The Bank of New York Mellon’s Howard Bascom Named BAFT Chairman

The Bank of New York Mellon's Howard Bascom was appointed chairman of The Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT; Washington, D.C.), the worldwide financial institution trade association. Bascom serves as managing director of The Bank of New York Mellon and head of global trade finance and credit services, responsible for all aspects of the bank's trade finance business.

"Representing BAFT under any circumstances would be an honor, but it's particularly gratifying given the importance of trade finance services in the current economic climate," said Bascom in a statement. "The trade finance crisis has underscored the importance of BAFT's ability as a leadership organization to address the key business areas in which we're involved on behalf of our global membership."

Among other appointments at the association's annual meeting were Rita Gonzalez, managing director and head of global transaction banking at HSBC, as vice chair, and the re-election of James Peterson to the secretary-treasurer position. Peterson is managing director for The Northern Trust International Banking Corporation.