Pawlenty to Head Financial Services Roundtable

Former Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty will become the head of the Financial Services Roundtable, a U.S. financial services lobbying group that represents JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., among other financial companies, the group said on Thursday.

Pawlenty, who dropped out of the White House race early and quickly backed Mitt Romney for the nomination, takes over as president and chief executive office of the industry group on Nov. 1, it said in a statement. Pawlenty is leaving the Romney campaign where he served as co-chair.

As the industry’s top lobbyist, he will play a major role in the industry’s efforts to make new Dodd-Frank rules, which Congress passed in 2010 in response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, more favorable for Wall Street as regulators implement the law.

The measure – a response to the crisis fueled by risky financial swaps trading at some firms that required multibillion dollar tax payer bailouts – has yet to be fully enacted.

“Few industries have more impact on the entire economy – and on the lives of average Americans – than financial services. I realize there is still work to be done to continue to earn customers’ confidence,” Pawlenty said in the statement.

“Our members will best accomplish that goal by responsibly investing every day in our communities and job creators,” he added.

A former Minnesota governor, Pawlenty was considered a possible vice presidential pick for Romney, but U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin eventually was chosen.

The Financial Services Roundtable represents 100 integrated financial services companies and accounts for $92.7 trillion in managed assets, $1.2 trillion in revenue, and 2.3 million jobs, according to the group.

[Insurance industry members include Allstate, Brown & Brown Insurance, Chubb, Hanover Insurance, The Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, State Farm and Swiss Re America.]