WASHINGTON — Despite his past as a state regulator, Thomas Curry signaled intent Wednesday to listen to both sides in the preemption debate if confirmed as comptroller of the currency.
Speaking to a banking-policy group, Curry, who was nominated earlier this month, gave a nod to national banks' rights to preempt state law. He cited the "supremacy" clause of the Constitution, which generally recognizes the supremacy of federal law over state law whenever the two are in conflict. Yet he gave no further detail on how he would act in the job.
"I do remember a thing in the United States Constitution called the supremacy clause," Curry said in remarks to the Washington-based Exchequer Club. He added, "At its most basic form I think it is clearly established that federal law supersedes conflicting state law."
Yet Curry, a former Massachusetts banking commissioner who now sits on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s board of directors, also cited his state experience.
"As a former state bank supervisor I think I have a good appreciation of the dynamic behind any preemption argument," he said.
Curry's nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled for this Tuesday. The committee will also hear from Martin Gruenberg, the nominee to head the FDIC, and Roy Woodall, whom the administration has chosen to fill a seat on the Financial Stability Oversight reserved for an insurance expert.
