OCC

Former Obama-era regulators Kara Stein and Sarah Bloom Raskin, as well as Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, have joined the field of potential nominees to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to sources familiar with the process.

The agency's plan would strengthen requirements that banks use a minimum amount of their real estate for the business of banking, but three grade groups say banks need flexibility in the pandemic to manage occupancy.

Many in Washington have been in suspense about whether the Biden administration would favor a former Obama official or a financial inclusion advocate for comptroller of the currency. Mehrsa Baradaran, the candidate preferred by community activist groups, appears to have the edge.

Some nominees poised to take their agencies in a new direction appear headed for Senate confirmation while an intraparty squabble has delayed the administration’s choice to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Here’s the roster update.

Michael Barr, an Obama-era Treasury Department official, is no longer expected to be nominated to lead a regulator that oversees Wall Street’s biggest banks, according to people familiar with the matter.

For the second time in three years, the Cleveland thrift has received a low score on its Community Reinvestment Act examination for making too few home loans in low-income communities.

The Boston-based bank said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave it the highest grade possible on its most recent Community Reinvestment Act examination. Santander had received a “needs to improve” grade in 2017 and a “satisfactory” rating in 2018.

The former comptroller of the currency, who founded the consulting firm known for its roster of ex-regulators, will hand over leadership of day-to-day activities to an operating committee as he pursues other projects.

As the bureau writes data-sharing rules, the third-party firms that work with fintechs say oversight by the agency would be more efficient — and better for consumers — than being policed by their bank partners.

The jockeying over who President Biden should appoint to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has focused attention on how to regulate the fintech sector, but the discussion has glossed over flaws in the agency's funding structure that have persisted across administrations.