On last day of the job, Otting gets a thank you and best wishes from FDIC leader

On the eve of the Friday departure of the current chief regulator of national banks, the chairman of the board for the federal insurer of bank deposits issued a statement of thanks and best wishes.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairman Jelena McWilliams on Thursday issued a statement thanking Comptroller Joseph Otting for his service on the FDIC Board. Otting is one of two “external” directors on the five-member board, who serves by way of his position at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the other external director is Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathleen Kraninger.

“I would like to thank Comptroller Joseph Otting for his service on the FDIC Board of Directors,” McWilliams said. “The FDIC greatly benefitted from his high standards, real world expertise, and operational excellence.”

McWilliams called Otting true to his word, honest and engaged. “Joseph embodies a rare combination of candor and integrity that will be greatly missed,” she said. “I wish him my best.”

The FDIC chairman is the second federal regulator to extend best wishes to Otting, who announced his resignation as comptroller last week after 29 months on the job (and the shortest tenure in the past 96 years of any other comptroller). NCUA Board Chairman Rodney Hood extended his best wishes last week the day after Otting said he was leaving.

Otting’s last day in the position was slated to be Friday, but his successor, First Deputy Comptroller (and OCC chief operating officer) Brian P. Brooks, is already listed on the OCC’s website as acting comptroller.

Statement by FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams on Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting