Allstate's Wilson met with Fed for introduction, rules briefing

Allstate Corp. Chief Executive Officer Thomas Wilson, whose insurer runs a savings-and-loan unit, met with representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago for an introduction and a discussion on regulation.

Chicago Fed staff met with Wilson and two other representatives of Northbrook-based Allstate on Oct. 7 “to introduce themselves and to give an overview on the Federal Reserve's supervisory framework for bank holding companies,” the Fed said in a statement on its website.

Allstate, regulated by state insurance commissioners, is subject to additional oversight by the Office of Thrift Supervision because of its lending business. The Fed, which oversees lenders that are chartered as bank holding companies, will take greater supervision of the financial industry with the July passing of the Dodd-Frank Act for Wall Street reform.

“Allstate representatives expressed an interest gaining a better understanding” of Dodd-Frank provisions, the Fed said. “They also expressed an interest in learning more about how the relationship and coordination between banking and insurance regulatory agencies.”

The insurer isn't regulated by the Fed, Maryellen Thielen, a spokeswoman for Allstate, said in an e-mail. The company provided the Fed with an overview of its Allstate Bank subsidiary, the regulator said in its statement.

Wilson, 53, is deputy chairman of the Chicago Fed, according to the regulator's website. He is one of the Chicago Fed's three so-called Class C directors, which are selected by the board to represent the public.