The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced plans to establish the Office of Financial Technology (OFT) in early 2023. The OFT will be designed to bolster the agency’s expertise and ability to adapt to the rapidly changing banking landscape.
The OFT will build upon and incorporate the Office of Innovation which the OCC established in 2016 to coordinate agency efforts to support responsible financial innovation.
The announcement of this new office comes following the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement of its own Office of Financial Technology in July, and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), a member of the House Task Force on Financial Technology and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, asked the OCC and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu to clarify the agency’s position on bank fintech partnerships.
“Financial technology is changing rapidly and bank-fintech partnerships are likely to continue growing in number and complexity. To ensure that the federal banking system is safe, sound, and fair today and well into the future, we need to have a deep understanding of financial technology and the financial technology landscape,” said Hsu in a press release. “The establishment of this office will enable us to be more agile and to promote responsible innovation, consistent with our mission.”
The OFT will be led by a chief financial technology officer, who will be a deputy comptroller reporting to the senior deputy comptroller for bank supervision policy. The office will provide strategic leadership, vision, and perspective for the OCC’s financial technology activities and related supervision.