John "Buz" Gorman, longtime general counsel for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, died Monday after an eight-month battle with glioblastoma.
Gorman, who was 63, served 15 years as the group's general counsel. A 1984 graduate of Catholic University's Columbus School of Law, Gorman played an outsize role in a number of key initiatives, including the drafting and implementation of a nationwide cooperative agreement that created a framework for state and federal regulators to coordinate supervision of state-chartered banks with multistate footprints. Gorman, who joined CSBS in 1996, also helped shape the 2006 legislation that gave state regulators a vote on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
"Buz had the ability to communicate well with people," Texas Banking Commissioner Charles Cooper said Wednesday in an interview. "I think everybody liked him. It seemed like everybody knew him. He was always able to put people together in order to work on some type of project, whether it would be the interagency cooperative agreement or anything regulatory related, he was at the forefront of doing all of it."
Gorman and the late John Ryan, who led the CSBS as president and CEO from 2011 to 2022, formed an especially effective partnership, according to Virginia Commissioner of Financial Institutions Joe Face. The pair "were cut from the same cloth," Face said Wednesday in an interview. "They were constantly championing the dual banking system and the state charter. I think they spent every waking moment thinking about how to make the state charter and dual banking even better. Probably even dreamt about it at night."
"John Ryan recognized Buz's talents and they complemented each other," Cooper said.
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Along with his other accomplishments, Gorman was instrumental in the creation of the National Multistate Licensing System in 2008. Operated by the CSBS, NMLS acts as a centralized licensing, registration and supervisory database regulators use to oversee the mortgage industry, as well as other nonbank financial services providers. It helped address serious concerns involving widespread fraud and predatory lending.
Prior to the NMLS's creation, "if we had a bad actor in one state they could jump and start taking advantage of citizens in another state," Gorman said in an August oral history.
Gorman came to CSBS from Capitol Hill, where he spent nearly a decade working as an aide to U.S. Senator Connie Mack.
"He was a critical contributor to every major piece of financial services legislation over the past 30 years," CSBS President and CEO Brandon Milhorn said Tuesday in a press release. "Buz will be remembered for his unrivaled knowledge of financial services policy and regulation, but more importantly for his mentorship, friendship, and leadership. He will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues at CSBS and throughout the state system."
Cooper, who took office in December 2008, said Gorman served as a mentor as he settled into his job as commissioner. "I had a reasonable background in regulatory actions, but interaction in Washington, not so much," Cooper said.
"If something new would come out or we were working on something, or thinking about working on something, he would be the first person I would call to either bounce something off of or ask, `Where do we go from here? Who do we talk to?'" Cooper added. "I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had like that with Buz."
Face, who took office in 1997, also developed a close relationship with Gorman.
"I considered him a great friend," Face said. "He was one of the finest gentlemen I've ever known. He loved his family, a great family man. He always seemed to have a smile on his face. He was always happy to see you. Made you feel right at home.
"We were lucky to have John Ryan and Buz Gorman at the same time together, helping us state regulators, guiding us and keeping us out of trouble," Face said. "Two of the finest people I've ever met. ... They're probably up in heaven right now talking about the state charter."
Gorman is survived by his wife, Kathy, and sons, J.P. and Andrew.
