Newsom taps Chopra to lead new California oversight agency;

Newsom taps Chopra to lead new California oversight agency

Published May 15, 2026 3:30 PM

1 Min Read

In this week's banking news roundup:

In a move seen to bolster his 2028 presidential run, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Rohit Chopra, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to lead a new oversight agency.
A Pine Bluff, Arkansas, bank employee was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for bank theft.
A Fairfax, Virginia, security administrator has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $6.6 million from his employer; and more.

Newsom taps Chopra for newly created agency

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the hiring this week of Rohit Chopra, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to lead a new oversight agency that will police industries as disparate as alcohol, cannabis, horse racing and financial services.

Chopra has been named secretary of the Business and Consumer Services Agency that will launch July 1. The position requires confirmation by the state Senate and pays $254,450 a year. An agency that polices corporate wrongdoing is seen as a play to bolster Newsom's 2028 presidential run.

Chopra will have oversight over eight agencies including California's Department of Financial Protection and Inclusion, which oversees financial services, as well as the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Department of Cannabis Control, California Horse Racing Board and Department of Real Estate.

In a press release, Newsom said he hired Chopra "as the Trump administration turns its back on consumers." The CFPB, that Chopra once led, has been radically scaled back — and a majority of rules Chopra finalized have been repealed — by the Trump administration. —Kate Berry

Bank employee sentenced to 3 years for embezzling funds

Laura Parrish, who worked at a bank in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for bank theft, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Jonathan D. Ross announced in a May 6 press release.

An investigation revealed that between November 2016 and January 2024, Parrish, 59, used customer funds to make payments on her personal credit cards and transfer funds to her external online financial account. She also opened personal credit cards in other people's names and used customer accounts to make payments on those cards. A further investigation revealed that Parrish embezzled funds from one family in the approximate amount of $364,000.

"Laura Parrish took advantage of her position at the bank to take money that did not belong to her and caused significant damage to the bank and its most vulnerable customers impacted by her brazen act of theft," Ross said in the release, which did not disclose the name of the bank. —Traci Parks

Virginia man charged with $6.6M wire fraud scheme

Ricardo Fontanilla, 66, of Fairfax, Virginia, has been charged in federal court in Boston with allegedly stealing more than $6.6 million from his employer. Fontanilla worked in security for a Massachusetts-based global financial services firm, where he allegedly had access to systems that tracked mortgage payments connected to residential mortgage-backed securities.

Beginning at least as early as 2016, Fontanilla allegedly manipulated records to make it appear that the firm was receiving excess payments, which he then directed to a third party before diverting them into his personal bank account.

The investigation revealed that Fontanilla's expenditures vastly outpaced his $83,000 annual salary. Fontanilla was arrested on May 3, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The prosecution, led by the U.S. attorney's office in Boston, is part of a broader federal initiative by the National Fraud Enforcement Division to combat financial crimes. —Traci Parks

Deutsche Bank hires Daniel Ghali as head of metals research

Deutsche Bank hired Daniel Ghali to head its metals research department as the lender continues to gradually expand in a business it all but exited a decade ago.

Ghali was previously a commodities strategist at Toronto Dominion Bank, where he made a name for his research on precious and base metals. He will be based in London and report to George Saravelos, global head of FX Research, Deutsche Bank said in a statement.

Ghali will support Deutsche Bank's metals franchise "through its next phase of expansion," the lender said. "Commodities are at the epicenter of a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, becoming an increasingly important part of global investor portfolios, as well as holding greater strategic significance for governments and corporations alike."

Deutsche Bank exited metals trading in 2014, but continued to trade precious metals, which made bumper profits in 2025. It has also made efforts toward rebuilding base metals trading over the last five years. —Arno Schütze, Bloomberg News

Santander taps Patria’s Alonso to head its asset management unit

Banco Santander hired Carmen Alonso as new global chief executive officer of its asset management unit, following the exit of its previous head in December.

Alonso, who will be based in Madrid, was previously partner and head of clients for Europe and Middle East at alternative asset manager Patria Investments, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. A spokeswoman for the bank confirmed the content of the memo.

Santander Asset Management had €275 billion ($324 billion) in assets under management as of March, according to its website. The firm's previous head, Samantha Ricciardi, stepped down in December and joined Fidelity International as head of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The asset management division sits within Santander's broader wealth management and insurance division headed by Javier García-Carranza. —Macarena Muñoz, Bloomberg News