Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan rejected as "absolutely baseless" a lawmaker's claim he steered $7.7 billion to help former client PNC Financial Services Group Inc. buy National City Corp.

Rep. Steven LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Monday saying it was "troubling" that the first regional bank to get help in the plan to recapitalize banks had been represented by Mr. Dugan at one time.

"This suggestion is absolutely baseless, and I am astonished that you would make such sweeping allegations without checking the facts," Mr. Dugan wrote Tuesday in a letter to Mr. LaTourette. "Since becoming comptroller, I have scrupulously followed all ethics rules regarding those relationships."

PNC, led by Chief Executive Officer James Rohr, became the fifth-largest U.S. bank by deposits after agreeing to acquire National City for $5.2 billion on Oct. 24. The bank got $7.7 billion as part of the Treasury's plan to inject capital into financial institutions, and the cash "put the transaction on a very solid footing," PNC said.

"It is very clear that the $7.7 billion 'rescue' of PNC was the driving force behind its ability to purchase National City Bank," wrote Mr. LaTourette, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Dugan, who regulates national banks, was a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling in Washington where he led the financial institutions group until 2005 when he was named comptroller. National City is based in Cleveland, which is part of Mr. LaTourette's district.

Mr. Dugan told National City Chairman Peter Raskind not to expect any federal funds about a week before the sale, Mr. LaTourette wrote.

Mr. Dugan said the Treasury Department has the final say on which institutions get capital.