Financial regulation in the United States

Dodd-Frank Act

Federal Reserve

Financial regulation by state

Key terms

Commercial bank •Credit union •Depository institution •Financial system •Investment banking •Securities

Hover over the above terms for definitions.

TheOffice of Financial Research (OFR) is an independent bureau of theUnited States Treasury Department. The office was established in July 2010 with the passage of theDodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The OFR's primary task is to provide data and analysis for theFinancial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), an agency that monitors and responds to risks to the United States' financial system. The OFR compiles information about private banks and non-bank financial companies on the FSOC’s behalf.^[1]

Organization

Administrative State
Read more about theadministrative state on Ballotpedia.

The OFR is headed by a director who is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The director provides overall leadership for the OFR and serves as a non-voting member of the FSOC. The director of the OFR serves a six-year term and reports directly to theUnited States Secretary of the Treasury. The acting director of the OFR was James Martin as of June 2025.^[2][3]

As the Financial Stability Oversight Council only meets four times per year, the OFR acts as the full-time administrative body for the council by making the data it provides to the FSOC available to financial regulation authorities. The OFR also assists the FSOC in determining the types of data to collect.^[1]

Authority and responsibilities

The primary purpose of the office is to provide data and analysis for the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Specifically, Section 153 of the Dodd-Frank Act charges the office with supporting the FSOC by doing the following:

To accomplish these tasks, the office has the authority to share data with the FSOC, to sponsor and conduct research projects, and to assist financial analyses conducted by other federal agencies. In addition, the office's director has the authority to issue subpoenas to any financial institution for any data needed to carry out the office's functions.^[1]

The director of the Office of Financial Research reports to theUnited States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and theUnited States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services annually, with no other agency having the authority to require the director to submit any testimony.^[1]

Data collection

Daniel K. Tarullo, a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Board, at an Office of Financial Research and Financial Stability Oversight Council conference.

The OFR's data collection efforts are supported by two other agencies: the Data Center and the Research and Analysis Center. These entities were created along with the OFR with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. These agencies are subordinate to the OFR.^[1]

These two entities and their authority are established in Section 154 of the Dodd-Frank Act:

See also

• Financial Stability Oversight Council
• Federal Insurance Office
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

External links

• Office of Financial Research

Footnotes

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Dresch (2000) "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017) "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987) Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787) "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012) "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002) "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015) "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016) "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017) "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007) "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994) "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887) "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017) "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008) Agencies Administrative Conference of the United States •United States Civil Service Commission •U.S. Government Accountability Office •U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs •U.S. Office of Management and Budget