[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 13, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF DANIEL R. SMITH

                                 ______


                            HON. FRED UPTON

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 1996

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor a man who has 
dedicated his career to the betterment of banking and has continually 
voiced the banking industry's message loud and clear to the Members of 
this Congress. At the beginning of May, Daniel R. Smith, chairman and 
CEO of First of America Bank Corp., will be retiring after four decades 
of service in the banking industry.
  Throughout his career, Dan has made many contributions to the 
furtherance of constructive banking legislation. While he was president 
of the Michigan Bankers Association, legislation was passed that 
allowed statewide branching in Michigan. During his tenure as president 
of the American Bankers Association in 1994, interstate banking 
legislation, regulatory reform and bankruptcy legislation was passed. 
Dan also conceived an important market share study of the financial 
services business, which the ABA completed, that clearly demonstrates 
the continued strength of banks in their respective markets. He also 
previously chaired both the MBA's and the ABA's government relations 
councils and is currently a member of the Bankers Roundtable.
  Dan spent the first 21 years of his banking career in the trust 
department for First National Bank and Trust Company of Michigan, which 
later become First of America Bank--Michigan. In 1974, he was elected 
to the bank's board of directors and became president of the Kalamazoo 
Bank in 1977. He was named president of First of America Bank Corp. in 
1983 and CEO of the corporation in 1985. During his tenure as CEO, the 
company grew from $5 billion in assets and 255 branch offices in 
Michigan, to the 33d largest holding company in the country with $23 
billion in assets and over 600 branch offices in Michigan, Illinois, 
Indiana, and Florida.
  I would like to thank Dan for his strong leadership in the banking 
industry and his continued determination to reach beyond the 
traditional boundaries of banking.

                          ____________________