Second lobbyist leaves Roundtable

Lobbyist Brian Tate is leaving the Financial Services Roundtable in what will be the second major departure at the powerful lobbying outfit in recent weeks.

Tate has been the vice president of banking and securities since joining the Roundtable in 2009, and was instrumental in shaping regulations stemming from the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

{mosads}He will leave next week to lead the new in-house lobby shop for the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA), the group’s first influence hire working inside the organization.

“We will miss him!” wrote Roundtable spokeswoman Alison Hawkins to The Hill in an email confirming the move.

NBPCA has been searching for its own Washington representation for months, reportedly terminating its contracts with two outside firms in the process. In October, the group signed with Ogilvy Government Relations.

Tate’s departure comes after former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the group’s president and chief executive, announced that the Roundtable’s chief lobbyist — Scott Talbott — would be leaving.

Talbott had spent nearly two decades at the association and became one of the most recognizable faces of the financial services industry.

Hawkins said that when Pawlenty arrived at the Roundtable last year, “he was looking to elevate the game” and to cement the organization “as the premier advocacy organization for the financial services industry.”

Now the organization is undergoing a “restructuring” and hiring new talent to focus on four main areas: lending and easing, asset management, payments, and risk management.

“Where we really excel is where all these industries intersect, and that’s how we’re going to focus our energies,” she added. “It’s an overall strategic vision that Gov. Pawlenty has for the organization. Everybody in the office is going to be expected to operate in these four areas.”

The restructuring, she told The Hill, would not include any more departures.

Tate previously worked at the Maryland and D.C. Credit Union Association, where he was vice president for legislative affairs, and at the Credit Union National Association, where he was director of state advocacy. He also spent more than three years on Capitol Hill, working for Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and then-Rep. Max Sandlin (D-Texas).

The pre-paid card group, which is based in New Jersey, is still relatively new by Washington standards. It was formed about seven years ago, but didn’t begin lobbying until 2008, and has since spent $2.5 million to influence the federal government.

This post was updated at 9:00 a.m. to include more from the Financial Services Roundable.