Exclusive: Fed hires official to oversee AIG, Prudential

By Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve has hired a former state insurance commissioner to help it oversee non-bank financial firms that a council of regulators identified for tougher scrutiny last year. Thomas Sullivan, who led the Connecticut Insurance Department from 2007 through 2010 and later worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers [PWC.UL], told Reuters he starts as a senior adviser on June 9. Sullivan will help fill a critical expertise gap at the Fed, which has more experience regulating Wall Street banks and less of a track record with major insurers and other non-bank financial firms. Barbara Hagenbaugh, a Fed spokeswoman, confirmed the hire but did not provide further detail.