THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

             PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES ELLEN S. SEIDMAN TO BE
              DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF THRIFT SUPERVISION

     President Clinton today announced his intention to nominate Ellen

S. Seidman of Washington, D.C., to be Director of the Treasury Department's Office of Thrift Supervision.

Ms. Seidman is currently Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House National Economic Council. During her four years at the NEC, she has chaired the interagency working group on pensions and has been responsible for issues such as financial institutions, natural disaster insurance, bankruptcy and homeownership. Prior to joining the White House, Ms. Seidman was Senior Vice President for Regulation, Research and Economics at Fannie Mae. Her office was responsible for the corporation's regulatory policies and relationships, housing policy and housing finance research, and economic research, forecasting, and reporting.

Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Ms. Seidman was Special Assistant to the Treasury Under Secretary for Finance. She also served as Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Environmental, Civil Rights and General Law at the Department of Transportation. Ms. Seidman practiced law for three years with a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in tax, securities and bankruptcy issues.

Ms. Seidman received an A.B. in government from Radcliffe College, an M.B.A. from George Washington University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) charters Federal thrift institutions and regulates approximately 1,400 Federal and state chartered thrifts belonging to the Savings Association Insurance Fund. The mission of OTS is to regulate savings associations, to maintain the safety, soundness and viability of the thrift industry, and to support the industry's efforts to meet housing and other financial services needs.

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