Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced his intention to nominate Richard Vague, a managing partner of Gabriel Investments to serve as secretary of the Department of Banking and Securities.
Vague, who resides in Philadelphia, was a banking entrepreneur in Delaware. He came to the state during the state’s banking boom with Texas-based First USA, which went on to become one of the nation’s largest credit card banks.
First USA pioneered the use of computer-driven analytics to determine credit quality. The company was later sold to Ohio-based Bank One, which later was sold to JPMorgan Chase.
He then co-founded Juniper Financial, with former First USA executives and later sold the credit card bank to Barclays. He has gone on to become a venture capitalist with an interest in economics and public policy issues.
“Richard Vague has proven himself a leader in the financial world, in both the nonprofit and private sectors,” said Wolf. “His background will allow him to help all aspects of Pennsylvania’s banking and securities industry succeed, propelling our commonwealth to new heights.”
In addition to his work at Gabriel Investments and the Governor’s Woods Foundation, Vague serves on the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, the Penn Medicine Board of Trustees, the Governing Board of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, and several business boards. He is chair of FringeArts Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania Press, and the Innovation Advisory Board of the Abramson Cancer Center. Vague also authored two books and is the founder of the email newsletter service Delanceyplace.com.
Vague will replace outgoing Banking and Securities Secretary Robin Wiessmann, who will become the executive director and CEO of the Pennsylvania Housing and Finance Agency. Vague has already assumed the role of Acting Secretary effective Saturday.
