Sign of the Times, ECB's Wellink Cancels Crisis Management Speech

DJ ECB Wellink Pulls Out Of Chicago Conference Citing Mkt Turmoil By Emily Barrett Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--The financial crisis is causing considerable attrition at the annual international banking conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, with European Central Bank governing council member Nout Wellink the latest high-profile speaker to pull out, citing the ongoing turmoil in markets. Wellink, who is also chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and head of the Dutch Central Bank, had his staff notify the conference organizers late Thursday that he would be unable to attend to deliver the keynote address at Friday's lunch. His withdrawal was followed late Thursday by that of Vincent Reinhart, former Federal Reserve official and professor at the American Enterprise Institute. Kenneth Dam, who is former deputy secretary of the Treasury in 2001-2003, will replace Wellink, and no replacement for Reinhart has yet been announced. He was to speak on a panel at 8.15 a.m. CDT on "Experience with Crisis Management." In another signal of how highly strung the proceedings have become, one of his fellow panelists has requested there be no recording of his comments. This year's conference, the 11th in the series, is named "Credit Market Turmoil of 2007-2008: Implications for Public Policy." The dinner keynote address was given by ECB Board Member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo. -By Emily Barrett, Dow Jones Newswires; (201) 938 2248; emily.barrett@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires September 26, 2008 09:11 ET (13:11 GMT)