The White House. Ken Cedeno/Reuters
According to Bloomberg, President Joe Biden will nominate Saule Omarova, Cornell University's law professor to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Professor of banking law has criticised cryptocurrencies and sees a greater role for the government in supervising banks.
To serve a 5-year term, Omarova must be confirmed by the Senate.
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According to Bloomberg, President Joe Biden plans to nominate a Cornell University professor of law who has been critical of cryptocurrency. He envisions a bigger role for the government in oversight of banks and running the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Bloomberg reported that Biden will soon name Saule Omarova his choice for the OCC's head. Bloomberg cited three sources who were not named but are familiar with the process. The OCC supervises large lenders like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase and is a key regulator that oversees consumer banking.
Omarova is a professor of banking law and will push for stricter rules and oversight in the sector. Omarova, a Kazakhstani native, wrote in October 2020 about a blueprint to create a People's Ledger. This is a complete restructuring of the central banks balance sheet that would allow for the democratization of money and finance the largest economy in the world.
A proposed reform of banks that separates the lending and monetary functions would effectively "end banking as we know it," Omarova referencing the title of her 2014 book, "The End of Banking": Money, Credit, and the Digital Revolution.
According to The New York Times' report, Biden's aides had been vetting Omarova during August. They noted that Omarova said cryptocurrency operations could enable banks to trade more independently of supervision by the Federal Reserve or other regulators. Bloomberg reported Omarova believes that digital tokens could destabilize the economy, and that they are susceptible to abuse by private firms at cost of public safeguards.
Omarova was a special advisor for regulatory policy at the Treasury Department in President George W. Bush’s administration. Omarova was a Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyer, specializing on corporate transactions and financial regulation advisory.
Omarova, who is a former Fed official, would succeed Michael Hsu as OCC chief on an interim basis. Omarova will be confirmed by the Senate for a five year term. Hsu told a Blockchain panel this week that crypto and decentralized financing look very similar to the financial instruments that caused the 2008 global financial crises.
