Newly elected Congressional members Kay Hagan [D- NC] and Jim Himes [R- CT] are in strong positions to be appointed to financial services committees.

Hagan defeated long-time Senate Banking Committee member Elizabeth Dole [R-NC] and Himes beat House Financial Services Committee member Chris Shays [R- CT].

Both Hagan and Himes have impressive financial backgrounds. Bert Ely, principal of Ely & Co., a financial consulting firm, says Hagan will likely be assigned to the Senate Banking Committee.

“Kay Hagan worked at one time for what is now Bank of America,” Ely says. “Given the importance of banking to the North Carolina economy and given that Dole was on the committee, I would not be surprised to see her there.”

Jim Himes’s background includes a stint as vice president of Goldman Sachs & Co. and service as an elected member of the Greenwich (Conn.) Board of Estimate and Taxation.

New members of Congress do not automatically inherit the committee seats of the people they defeated; it is up to Congressional leaders to determine committee assignments.

“Congress is probably going to look for someone with experience in financial services, someone who is prominent in financial services in their district,” says Steven Verdier, senior vice president director of congressional affairs at the Independent Community Bankers of America. “Committee chairmen respect the expertise of senior members, and senior members will usually step up and fill those shoes of those who leave. New members bring a new dynamic to the committee, which is needed.”

Verdier says it is also likely that both Hagan and Himes, given their financial backgrounds, have already expressed interest in being on the financial committees. Such an expression would increase their chances of winning the assignment, he says.