Trump Picks Former OneWest Chief to Oversee Banks -
By VICTORIA FINKLEJUNE 6, 2017
WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to nominate Joseph Otting, who ran the California lender OneWest, to oversee some of the nation’s largest banks.
“The president’s choice for watchdog of America’s largest banks is someone who signed a consent order — over shady foreclosure practices — with the very agency he’s been selected to run,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, referring to a 2011 consent decree between OneWest
and the Office of Thrift Supervision, which was later folded into the comptroller’s office
If confirmed as comptroller of the currency, Mr. Otting will play a central role in overseeing the daily operations of many banks, including those on Wall Street,
and driving the administration’s push for deregulation.
The plan to nominate Mr. Otting, announced on Monday evening, is likely to stir up fresh criticism
over the appointment of top administration officials from within the banking industry.
Senate Democrats pressed Mr. Mnuchin to account for the bank’s behavior under his tenure at a
heated confirmation hearing in January, and Mr. Otting is likely to face similar scrutiny.
Mr. Otting worked closely with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin when the two men ran OneWest.
