Office of Thrift Supervision

OTS Appoints Sharon L. Stark Senior Economic and Policy Advisor

Washington, D.C. — The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced today the appointment of Sharon L. Stark as the agency's Senior Economic and Policy Advisor.

Stark will begin her new position on May 29, advising senior OTS officials on a wide range of economic policy matters, including mortgage and housing-related issues. She will report to Scott M. Polakoff, Senior Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer.

"Sharon is an outstanding addition to our economic policy team," said Polakoff. "She provides us with additional depth and range in analyzing, understanding and implementing economic and housing policy for the industry we regulate."

Stark joins the OTS from Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, a full-service brokerage firm in St. Louis, Missouri, where she served as the Chief Fixed Income Market Strategist. She previously worked at Legg Mason as Director of Research and Strategy and moved to Stifel Nicolaus in December 2005 as part of Stifel's acquisition of the Legg Mason Capital Markets Group. She also worked for five years as Deputy Assistant Director for Supervision at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Stark has appeared frequently on television news and has been regularly quoted in the financial press, providing analysis on the economy and bond markets. She is a three-time nominee for Institutional Investor magazine's All-America Fixed-Income Research Team.

Stark is a graduate of The George Washington University with a bachelor's degree in finance. She is active in civic and private organizations serving children and the arts, and was named one of Maryland's Top 100 Women in 2002.

The Office of Thrift Supervision, an office of the Department of the Treasury, regulates and supervises the nation's thrift industry. OTS's mission is to ensure the safety and soundness of, and compliance with consumer protection laws by, thrift institutions, and to support their role as home mortgage lenders and providers of other community credit and financial services. OTS also oversees the activities and operations of thrift holding companies that own or control thrift institutions. Copies of OTS news releases and other documents are available at the OTS web page at www.ots.treas.gov.

Created: Monday, 5/14/2007