At the Bankers’ Association for Finance and Trade (Baft) 85th annual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, members elected Craig Weeks, senior vice-president and global trade finance and logistics sales executive for JPMorgan Chase Bank’s Treasury Services unit, president for 2007-08.

Members also elected Charles Silverman, managing director and area head, Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, global financial institutions and trade services for Wachovia Bank, as vice-president. Craig Schurr, vice-president and manager, global trade and treasury for National City Bank, was elected vice-president for public policy. Howard Bascom, managing director and head of global trade services for Bank of New York, was elected secretary-treasurer.

Newly appointed directors on the executive committee of Baft are John Ahearn, managing director, global transactions services business, Citibank; Rita Gonzalez, managing director, head of GTB Institutional sales, Americas, HSBC Securities USA; and James Peterson, managing director, The Northern Trust International Banking Corporation.

Members gaining election to their first term on the board are Kimberly Burdette, vice-president and manager, PNC Financial Services Group; Paul Kazuo Okura, senior vice-president, Mellon Institutional Banking, Mellon Financial Corp; Bennett Schwartz, senior vice-president and director, international, TD Banknorth; Joseph Tansey, senior vice-president, head of trade finance and IFI, Bank of America; Paul Warfield, vice-president, and director, global trade services, First National Bank of Omaha; Jeremy Wilson, vice-chairman, business banking, Barclays Bank; and Zhang Bingxun, general manager, financial institutions, Bank of China.

Re-elected board members are Steven Bash, executive vice-president, Wells Fargo Bank; John Campbell, AML practice leader, and principal, risk and regulatory advisory services, Price Waterhouse Coopers; David Cooke, administrative vice-president and manager, international trade finance, M&T Bank; Gordon Joost, executive director and region head, FBCRA, American Express Bank; and Paul Oldshue, executive vice-president and manager, international banking group, US Bank.

Outgoing president Harry Hayman remains on the board as chairman of the nominating committee. Hayman is managing director and head of wholesale banking, Commerce Bank.