October 19, 2009

The 2008 collapse of the financial sector also spawned a contraction in the number of banking lobbyists on K Street, leaving the industry with a smaller bench as Congress begins rewriting the rules for Wall Street.In 2007, the last boom year, 3,002 lobbyists were registered to represent the finance, insurance and real estate sector, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Today, 2,370 financial services lobbyists are registered — a loss of more than 600 jobs or contracts.

The disappearance of several major players in the past year raises a couple of questions: What happened to the lobbyists caught up in the Wall Street wobble, and can their luckier colleagues still hold their ground on Capitol Hill As far as the financial services industry’s Washington clout is concerned, this much is clear: Even with its reduced ranks, it’s a lobby that still possesses potent weapons.