OCC

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said he plans to prioritize "solving urgent problems and addressing pressing issues" until the Biden administration selects a permanent head of the agency.

The Treasury Department announced that Michael Hsu, a senior official at the Federal Reserve, would lead the national bank regulator until a Senate-confirmed comptroller is in place.

Critics say the regulation issued by the Office of the Comptroller Currency is a gift to predatory lenders. But the trade organizations warned lawmakers that invalidating it will make it difficult for the agency to create an improved framework in the future.

Organizations representing banks and other financial services firms said implementing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's overhaul of the Community Reinvestment Act could be wasteful as regulators discuss a new interagency plan to modernize the law.

The Biden administration may finally be close to naming an acting comptroller of the currency. Whoever gets the interim job or is confirmed to run the agency over the longer term will have a lengthy to-do list, from Community Reinvestment Act reform to deciding the fate of divisive Trump-era rules.

The industry has raised concerns about nontraditional bank owners, and some lawmakers have backed limits for industrial loan companies and cryptocurrency firms. But members of the House and Senate have been unable to reach a consensus on legislation.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to name Michael Hsu, associate director of bank supervision at the Federal Reserve, to be the acting comptroller of the currency, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A group representing bank directors says the regulator’s sudden attempt to increase penalties by millions of dollars would set a dangerous precedent.

Democratic senators seek to block the "true lender" regulation, which they say lets national banks sell loans to lenders who then avoid state usury caps. Republicans say overturning the rule would restrict access to credit.

Banks could be a better option than payday lenders to meet consumers’ short-term credit needs. But all the OCC’s regulation does is enable partnerships that circumvent state usury laws.