Treasury’s Steel Is New Wachovia CEO

Former Undersecretary for Domestic Finance for the United States Treasury, Robert K. Steel is the new president and CEO of ailing bank Wachovia. On June 2, Chairman Lanty Smith became interim CEO when G. Kennedy Thompson was ousted as CEO, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Steel is a former Goldman Sachs Group executive who later became Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s top financial-policy adviser in 2006. Despite never having operated a retail bank, Wachovia’s board voted unanimously that Steel will be able to carry though.

Smith told WSJ, “There's nothing about the commercial and retail business that Bob can't learn.” Steel’s new position as CEO may calm market speculation that Wachovia is an acquisition target. However, there are rumors that Goldman Sachs may be interested in acquiring Wachovia.

Steel previously led equities and trading units at Goldman Sachs and taught at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Paulson told the WSJ that Steel’s responsibilities at the Treasury would be taken over by Anthony W. Ryan, currently the assistant secretary for financial markets.