WASHINGTON–The new acting director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said the agency will soon introduce a review of “key regulatory standards” while also working to solve “urgent problems.”
Michael J. Hsu, who started his new job as acting leader of the OCC earlier this week after being named to the post Friday by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, said the review would “take into account a full range of views, both external and internal.“
“I want to make sure that we distinguish the forest from the trees, that changed circumstances due to the pandemic are considered, and that all alternatives are evaluated,” Hsu said in a statement shared with agency employees.
Hsu added that his top priority as “we await nomination and confirmation of the 32nd Comptroller” would be to focus on ensuring a safe, sound, and fair banking system.
“The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, especially communities of color and rural communities, and the recovery threatens to leave many of them even further behind,” Hsu wrote.
Areas of Focus
Hsu said other issues at which the OCC will be looking include:
- Climate change, which poses “new risks and challenges for banks.”
- Technological change and digitalization, which he said have accelerated and “are changing how people and businesses bank.”
- Complacency about risk-taking (which he called “of increasing supervisory concern as we enter a phase of growth and heightened competition.”