and a member of GAO's top management team. As Director of Financial Institutions and Markets Issues from 1992 to 1996, Mr. Bothwell oversaw over 100 GAO studies on the operations of federal financial regulatory agencies, including the Finance Board, analyzing all facets of government programs and policies affecting financial institutions and markets.

In his new position, Mr. Bothwell will advise the Finance Board on policy issues relating to the agency's oversight of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, including its Financial Management Policy (FMP). By identifying economic trends and business activities in the FHLBanks' markets, especially in areas of unmet needs, he will help the Board shape its policies regarding the FHLBanks' investments, advances and pilot programs.

" Jim Bothwell has excellent working knowledge of the financial world and understands the perspectives of Congress, the regulatory agencies and the private sector," said Finance Board Chairman Bruce A. Morrison. "His experience and expertise will be a valuable asset to the Finance Board as we focus on the role and mission of the FHLBank System in the years to come."

As GAO's Director of Financial Institutions and Market Issues, Mr. Bothwell forewarned Congress of impending problems in the financial services sector, recommended actions that were adopted in major legislation affecting banks, thrifts, credit unions and government sponsored enterprises and identified ways to improve regulatory effectiveness and efficiency. From 1982 to 1991 at GAO, he was an Assistant to the Chief Economist and progressed to Deputy Chief Economist and then Acting Chief Economist.

Mr. Bothwell also has served on the faculties of Duke University and Tufts University and was an economic policy fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a B.A. degree in Economics, and also earned a Ph.D in Economics at Berkeley. He and his wife, Andrea, have three children and reside in Fairfax, Virginia.

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The Federal Housing Finance Board is an independent agency created by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) and was given supervisory authority and oversight for the Federal Home Loan Bank System, a government sponsored enterprise. As such, the Finance Board ensures fulfillment of the System's housing finance mission and reviews the financial performance and operating procedures of the System to ensure its safety and soundness.

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