Trump makes first big pick for financial regulators
By John Heltman
Published June 05 2017, 9∶47pm EDT
More in Trump administration, Steven Mnuchin, OCC, Treasury Department, FDIC, Federal Reserve
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WASHINGTON — Former OneWest President and CEO Joseph Otting has been named as
President Trump’s pick to be the next comptroller of the currency, the first of several banking
regulators to be officially selected by the administration.
Trump announced his intent to nominate Otting as comptroller late Monday, after months of
speculation that he was likely to get the job. While Otting has been a banker for decades, his
most well-known role was working with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at OneWest Bank.
Joseph Otting, former CEO of OneWest and a key ally of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, has
been nominated as Comptroller of the Currency
Bloomberg News
Mnuchin led a group of investors who purchased failed mortgage lender IndyMac from the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 2009, renaming the bank OneWest. He brought the
Southern California bank back to profitability, but also earned a reputation as a profligate
user of foreclosure to resolve delinquent loans — an issue that came up repeatedly during
Mnuchin’s confirmation hearing in January. Otting served under Mnuchin, later being elevated
to president and CEO, and will likely garner similar criticism from Senate Democrats.
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Mnuchin eventually sold OneWest to CIT Group in 2015. CIT fired Otting, then serving as CEO,
in December of that year, along with 13 other executives. The White House statement
announcing his nomination said his most recent position was as managing partner of Ocean
Blvd LLC and Lake Blvd LLC.
Otting would prove a key ally for Mnuchin, shoring up his influence in the administration and
ensuring a strong working relationship among banking regulators as they begin to fill the
ranks.
The administration has been especially slow in naming nominees to head up financial
regulators, with three vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board remaining vacant, including the
vice chair for supervision. Former Comptroller Thomas Curry’s term expired in April, but he
stayed on until early last month when the administration named Keith Noreika as first deputy
comptroller and ousted Curry, making Noreika interim comptroller.
John Heltman
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