Former Club President Mark Hamrick leaves AP for Bankrate.com

Mark Hamrick, the Club's immediate past president and a 26-year veteran of the Associated Press, is leaving the wire service next month to join Bankrate.com as its first Washington bureau chief.

Hamrick will cover the White House, Congress and federal agencies for Bankrate, which operates a network of websites devoted to personal finance, addressing topics such as mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, retirement, automobile loans, and taxes.

“Now more than ever, Washington policy changes are affecting Americans’ pocketbooks,” said Julie Bandy, editor in chief of Bankrate.com. “Bankrate is going to leverage Mark Hamrick’s extensive beat experience to provide our readers with timely and interesting content focusing on the issues and players affecting American consumers’ finances.”