A new principal deputy chief counsel and a new top executive for chartering – a move that “elevates” the chartering function – were announced Tuesday by the national bank regulator.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said Will Giles has been named principal deputy chief counsel, and Stephen Lybarger as senior deputy comptroller for chartering, organization and structure. The agency said Lybarger’s position reflected “the strategic value of these functions to our agency and the federal banking system.”
In naming Lybarger to his position – a new role in its renamed chartering and licensing function – Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould said it “further affirms the OCC’s support for the formation of de novo banks, signals its openness to considering business combinations that foster competition and better support consumers and communities, and recognizes our new remit to license payment stablecoin issuers.”
Lybarger will report to the comptroller, the OCC said. In his new position, he will oversee the agency’s licensing function “as a separate line of business.” He will supported by staff in Washington, D.C. and regional offices, the OCC said.
Lybarger will also be responsible for managing the OCC’s licensing process for national banks, federal savings associations, payment stablecoin issuers, and proposals for growth and structure changes in support of a safe and sound national banking system, the agency said. He will coordinate with the OCC’s chief counsel’s office and bank supervision and examination in connection with such proposals, the agency said.
Lybarger has worked at the OCC since 1984, when he joined the agency as an examiner. His most recent position, since 2010, was deputy comptroller for licensing. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business economics from Colorado State University.
The OCC said Giles will be the chief operating officer (COO) of the agency’s law department. His responsibilities will include planning and management of all of the operations of the office and assisting the OCC Chief Counsel in providing legal analyses and advisory services on bank supervision, enforcement, administrative, litigation, and licensing actions. “He also will advise on policy and operations initiatives within the OCC, on an interagency basis, and with the Administration,” the agency said.
Giles came to the agency from an unnamed “major law firm,” the OCC said. There, he apparently advised a broad range of banking organizations and other financial companies regarding bank regulation, according to the OCC. He also previously served as special counsel at the Federal Reserve Board, the agency said.
He holds a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and a master’s degree in banking and financial law from Boston University School of Law. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international economics from the University of Arkansas.
OCC Announces Will Giles as Principal Deputy Chief Counsel
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