Brian Brooks

Brian Brooks joins blockchain company Spring Labs

03/15/21

The former acting comptroller of the currency will help the technology company move its secure data exchange technology into the financial market.

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Tough choice for next OCC chief: Erase or redefine 'fair access' rule

02/08/21

The Biden administration’s yet-to-be-named comptroller of the currency is widely expected to invalidate the GOP-backed measure that bars banks from shunning gun makers, fossil-fuel producers and the like. But another option is to recast it to promote investment in underserved communities.

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OCC’s ‘fair access’ rule could be short-lived under Biden

01/14/21

Issued in the final days of the Trump administration, the regulation has united banks, gun-control advocates and environmentalists in opposition. It could be blocked by Congress or a comptroller chosen by the new president.

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OCC finalizes rule punishing banks that cut service to certain sectors

01/14/21

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized a rulemaking Thursday morning opposed by the industry that forces the largest banks to provide services to gun businesses and other sectors to which banks have curtailed lending.

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After busy tenure, acting OCC head calls it quits

01/13/21

Brian Brooks may be remembered as one of the most controversial interim regulatory chiefs in recent memory, taking positions on the pandemic response, fintechs’ banking ambitions and other issues that won him supporters and critics alike.

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Acting Comptroller Brooks expected to step down soon

01/12/21

Brian Brooks is planning to leave the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency within days, according to a published report and a source familiar with the situation.

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CFPB, OCC on collision course over who regulates fintechs

01/12/21

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency appears intent on being the federal chartering agency for tech firms with banking ambitions. But some experts say the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is better suited for the job.

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OCC, not CFPB, should grant fintech charters, Brooks says

01/06/21

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks pushed back on a recommendation from a task force — appointed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — suggesting that Congress should give the CFPB the authority to charter and regulate fintechs.

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National banks may process stablecoin payments, OCC says

01/05/21

The digital currency and related distributed-ledger technologies could "enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and stability of the provision of payments," according to an interpretive letter issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

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Has the OCC become too politicized?

12/30/20

Bank regulators traditionally steer clear of more divisive debates in a polarized Washington. But some observers worry acting Comptroller Brian Brooks has gone too far by wading into issues such as public health orders and banks' decisions to curtail services to the gun and fossil fuel industries.

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