One-time Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has been chosen as the new head of The Financial Services Roundtable, a lobbying group.
The group lobbies on behalf of large banks, insurance companies and other major players in the world of finance.
Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor who was on the short list of candidates to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, will replace Steve Bartlett, who earlier this year announced he was stepping down from his post as the group's president and chief executive officer. Bartlett is a former member of Congress and mayor of Dallas.
Whether Pawlenty's role will be identical to Bartlett's or somewhat different could not be learned Wednesday night.
A representative from the Roundtable declined to comment.
The Roundtable is one of a handful of Washington groups, including the American Bankers Association and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, that are lobbying financial regulators as they implement the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.
The groups often coordinate their efforts but they are also competitors when it comes to establishing which one is the voice of the banking and financial services industry in Washington.
Pawlenty would immediately elevate the Roundtable's profile in political circles.
The Roundtable, like other banking groups, is seeking to recover ground the industry lost when Dodd-Frank was enacted. Their efforts focus on trying to influence how regulators are drafting rules implementing the law as well as drumming up support on Capitol Hill for legislation that would soften its impact.
