Lee H. Henkel Jr.

FHLBB Board Member

The Reagan Administration appointed Henkel to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in late 1986 after lobbying by Charles Keating. Henkel was named through a recess appointment, meaning that he did not require Senate confirmation. He proposed new regulations in his first meeting on the FHLBB. Many saw these new rules, while technically applicable to all Federally-chartered S&Ls, as specifically targeted to benefit Lincoln S&L. Henkel vigorously denies these allegations. He resigned from the FHLBB only five months later, shortly after it was revealed that he had several large loans from Lincoln, saying he needed to protect his family from the intense media scrutiny. Henkel later reached an agreement with the FHLBB’s successor agency that banned him from the banking and thrift industries. However, he neither admitted nor denied the charges, and continues to “categorically den[y] any wrongdoing.”¹ Henkel said he agreed to the settlement only to avoid the cost of litigation.

¹http://web.mit.edu/~mkgray/afs/bar/afs/net/user/tytso/usenet/americast/wpost/1435