Hsu officially named as acting head of OCC

WASHINGTON — Michael Hsu will take over as the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Monday, the Treasury Department announced Friday.

Hsu, a senior official at the Federal Reserve who manages large bank supervision, will succeed Acting Comptroller Blake Paulson, who took the helm of the agency on an acting basis at the end of the Trump administration. Paulson will remain on as chief operating officer.

“It is a tremendous honor to serve as Acting Comptroller of the Currency alongside those who ensure our federal banking system operates in a safe, sound, and fair manner,” Hsu said in an OCC press release. “I appreciate the confidence Secretary Yellen has shown in me by appointing me to this important post.”

The decision marks the end of a more than three-month period in which the Biden administration struggled to appoint an interim leader to fill the key leadership spot. Paulson was viewed by some as a holdover from the Trump administration, and critics said the delay in Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen naming a successor could have impacted President Biden's financial policy agenda. It is still unclear whom the administration plans to nominate to serve as the Senate-confirmed comptroller.

It is still unclear whom the administration plans to nominate to serve as the Senate-confirmed head of the OCC.
It is still unclear whom the administration plans to nominate to serve as the Senate-confirmed head of the OCC.
Bloomberg News

Before being tapped for the OCC role, Hsu served as an associate director of large bank supervision at the Fed, where he led the agency’s Large Institution Supervision Coordinating Committee Program. Hsu has previously worked at the International Monetary Fund, the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The appointment was officially made by Yellen, whose time as chairman of the Fed overlapped with Hsu’s tenure at the central bank. “He is among the most talented and principled regulatory officials that I have had the pleasure of working with,” Yellen said in a Treasury press release, adding, “I am confident he will execute this role with integrity and efficiency.”

Hsu began his time Washington as a staff attorney for the Fed. He holds a law degree from New York University and a graduate degree in finance from George Washington University.

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Biden Administration OCC Federal Reserve Janet Yellen
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