Greg Baer

Last updated
Greg Baer
Born (1962-02-06) February 6, 1962 (age 62)
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Harvard Law School (J.D. cum laude , 1987)
OccupationPublic policy executive
Known for Bank Policy Institute (2018–present)
President and CEO
Notable workThe Great Mutual Fund Trap (with Gary Gensler)
Life: The Odds (And How to Improve Them)

Greg Baer (born February 6, 1962) is an American public policy executive serving as president and CEO of the Bank Policy Institute (BPI). He previously served as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the Clinton administration and as Managing Senior Counsel for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Contents

Early life and education

Baer was born on February 6, 1962, in Chicago, Illinois. [1] He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in political science and economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and received a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1987. While attending Harvard Law, Baer served as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review . [2]

Career

Baer began his career as a litigation associate at Williams & Connolly. [3] He then joined the Legal Division of the Federal Reserve Board as senior managing counsel where he was responsible for special projects on behalf of the General Counsel of the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee. He served in this role until 1996, and during that time, Baer received the Federal Reserve's Special Achievement Award. [4]

In 1996, Baer was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. [5] In 1999, he was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions. [6] While at the Treasury Department, Baer coordinated Treasury policy on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and led the development of Presidential initiatives on financial privacy and consumer protection. [7] He also co-led Treasury efforts to pass digital signature legislation (the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act). [8] Baer was appointed by Secretary Lawrence Summers to coordinate Treasury policy on cyberdefense and was the chief government architect in creation of the FS/ISAC, a computer defense center. [9]

In 2002, Baer joined Wilmer, Cutler, & Pickering as a partner. He left the firm in 2006 to serve as deputy general counsel at Bank of America. [10] While there, Baer played a key role in the bank's dealings with regulators and assisted in the repayment of $45 billion in U.S. TARP assistance. [11] Baer then joined JPMorgan Chase in 2010 as managing director and general counsel for corporate law, where he oversaw legal support for the firm's corporate functions. [12]

Baer left JPMorgan Chase in 2015 to become general counsel of the Clearing House Association Payments Company. [13]

Bank Policy Institute

In July 2018, the Clearing House Association merged with the Financial Services Roundtable, and Baer assumed the role of President and CEO of the newly formed Bank Policy Institute. [14]

Baer has appeared before Congress on multiple occasions to provide expert testimony on a range of topics, including beneficial ownership reform [15] and supervision and regulation of financial institutions, [16] capital regulation, [17] and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism laws. [18] He is also regularly quoted by financial news outlets including CNBC, [19] the Wall Street Journal , [20] Bloomberg, [21] Financial Times , [22] American Banker, [23] CNN, [24] and POLITICO . [25]

Writing

Baer is the author of two books: The Great Mutual Fund Trap, co-authored with Gary Gensler, [26] and Life: The Odds (And How to Improve Them). [27]

Board affiliations and teaching

Baer serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches courses on financial regulation, commercial and investment banking, and fintech innovation and regulation. [28] He serves on the board of Honors Carolina and previously served on the board of Enterprise Community Partners. [29]

Awards and recognition

While in private practice, Baer was recognized by the Washingtonian as one of the "Best Lawyers in Washington" and recognized by Chambers USA as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business." [30] [31] Baer was named by the Washingtonian as one of "Washington D.C.'s 500 Most Influential People" in 2022, [32] 2023, [33] and 2024. [34]

Personal life

Baer is married to Shirley Sachi Sagawa, an American public servant. [35] Together, they have three sons, Jackson, Matthew, and Thomas. [36]

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References

  1. ↑ Office of Public Affairs. "Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Gregory A. Baer Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs". Treasury.gov. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "President Clinton names Gregory A. Baer as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Department of Treasury". Clinton White House Archives. The White House. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Gregory A. Baer Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs". Treasury.gov. U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Meet Greg Baer — TCH's Next President". PYMNTS. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Department of the Treasury" (PDF). GovInfo. United States Government Publishing Office (GPO). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "Gregory Baer". Georgetown Law School. Georgetown Law. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "A History of the United States Department of the Treasury During the Clinton Administration 1993-2001" (PDF). Securities & Exchange Commission Historical Society. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Congressional Record". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Report of the President of the United States on the Status of Federal Critical Infrastructure Protection Activities" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Neely, Rebecca (21 September 2010). "Greg Baer, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co". Law Crossing. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Dan (9 September 2010). "J.P. Morgan Hires Baer From BofA". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Blackwell, Rob (8 September 2010). "JPM Chase Hires B of A's Gregory Baer". American Banker. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "MOVES-Greg Baer named president of the Clearing House Association". Reuters. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  14. ↑ Clozel, Lalita (16 July 2018). "Big Banks Reshape Lobbying Game". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "Outside Perspectives on the Collection of Beneficial Ownership Information". U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  16. ↑ Baer, Greg. "Testimony before the Senate Banking Committee" (PDF). U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "Examining Capital Regimes for Financial Institutions". Financial Services Committee. 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  18. ↑ "U.S. AML/CFT System is Broken Says TCH Association President Greg Baer". The Clearing House. 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  19. ↑ Rosenbaum, Eric (28 January 2021). "Banking regulator pauses rule that enraged Wall Street and climate investors". CNBC. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  20. ↑ Ackerman, Andrew (26 May 2022). "Digital Dollar Could Coexist With Stablecoins, Fed Vice Chairwoman Says". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  21. ↑ Hamilton, Jesse; Schmidt, Robert (4 December 2020). "Wall Street Poised for Win on Money-Laundering Bill in Lame-Duck". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "A ban on US banks issuing dividends would be bad policy". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  23. ↑ Sanneh, Ebrima Santos; Williams, Claire (2024-01-17). "Walls are closing in on the Basel capital reforms". American Banker. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  24. ↑ Egan, Matt (2024-03-05). "Credit card late fees capped at $8 as part of Biden administration crackdown on junk fees". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  25. ↑ "The big reason banks despise the Fed's capital rule". POLITICO. 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  26. ↑ Baer, Gregory; Gensler, Gary (2002). The Great Mutual Fund Trap. Random House.
  27. ↑ Baer, Gregory (2003). Life: The Odds: And How to Improve Them. Penguin-Putnam. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  28. ↑ "Gregory Baer". Georgetown Law. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  29. ↑ "WHF Public Policy Lunch: Greg Baer, President & CEO, Bank Policy Institute". whfdc.org. Women in Housing & Finance, Inc. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  30. ↑ "William McLucas, Jamie Gorelick and Seth Waxman Named Among "Top 30 Lawyers" in Washington, DC by Washingtonian Magazine". Wilmer Hale. 24 November 2004. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "Chambers USA Names 88 WilmerHale Lawyers as Leaders in Their Fields for 2006". Wilmer Hale. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  32. ↑ "Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People". Washingtonian. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  33. ↑ "Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People of 2023". Washingtonian. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  34. ↑ "Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People of 2024". Washingtonian. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  35. ↑ "Shirley S. Sagawa Weds G. A. Baer". The New York Times. 1989-10-08. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  36. ↑ "TREASURY DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GREGORY A. BAER SENATE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
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