Old Dog Learns New Trick

BILL SEIDMAN has just topped his own private joke. Shortly before he was confirmed in 1985 as chairman of the FDIC, Seidman got an Irish wolfhound, which he named Proxmire after the Senator who opposed his confirmation. “Heel, Proxmire,” Seidman would bark. But not long ago, as Seidman prepared to step down from his post, William Proxmire wrote a flattering valedictory to the chairman. So Seidman renamed his dog Annunzio in dubious honor of Frank Annunzio, chairman of a House Banking subcommittee, who has sparred with Seidman over the S&L bailout. Seidman tells colleagues that when he calls “Annunzio! Annunzio!” the dog rolls over and plays dead.