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OCC, SEC and Treasury confirmation hearing: Live coverage

March 27, 2025 9:45 AM

Tim Scott Elizabeth Warren — Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., left, and ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

The Senate Banking Committee will consider nominations for three critical financial regulation roles, all of which will significantly shape bank policy during the Trump administration.

All are expected to be confirmed with uniform Republican support. While Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other Democrats will ask critical questions, the candidates need only a simple majority on the panel to advance to the full Senate.

President Donald Trump tapped Jonathan Gould to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He has a deep history in bank law, most recently as a partner at law firm Jones Day, and experience in the crypto industry — a major plus for both Republicans and a new crop of crypto friendly Democrats — as crypto infrastructure and security firm Bitfury's chief legal officer.

He also previously served at the OCC as its senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel, and as counsel to the Senate Banking Committee under then-Chairman Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

Trump administration

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Luke Pettit, formerly a senior policy advisor to Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is nominated to be assistant secretary of the Treasury. He's set to have an expanded degree of soft power compared to previous assistant secretaries as the Trump administration looks to consolidate bank regulation under Treasury's purview.

Paul Atkins, who previously sat on the Securities and Exchange Commission and has a long history on Wall Street, is being considered to lead the SEC.

Atkins promised to reduce regulation for the U.S. financial system.

"The current regulatory environment for our financial system inhibits investment and too often punishes success," he said in his written opening remarks. "Unclear, overly politicized, complicated, and burdensome regulations are stifling capital formation, while American investors are flooded with disclosures that do the opposite of helping them understand the true risks of an investment. It is time to reset priorities and return common sense to the SEC."

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24d ago

Atkins zeroes in on Freddie, Fannie as cause of 2008 crisis

By Claire Williams

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair-designate Paul Atkins

Bloomberg News

Paul Atkins, the nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that regulators haven't fixed the root causes of the 2008 financial crisis, pointing specifically to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, although he didn't suggest any specific policy solutions.

Atkins, who previously served on the SEC from 2002-2008, faced repeated questions from Senate Democrats about his deregulatory views in light of the 2008 financial crisis and the SEC's role in fomenting that crisis. Atkins deflected those charges, saying reforms at the GSEs remain incomplete.

"What troubles me is that some of the key factors are still unaddressed," he said. "That's Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac's activities in the marketplace, and how that could potentially create problems in the future."

Atkins also said, in response to questions from Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., that not deregulation, but "misregulation" caused the crisis.

"I think it was misregulation," he said. "Wasted resources and not focused on the real problems."

"The distortions that were created through the regulatory scheme at the time helped distract the examiners," he later clarified.

24d ago

Pettit addresses bank regulator independence

By Claire Williams

Assistant Treasury Secretary-designate Luke Pettit

Bloomberg News

Luke Pettit, who is nominated to be the assistant secretary of the Treasury for financial institutions, said that bank regulators will be independent, but also work together to avoid uncertainty.

"I look forward to working with the regulators," Pettit said.

Pettit, in response to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., promised that he would respect the bank regulators independence. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said publicly that bank regulation should be coordinated and "singing in unison" with the Treasury Department, amid concerns about the independence and politicization of all agencies, including banking agencies.

"We need to avoid the outcome of having regulators tell institutions different things, Pettit said. "The objective is to ensure that there isn't uncertainty as to which rules to follow."

"I'll be curious to see how this plays out," Cortez Masto said.

24d ago

Paul Atkins relitigates 2008 financial crisis

By Claire Williams

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Bloomberg News

Securities and Exchange Commission nominee Paul Atkins, a Wall Street and agency veteran, defended his role in the 2008 financial crisis in response to questions from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Warren asked if Atkins was "wrong" for arguing after the crash that his votes to deregulate investment banks in the run-up to the crisis contributed to the economic pain experienced during the recession.

"No, I don't believe so," Atkins said.

24d ago

Gould: Banks shouldn't discriminate on politics

By Claire Williams

Comptroller of the Currency-designate Jonathan Gould

Bloomberg News

Jonathan Gould, the nominee to lead the office of the Comptroller of the Currency, told the Senate Banking Committee that banks and regulators shouldn't discriminate against customers based on politics.

Debanking has emerged as a major theme in banking policy during the Trump administration, as President Donald Trump continues to complain that he, his family and crypto firms have been unfairly denied banking services.

Gould, in response to a question from Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said that he would keep reputational risk out of the OCC's bank examination handbook.

He also went a step further, putting the onus on banks, as well as regulators, to curb so-called debanking, saying that it's "unacceptable" for banks or regulators to discriminate based on the political beliefs of customers. Political belief, unlike race, religion or gender, is not a protected class, so this would represent widening obligations for banks.

Previously, Trump-appointed regulators at the OCC have tried to pass Fair Access regulations, which would put additional obligations on banks.

"I think it is unacceptable for banks or regulators to discriminate [against] customers on the basis of the customer's politics or religion, or the mere fact that they are engaged in a lawful activity that is for whatever reason, politically disfavored," Gould said.

Warren warns Atkins has a track record of 'blowing up the economy'

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair-designate Paul Atkins

Bloomberg News

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told reporters before a confirmation hearing that Paul Atkins, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission has a history deregulating the financial system right before a major crash.

"One of the main jobs of the chairman of the SEC is to keep Wall Street from blowing up the economy," she said. "We have a nominee today, Paul Atkins, who actually has a track record on that."

Warren highlighted Atkins' experience at the SEC right before the Great Recession, where he voted "repeatedly" to weaken regulation, she said.

"Even after taxpayers had to spend $700 billion to bail out giant banks, Mr. Atkins denied that the bank should have been regulated more closely and that we should have kept a clearer eye on the mortgage market that blew up the economy," she said. "The SEC chairing job is about judgment, and Mr. Atkins has demonstrated that he does not have the judgment to keep Wall Street from blowing up our economy again."

Atkins pledged to continue deregulating the financial market at the SEC in his opening remarks.

"The current regulatory environment for our financial system inhibits investment and too often punishes success," Atkins said. "Unclear, overly politicized, complicated, and burdensome regulations are stifling capital formation, while American investors are flooded with disclosures that do the opposite of helping them understand the true risks of an investment."

Scott to Gould: 'Return the OCC to its true purpose'

Senator Tim Scott, R-S.C.

Bloomberg News

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Jonathan Gould, President Donald Trump's pick to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, to keep the agency focused on banking.

Scott referenced what he called "debanking," specifically around crypto firms. He repeated a recent Republican drumbeat that the Biden administration boxed out the crypto industry from the banking system inappropriately.

"I hope you will end the debanking and return the OCC to its true purpose, chartering and supervising banks to ensure they serve all credit worthy customers," Scott said.

Gould, for his part, promised in his opening remarks to spur innovation at the OCC, both in the banking industry and at the agency itself. He's seen as an ally of the crypto industry, having worked as chief legal counsel for Bitfury.

Gould to talk about banks' 'continued relevance'

Comptroller of the Currency-designate Jonathan Gould

Jones Day

Jonathan Gould, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will tell Congress that relevancy of the U.S. banking system isn't necessarily a given.

"The national banking system is today one of the crown jewels of American finance," Gould said in his written opening remarks for his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Banking Committee. "But neither it nor its continued relevance should be taken for granted."

Gould's warning is a stark reminder to banks and to policymakers that the U.S. financial system is changing rapidly, especially as lawmakers race to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins and cryptocurrency writ large. It's a world that Gould — an expert on bank-fintech partnerships — is deeply familiar with.

He, like Trump's other nominees, will advocate for deregulation.

"If banks are to serve their role supporting the U.S. economy, they must be allowed to engage in prudent risk-taking," he said in his opening remarks. "But in the years since 2008, bank regulators have at times tried to eliminate rather than manage risk, frustrating the ability of banks to fulfill their function. This blinkered approach to risk management has implications for the cost and availability of credit, the system's ability to absorb shocks, and its adoption of new technologies and embrace of innovation."

He said that should he be confirmed — as expected — he would focus on "depoliticizing the banking system," and on improving bank supervision. He would also embrace "innovation within the agency and the banking system."

"I will do everything in my power to ensure the continued relevance of our national banking system and its ability to support our national economy consistent with the President's vision," he said.