State bank regulators pick New York's Adrienne Harris to join FSOC

Adrienne Harris will join the Financial Stability Oversight Council next year, giving New York's top bank regulator a larger role in debates over potential cracks in the system.

Harris, who leads the New York State Department of Financial Services, will represent her fellow state bank supervisors on the council. The panel, led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, monitors risks across the financial system, including those stemming from banks, hedge funds, insurance companies and more recent innovations such as digital assets.

Members of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors voted to appoint Harris to the role, the group said in a news release.

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"Superintendent Harris' background and experience at both the federal and state level will be an asset for the council as it manages emerging risk during a time of economic uncertainty," said the group's president and CEO, James Cooper, the former head of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions.

Before joining the New York state regulator, Harris was a senior advisor at the Treasury Department under the Obama administration and later worked in the White House, where she was special assistant to President Obama for economic policy and also worked on financial regulation.

Harris later became general counsel and chief business officer at what is now known as Doma Holdings, a company that focuses on real estate titles.

The New York state agency has over the years played a significant role in financial regulatory debates. Prior to Harris' arrival, the agency battled in court with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over its ability to create a special-purpose charter for fintech companies.

"As the chartering authority and primary supervisor of an overwhelming majority of banks in the United States," Harris said in the news release, "state supervisors have a unique perspective into the emerging risks and threats to the stability of the financial system."

During her tenure, the New York agency has worked on guidance for the virtual currency industry, proposed a new cybersecurity rule for financial institutions and penalized companies such as Robinhood and Nationwide Life Insurance Co.

Harris has also focused on what she's described as "kitchen-table issues," including by halting what would have been a hefty inflation-linked increase in check-cashing fees. 

The New York agency has also focused on climate-related financial risks and is working on issuing guidance for the banks it regulates. Harris told American Banker in September that the guidance would make it clear to banks that they cannot reduce their climate exposures by lending less in underserved communities, which are more likely to be geographically vulnerable to weather events. DFS issued similar guidance to insurers last year.

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Climate risks have been an emerging focus at the FSOC under the Biden administration, with the council releasing a 133-page report on the topic last year. The federal agencies that are represented on the council, such as the Federal Reserve and the OCC, have also focused on potential risks stemming from climate change.

That focus has drawn concerns from Republicans on Capitol Hill, with outgoing Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania telling American Banker this week that he's seeking to "keep regulators in their lane" through new legislative proposals.

Harris will replace Texas Banking Commissioner Charles Cooper on the oversight council. Cooper has been in the role since September 2018.