US Rep. Frank at top of corporate governance ranks

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, who is playing a key role in Washington's struggle to stabilize the housing market and reform the financial system, has been named the most influential person in corporate governance by a business magazine.

The Massachusetts Democrat sits "at the center of the regulatory response" to the credit crisis and wields much influence over what changes will occur in the country's banking system, according to Directorship, a publication for corporate board members and top executives.

The magazine listed 100 people it said were the most influential on governance and in the boardroom.

Frank, who chairs the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, also drafted and steered a House bill passed in April 2007 to give public company shareholders the right to cast nonbinding votes on the pay of top corporate executives.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama introduced the so-called "say-on-pay" legislation in the Senate where it stalled. Obama aides have said he would champion say-on-pay if he is elected president.

After Frank, the rest of the Directorship list was not ranked numerically. Others on the list include billionaire investor Carl Icahn, Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron Steele and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

The magazine said the list was compiled by its editors after culling reader nominations and then working with a board of advisers to rank the selections. Last year, the magazine put the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) at the top of its list, citing its influence on boardrooms and focus on executive pay issues. (Reporting by Martha Graybow and Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Andre Grenon)