Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Seal of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Logo of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Flag of the Comptroller of the Currency
Agency overview
Formed	February 25, 1863; 162 years ago (1863-02-25)
Headquarters	Constitution Center,Washington, D.C.
Employees	3,610 (FY 2024)[1]
Agency executive	Jonathan V. Gould, Comptroller of the Currency
Parent agency	Department of the Treasury
Website	occ.gov

TheOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within theUnited States Department of the Treasury that was established by theNational Currency Act of 1863 and serves tocharter,regulate, and supervise allnational banks andfederal thrift institutions and the federally licensed branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States.^[2]

The head of the agency, the Comptroller of the Currency, isJonathan V. Gould, who took office on July 15, 2025.^[3]

The OCC is one of the United States' federalbanking regulators, with primary prudential authority over all national banks. There are two other federal regulators, theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation and theFederal Reserve.^[4] The agency is headquartered inWashington, D.C. with four district offices located in New York City, Chicago, Dallas and Denver.^[5] It is an independentbureau of theUnited States Department of the Treasury. The official head of the agency is the Comptroller of the Currency, who is appointed to a five-year term by the President with the consent of theSenate.^[6] The agency's budget is not congressionally appropriated, being paid for by assessment fees levied on regulated banks.^[7]

The OCC pursues a number of main objectives:

• to ensure the safety and soundness of the national banking system;
• to fostercompetition by allowing banks to offer new products and services;
• to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of OCC supervision especially to reduce theregulatory burden;
• to ensure fair and equal access to financial services to all Americans;
• to enforce anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws that apply to national banks and federally licensed branches and agencies of international banks; and
• to investigate misconduct committed by institution-affiliated parties of national banks, including officers, directors, employees, agents andindependent contractors (including appraisers, attorneys and accountants).

The OCC participates in interagency activities in order to maintain the integrity of the federal banking system.^{[citation needed]} By monitoringcapital,asset quality,management, earnings,liquidity, sensitivity tomarket risk,information technology,consumer compliance, andcommunity reinvestment, the OCC is able to determine whether or not the bank is operating safely and soundly, providing fair access and treatment to customers, and complying with all applicable laws and regulations.^{[citation needed]}

The OCC regulates and supervises about 1,200 national banks, federally-licensed savings associations, and federally-licensed branches of foreign banks in the United States,^[8] accounting for more than two-thirds of the total assets of all U.S. commercial banks (as of September 30, 2020).^{[citation needed]}

Other financial regulatory agencies like the OCC include theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation (of which the comptroller serves as a director), theFederal Reserve, theConsumer Financial Protection Bureau, and theNational Credit Union Administration.^{[citation needed]} The OCC routinely interacts and cooperates with other government agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of Foreign Asset Control, theFederal Bureau of Investigation, theU.S. Department of Justice, and theDepartment of Homeland Security.^{[citation needed]}

The Comptroller serves as anex officio board member of theNeighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.^[9]

In 2003, the OCC proposed regulations to preempt virtually all state banking and financial services laws for national banks and their diverse range of non-bank, corporate operating subsidiaries.^[10] Despite opposition from theNational Conference of State Legislatures,^[11] the OCC's regulations went into effect.^{[citation needed]} InWatters v. Wachovia Bank, N.A.550 U.S.1 (2007), theUnited States Supreme Court validated the preemption of state regulations by the OCC, ruling that the OCC, not the states, has the authority to subject national banks to "general supervision" and "oversight":

State regulators cannot interfere with the business of banking by subjecting national banks or their OCC-licensed operating subsidiaries to multiple audits and surveillance under rival oversight regimes.^[12]

InCuomo v. Clearing House Association, L. L. C.557 U.S.519 (2009), the Court clarified its decision inWatters, stating that federal banking regulations did not preempt the ability of states to enforce their own fair-lending laws, as"'general supervision and control' and 'oversight' are worlds apart from law enforcement", and therefore states retain law enforcement powers but have restricted "visitorial" powers over national banks (i.e., the right to examine the affairs of a corporation).^[13]

In July 2007, the OCC launched HelpWithMyBank.gov to assist customers of national banks and provide answers to national banking questions.^[14]

On July 10, 2020, the OCC announced the launch ofProject REACh. REACh stands for Roundtable for Economic Access and Change, and the project brings together leaders from the banking industry, national civil rights organizations, business, and technology to reduce specific barriers that prevent full, equal, and fair participation in the nation's economy.^[15]

During theAmerican Civil War, leaders of the U.S. federal government, including PresidentAbraham Lincoln and Treasury SecretarySalmon P. Chase, drafted plans for a national banking system.^[16] These plans were put into action by the National Currency Act of 1863, subsequently amended by theNational Bank Act, which created the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to administer the new system.^[17]Hugh McCulloch, former president of the state-owned Bank of Indiana, was chosen to be the first comptroller of the currency.

Under the law, banks could apply to the OCC for a charter issued by the federal government. Approved banks would purchase U.S.government bonds, generating cash flow for the government. The bonds would then be deposited with the U.S. Treasury to provide security to back the paper money to be issued by the banks, a new uniformUnited States currency that could be redeemed for gold or silver at banks around the country.^[16] By ensuring the new currency was backed by the government-held bonds, the system gave users greater confidence in the stability of the paper money.^[17]

By 1868, the OCC had 72 staff, a third of them women. They processed charter applications and distributed currency to national banks. Until 1913, these staff were paid by distance distributed and did not have set salaries.^[16]

In 1913, theFederal Reserve Act established acentral bank, theFederal Reserve, to issue American currency. The OCC's role shifted to bank examination and regulation, though it retained "currency" as part of its name.^[18][2] In response to the growing power of local banks, the OCC insisted on deregulating national banks in order to compete, which was realized in theMcFadden Act of 1927. In 1937, the OCC signed an agreement with the Federal Reserve and theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation to standardize the regulation of banks between the agencies.^[16]

In the 1960s, 21st comptroller James J. Saxon passed a number of controversial regulations, including one which allowed national banks to underwrite revenue bonds for the governments of states and municipalities. Many of these were later overturned in court. However, some reforms, like creating international banking and economics units and strengthening the law department, remained after his term.^[16]

The OCC was involved in the response during and after the2008 financial crisis, including work with theTroubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), designingstress tests for major banks, and collecting and analyzing data on home mortgage loans.^[19] TheDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 abolished theOffice of Thrift Supervision and merged its former oversight functions into the OCC.^[19] The law also reassigned much of the OCC's former compliance mandate to the newConsumer Financial Protection Bureau. It further established theFinancial Stability Oversight Council, on which the Comptroller of the Currency sits.^[20]

As with other uses of the English word "comptroller" there is some ambiguity about the agency's pronunciation. Historically, the word was pronounced identically to "controller," though it is increasingly pronounced as it is spelled (that is,comp-troller).^[21] According toMarketplace, former acting comptrollerKeith Noreika and his successor,Joseph Otting, both used the latter pronunciation.^[22]

Since 1863, the following persons have served as the Comptroller of the Currency:^[23][24]

No.	Portrait	Administrator	Took office	Left office[25]	Notes
1		Hugh McCulloch	February 25, 1863	March 9, 1865	[26]
2		Freeman Clarke	March 9, 1865	July 24, 1866	[27]
3		Hiland R. Hulburd	February 1, 1867	April 3, 1872	[28]
4		John Jay Knox Jr.	April 25, 1872	April 30, 1884	[29]
5		Henry W. Cannon	May 12, 1884	March 1, 1886	[30]
6		William L. Trenholm	April 20, 1886	April 30, 1889	[31]
7		Edward S. Lacey	May 1, 1889	June 30, 1892	[32]
8		A. Barton Hepburn	August 2, 1892	April 25, 1893	[33]
9		James H. Eckels	April 26, 1893	December 31, 1897	[34]
10		Charles G. Dawes	January 1, 1898	September 30, 1901	[35]
11		William Barret Ridgely	October 1, 1901	March 28, 1908	[36]
12		Lawrence O. Murray	April 27, 1908	April 27, 1913	[37]
13		John Skelton Williams	February 2, 1914	March 2, 1921	[38]
14		Daniel Richard Crissinger	March 17, 1921	March 30, 1923	[39]
15		Henry M. Dawes	May 1, 1923	December 17, 1924	[40]
16		Joseph W. McIntosh	December 20, 1924	November 20, 1928	[41]
17		John W. Pole	November 21, 1928	September 20, 1932	[42]
18		James Francis Thaddeus O'Connor	May 11, 1933	April 16, 1938	[43]
19		Preston Delano	October 24, 1938	February 15, 1953	[44]
20		Ray M. Gidney	April 16, 1953	November 15, 1961	[45]
21		James J. Saxon	November 16, 1961	November 15, 1966	[46]
22		William B. Camp	November 16, 1966	March 23, 1973	[47]
acting		Justin T. Watson	March 24, 1973	July 4, 1973	[48]
23		James E. Smith	July 5, 1973	July 31, 1976	[49]
acting		Robert L. Bloom	August 1, 1976	July 20, 1977	[50]
24		John G. Heimann	July 21, 1977	May 15, 1981	[51]
acting		Charles Lord	May 16, 1981	December 16, 1981	[52]
25		C. T. Conover	December 16, 1981	May 4, 1985	[53]
–		H. Joe Selby	May 5, 1985	December 1, 1985	[54]
26		Robert L. Clarke	December 2, 1985	February 29, 1992	[55]
acting		Stephen Steinbrink	March 1, 1992	April 5, 1993	[56]
27		Eugene Ludwig	April 5, 1993	April 3, 1998	[57]
acting		Julie L. Williams	April 4, 1998	December 8, 1998	[58]
28		John D. Hawke Jr.	December 8, 1998	October 13, 2004	[59]
acting		Julie L. Williams	October 14, 2004	August 4, 2005	[58]
29		John C. Dugan	August 4, 2005	August 14, 2010	[60]
acting		John G. Walsh	August 15, 2010	April 9, 2012	[61]
30		Thomas J. Curry	April 9, 2012	May 5, 2017	[62]
acting		Keith Noreika	May 5, 2017	November 27, 2017	[63]
31		Joseph Otting	November 27, 2017	May 29, 2020	[64]
acting		Brian P. Brooks	May 29, 2020	January 14, 2021	[65]
acting		Blake Paulson	January 14, 2021	May 10, 2021	[66]
acting		Michael J. Hsu	May 10, 2021	February 10, 2025	[67]
acting		Rodney E. Hood	February 10, 2025	July 15, 2025	[68]
32		Jonathan V. Gould	July 15, 2025	Present	[3]

• Bank regulation in the United States
• Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations
• Volcker Rule
• List of financial supervisory authorities by country

• Official website
• OCC in theFederal Register
• 12 CFR Chapter I of theCode of Federal Regulations from theLII
• 12 CFR Chapter I of the Code of Federal Regulations from theOFR

• United States comptrollers of the currency
• United States Department of the Treasury agencies
• Financial regulatory authorities of the United States
• Organizations based in Washington, D.C.
• Government agencies established in 1863

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