Trump Taps Former Banking Exec to Head OCC

President Trump is expected to nominate Joseph Otting, an ally and former employee of Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin’s OneWest Bank, to manage the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Otting brings an extensive background in commercial banking with U.S. Bank and Union Bank, and he more recently headed OneWest, a home loan bank developed by Secretary Mnuchin following the housing crisis less than a decade ago. Top Democrats in Congress are already expressing concern over the President’s choice.

If confirmed by the Senate, Otting will take the place of Thomas Curry after his term ended in May. Curry was the major catalyst in developing a special purpose bank chartering system for FinTech companies. However, his departure has placed the implementation of the new FinTech chartering system on hold. Further, Otting will also be faced with two separate lawsuits over the FinTech charters from the State of New York and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors should he ultimately accept the position. Depending on the jurisdiction, lenders are regulated by a collection of state, federal, and tribal laws. If an institution were to secure a FinTech charter from the OCC, it would exempt that company from state regulation and bring it exclusively under the federal regulatory umbrella.