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Chairman Johnson Attends Swearing In Ceremony of U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Robert K. Steel

Alexandria, Va., October 27, 2006 -- National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman JoAnn Johnson was on hand today at the U.S. Department of Treasury as the U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson administered the oath of office to swear in Robert K. Steel as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance.

The Under Secretary for Domestic Finance serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary on matters of domestic finance and leads the Department's activities with respect to the domestic financial system, fiscal policy and operations, governmental assets and liabilities, and related economic and financial matters. 

"Robert Steel comes to this post with impeccable credentials, and the kind of experience that sends a very positive signal to the financial institution community,” said Chairman Johnson, who congratulated Under Secretary Steel at the ceremony and assured him that NCUA looks forward to continuing its strong working relationship with the Department of Treasury. “I look forward to building on the excellent relationship that NCUA enjoyed with Under Secretary Steel's predecessor, Randal Quarles, and continuing a substantive dialogue on matters of common interest such as reform of prompt corrective action for credit unions."

Chairman Johnson is scheduled to meet with Under Secretary Steel early in November for a private policy discussion.

Mr. Steel retired from Goldman Sachs as a vice chairman after serving with the firm for 28 years. Upon his retirement from Goldman Sachs, he assumed the position of advisory director for the firm and then senior director in December 2004. From February 2004 to September 2006 Mr. Steel served as a senior fellow at the Center for Business and Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Mr. Steel received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his MBA from the University of Chicago.  He resides in Connecticut and Washington, D.C. with his wife and three daughters.

The National Credit Union Administration is the federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the accounts of 85 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions. NCUA’s operation is funded by credit unions, not federal tax dollars.