The head of the consumer financial protection agency will chair the umbrella Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) through March 31, 2021, the council announced Monday.
Kathleen (“Kathy”) Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), took the council chairmanship Monday. She succeeds Jelena McWilliams, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). The council also named National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board Chairman J. Mark McWatters as its vice chairman for the same two-year term. (McWatters’ current NCUA Board term expires this Aug. 2.)
The FFIEC is empowered by statute to prescribe uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the federal examination of financial institutions by the federal financial institution regulatory agencies and to make recommendations to promote uniformity in financial institution supervision.
“The FFIEC provides a platform for members of the Council to promote collaboration and consistency in the supervision of financial institutions,” Kraninger said in a statement. “I look forward to engaging with my colleagues and remain committed to finding effective ways to collaborate on supervisory matters, including the use of appropriate technology. Under my leadership, I plan to focus on building a culture of compliance that prevents consumer harm in the first place. This prevention of harm is one of my primary goals, and using all available tools will better protect consumers, taxpayers, and the financial system.”
The current FFIEC membership includes the heads of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), FDIC, NCUA, CFPB, the vice chairman for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board (Randal Quarles), and the chairman of the State Liaison Committee (SLC).
Greg Gonzales, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, was reappointed by the Council of State Bank Supervisors to a new two-year term as SLC chairman. The FFIEC also announced the appointment of two new members of the SLC: John Ducrest, financial institutions commissioner in Louisiana and designated to the committee by the American Council of State Savings Supervisors (ACSSS); and Steve Pleger, Georgia’s senior deputy commissioner of banking and finance, appointed to the committee by the National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS).
CFPB Director Kraninger Becomes FFIEC Chairman
Ducrest, Pleger Appointed, Gonzales Re-Appointed, to FFIEC State Liaison Committee