WASHINGTON–The current acting head of the leading U.S. bank regulator has had to temporarily recuse himself from matters involving 80 banks, law firms and other entities due to potential conflicts.
The recusal list for Keith Noreika, a former banking lawyer who the Trump administration named acting Comptroller of the Currency in early May, includes JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and other big banks that fall under the OCC, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Noreika is leading the comptroller’s office until Joseph Otting, who has been nominated by President Trump for the position, can be approved by the Senate. That is expected to take several months.
In the meantime, the Wall Street Journal reported that ethics documents show Noreika will be recused from decisions affecting many firms, from financial companies to law firms such as his former employers, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Covington & Burling LLP.
The timing of the recusals varies. Noreika was recused from matters involving Wells Fargo through May 18, covering his first weeks on the job. He will be recused from matters involving Bank of America until July 26 and J.P. Morgan until March 23, 2018. About a fifth of the 80 entities on the recusal list are banks regulated by the comptroller’s office or holding companies that own such banks, an OCC spokesman said, according to the Journal.
The Journal noted that Senate Democrats have criticized the choice of Noreika to lead the agency, saying he has a conflict of interest because he once represented the banks he now oversees. They have also questioned why he hasn’t signed on to an ethics pledge that other Trump officials have signed, promising not to lobby agencies where they work for five years after the end of their government service.