Curry to step down as comptroller; Washington banking attorney Noreika named interim

Keith Noreika, a Washington attorney, will serve as interim Comptroller of the Currency after Thomas J. Curry steps down Friday (May 5), it was reported today.

Noreika is a partner with the firm Simpson Thacher in its Washington, D.C. office. According to his biography on the firm’s website, he is a member of the firm’s financial institutions practice.

Keith Noreika

Curry, 60, who has served as comptroller since 2012 — and whose term expired last month — will reportedly return to the Boston area; he previously served as commissioner of the Massachusetts Division of Banks.

According to Noreika’s website bio information, he has advised domestic and international financial institutions on regulatory issues for nearly 20 years. It notes that he has worked extensively with all federal bank regulatory agencies. His Linked-In page states he has worked at Simpson Thacher for 10 months; prior to that, he was with the law firm Covington & Burling for about 18 years.

Additionally, the bio notes that Noreika has represented large national banks before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts in connection with “federal preemption challenges to states’ assertions of regulatory and supervisory authority over the activities of operating subsidiaries.”

Bio: Keith Noreika, named interim comptroller