Christie Picks Kobylowski as NJ's Top Insurance and Banking Regulator

January 31, 2012 at 06:28 AM
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Current chief of staff and acting director of banking at the Department of the New Jersey Banking and Insurance Department Ken Kobylowski who began his career in bank analysis, has been nominated as commissioner by Republican Gov. Chris Christie. He would replace Tom Considine, who recent announced that he was stepping down.

Some see Christie as positioning himself for a possible name on a Republican presidential ticket, which his office did not want to comment upon.

Like Christie and the commissioner who precedes him, Tom Considine, Kobylowski has a degree from Seton Hall, although he got his law degree elsewhere, at New York Law School.

Kobylowski joined the DOBI as Chief of Staff in February 2010 and took on the additional role as Acting Director of Banking in October 2011.  In his role as chief operating officer for the department, Kobylowski had responsibility for all legislative, regulatory, operational and administrative matters.

He also served as liaison with other State departments and federal agencies, notably the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, the governor's office stated in a release. Before practicing law, Kobylowski began his professional career as a bank analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is also a gubernatorial appointee to the State Employees' Health Benefits Plan Design Committee and the School Employees' Health Benefits Plan Design Committee.

Prior to joining the Department, Kobylowski was in private law practice for 20 years, beginning at Connell, Foley & Geiser in Roseland, N.J., and then moving to Herrick, Feinstein LLP, first in its New York City office and then in its Newark office. He represented a wide array of clients, including banks, insurance companies, lenders, developers and public and private entities.

"When the Governor named me commissioner in January 2010, I said that we would hang out a sign saying New Jersey is open for business for financial services companies,"  Considine said of his tenure as insurance head.

Under Considine, Governor Christie notes that the DOBI "was a model for bringing private sector metrics and performance management to state government." This aligns with Christie's pro-business stance.

"In just two years, 59 new insurers have come into New Jersey while 64 others have expanded their authority," Christie said.

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