Robin Wiessmann ’75 Confirmed as Pa. Secretary of Banking and Securities

The Pennsylvania Senate has confirmed Robin Wiessmann ’75 as state secretary of banking and securities. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf nominated her for the cabinet-level position in January.

Robin Wiessmann ’75

During Wolf’s gubernatorial transition, Wiessmann served on the budget deficit and fiscal stabilization task force with Mike Newsome ’75. She was state treasurer from 2007 to 2009.

“[Wiessmann] is a highly capable and well-respected official with a proven track record of experience and accomplishment in the financial service industry, public service, and regulatory functions,” said Wolf in a press release. “I look forward to her leadership as we continue to move Pennsylvania’s economy forward.”

As secretary, Wiessmann will provide leadership to the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, which supervises more than 200 Pennsylvania state-chartered banks, credit unions, and trust companies. It also licenses and registers more than 200,000 financial services professionals and companies that provide consumer loans, investment services, and other financial services. In addition, the department reviews more than 5,000 securities offerings annually.

By virtue of her new position, Wiessmann will serve as chair of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, vice chair of the Pennsylvania Banking and Securities Commission, and on the board of the Commonwealth Financing Authority, the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority, the Pennsylvania Housing Advisory Committee, the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority, the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, and the Certified Real Estate Appraisers Board.

A government and law graduate with a J.D. from Rutgers, Wiessmann was vice president of public finance at Goldman Sachs and founding principal of Artemis Capital, the first women-owned firm on Wall Street. She previously served as a deputy director of finance for the City of Philadelphia, and serves on several corporate boards.

Last year Women in Public Finance honored Wiessmann with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Women Executives in State Government Association awarded her the Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award in 1999. The Women’s City Club of New York awarded Wiessmann the Civic Spirit Award in 1996.

Her leadership positions at Lafayette have included membership on the Board of Trustees, vice chair of Lafayette Leadership Council, and chair of Women in Leadership at Lafayette (now Council of Lafayette Women). Her son is Alex Jarin ’15 and her father is the late Karl Wiessmann ’35.