The US Senate confirmed Jonathan Gould to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, adding him to the roster of Trump administration officials who favor lighter regulation of the nation’s lenders and an embrace of crypto assets.
Gould, approved 50-45 on Thursday, is set to build on the administration’s friendlier approach on crypto. He has also highlighted concerns with some of the risk management protocols put into place after the global financial crisis.
“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,” Gould said in prepared remarks for a Senate hearing in March. “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.”
The OCC announced earlier this year that it would no longer examine banks for risks arising from doing business with controversial customers, following calls from some Republican lawmakers to end a practice critics have viewed as unfair.
Gould served in the OCC during the first Trump administration as a senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel before becoming the chief legal officer at Bitfury Group Ltd., a provider of crypto mining equipment and various related services. He then joined Jones Day in 2022, where his clients have included JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Circle Internet Financial, according to his ethics disclosures. He said he would resign from his role at the law firm if confirmed.
Some Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have raised questions about Gould’s ability to stay impartial on matters involving former clients.
Gould is part of a slate of regulators under Trump who are proponents of digital assets. Trade groups including the Blockchain Association, American Fintech Council and Independent Community Bankers of America had backed his nomination.
The OCC would be responsible for regulating issuers of stablecoin under a bill which recently passed the Senate. The House plans to vote on that measure next week.
Read More: Senate Passes Trump-Backed Stablecoin Bill in Win for Crypto
Gould will also be a board member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which must include the heads of the OCC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
–By Yash Roy (Bloomberg)
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