M. Danny Wall

M. Danny Wall (b. August 30, 1939)^[2] is an American civil servant who served as the chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB), the federal regulator for savings and loan associations. After FHLBB's abolition by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), he became the first director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.

M. Danny Wall
Portrait in FHLBB 1987 Annual Report
Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board
In office July 1, 1987 – August 9, 1989
President	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
Succeeded by	FHLBB abolished by FIRREA
Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision
In office August 9, 1989 – December 5, 1989
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	OTS created, directorship inherited by FHLBB chairman
Succeeded by	Salvatore R. Martoche (acting)[1]
Personal details
Born	August 30, 1939 Watertown, MD
Education	North Dakota State University (BA Architecture, 1963)[2]

He assumed the FHLBB chairmanship on July 1, 1989, after appointment by Ronald Reagan, in place of Edwin J. Gray, whose term expired. Prior to his appointment, he had been on the staff of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.^[3] He led FHLBB during the savings and loan crisis. The passage of FIRREA on August 9, 1989, saw him automatically become the directorship of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the successor regulatory agency to FHLBB.^[1] He had no background in finance and, due to his consistently over-optimistic characterisation of the crisis, lost credibility with Congress.^[4] Amid criticism for prior failure to rein in unsafe savings and loan business practices, he resigned on December 5, 1989.^[5]

References

1. Olympic Fed. S&L v. Office of Thrift Supervision, 732 F. Supp., 1183, 1186 (D.D.C 1998).
2. "Nomination of M. Danny Wall To Be a Member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, and Designation as Chairman". American Presidency Project. UC Santa Barbara. April 24, 1987. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
3. "New Bank Board Chairman Confirmed". Washington Post. June 26, 1987.
4. Mason, David L. (2004). From buildings and loans to bail-outs: a history of the American savings and loan industry, 1831–1995. Cambridge University Press. p. 234. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511511714. ISBN 0-521-82754-X. LCCN 2003069691. He had no prior experience in finance and lacked an analytical knowledge of the thrift industry. He was a natural optimist who consistently assured legislators ... that everything was under control ... His persistently rosy forecasts for recovery ... hurt his credibility with Congress. Eventually, some legislators and staffers on Capitol Hill began to refer to [him] as M. Danny Isuzu (after the chronic liar on a television commercial) or as M. Danny Off-the-Wall.
5. Nash, Nathaniel C. (December 5, 1989). "Top Savings Regulator Resigns And Strikes Back at His Critics". New York Times.