The name John Dugan, a partner in Covington & Burling, is being floated around Washington as a possible replacement for John Hawke, the present comptroller of the currency. A call to Dugan produced was not returned by press time. A Bush transition aide said, "We don't speculate about any rumors that are circulated about appointments." Dugan served on the Republican staff of the Senate Banking Committee and subsequently as an assistant secretary in the Treasury Department before going back to private law practice. According to one variation of the rumor, the Bush team has sounded Dugan out about a position at Treasury which it is said he does not want and the comptrollership about which he has expressed more interest.
Hawke would like to stay on for the balance of his term, and from the viewpoint of many in the industry his retention would be welcome. But he is a Democrat. Last week a banking lawyer predicted Hawke would be gone in three months.