Comptroller of the Currency Joseph P. Otting will testify before lawmakers June 13 and 14, respectively, during House Financial Services and Senate Banking committee hearings on his agency’s regulatory activities affecting federally chartered banks and savings institutions.
These hearings will be Otting’s first before either committee since his appearance last July, before Senate Banking, on his nomination to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Since taking his post in November, Otting has presided over the OCC’s increase in the commercial real estate appraisal threshold from $250,000 to $500,000; issuance of a proposal to “enhance” banks’ supplemental leverage ratio requirements; a proposal to let banks transition to the current-expected-credit-loss accounting standard; final rule on securities transaction settlement; and issuance of proposed Volcker Rule changes.
On the enforcement side, he’s approved the assessment of civil money penalties against Citibank, Rabobank N.A. and U.S. Bank National Association over Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) violations; he also approved a $500 million fine against Wells Fargo over violations of federal financial consumer protections.
The June 13 and 14 hearings will be an opportunity for lawmakers to question Otting about his actions thus far and plans for the future – possibly, where regulators are regarding plans to issue Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rule changes. Both begin at 10 a.m. ET and are expected to be webcast live.