Saying he has been impressed by the “leadership and emphasis on operational efficiency and excellence” by the acting director of the federal consumer bureau, the comptroller of the currency pledged Tuesday to work to reevaluate “practices and programs that result in regulatory overreach and unnecessary burden that adversely affect banks’ ability to serve their customers.”
Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting released a statement after an apparent meeting Tuesday with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, noting that their two agencies can “work together to ensure the nation’s banking system continues to meet the needs of consumers, businesses, and communities across the country.”
Otting said, additionally, that he and Mulvaney (who also serves as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, or OMB), “also explored how to improve our agency’s coordination to make supervision more efficient and to ensure banks continue to treat customers fairly and comply with laws and regulations.”
Otting cited a common belief between him and Mulvaney that the nation’s financial system functions best “when it works for everyone—meeting the financial needs of consumers and businesses, creating jobs, and fueling economic growth.
“Our jobs as regulators is to help our system fulfill its important role in society by ensuring it operates in a safe and sound manner and treats customers fairly. But, unnecessary regulatory burden is a waste that places a drag on our entire economy without making the system safer or fairer,” he added.
Comptroller Statement on Meeting with the Acting Director of the CFPB