Trump Taps Steve Calk for Economic Advisory Council

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign has named The Federal Savings Bank Chief Executive Steve Calk to its economic advisory council.

Calk has guided the Chicago-based thrift's lending strategy, which has placed lending to low- to moderate-income borrowers at the forefront. That strategy has helped the privately held TFSB to achieve a three-year average return on equity of 46.36%, which places it first among financial institutions with less than $2 billion in assets.

Calk founded and served as chairman and CEO at Chicago Bancorp, which acquired Kansas-based Generations Bank and then was renamed to the thrift's current name, The Federal Savings Bank.

Along with crime and national security, Trump has aimed to make economic policy a major theme of his campaign. His campaign website notes that "creating jobs and fixing the Obama administration's economic failures" are fundamental reasons behind Trump's choice to run for president.

"I am pleased that we have such a formidable group of experienced and talented individuals that will work with me to implement real solutions for the economic issues facing our country," Trump said in a news release Friday.

The 14-person advisory council also includes other businessmen with banking and real estate industry ties. The council includes Beal Bank founder Andrew Beal, Vector Group CEO Howard Lorber, Cerebrus Management CEO and co-founder Steven Feinberg and Vornado Realty Trust Chairman Steven Roth. The other members of the council are Thomas Barrack, Harold Hamm, Steven Mnuchin, John Paulson, Wilbur Ross, Dan DiMicco, David Malpass, Stephen Moore and Peter Navarro.

The announcement of Trump's advisory council came ahead of a speech in Detroit Monday where he unveiled his economic plan.