The Trump administration has made a number of leadership changes and announced the creation of some new offices within existing federal agencies during its first month in power. In this Regulatory Roundup, catch up on some of the changes that have received less attention but provide valuable insight into the administration’s priorities with respect to cyber risks, affordable housing and credit union supervision, along with supervisory updates from key banking regulators.
SEC launches unit to protect retail investors against cyber risks
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the creation of the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU), which will focus on combatting cyber-related misconduct and protecting retail investors from bad actors in the emerging technologies space, according to a press release. The new unit will replace SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and will be comprised of approximately 30 fraud specialists and attorneys across multiple SEC offices. Laura D’Allaird, who ran the former unit and has been with the SEC since November 2016, has been tapped to run the new cyber unit, utilizing the staff’s experience in fintech and cyber-related matters to combat misconduct as it relates to securities transactions in various priority areas detailed here.
FHA chair appoints three deputy directors
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson appointed three new deputy directors. David Shaw will serve as the agency’s principal deputy director, Kelse Moen will serve as deputy director of the FHA Bureau of Competition, and Douglas Geho will be deputy director of the FHA Bureau of Consumer Protection. Learn more about these new appointments here.
NCUA appoints chief of staff
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman Kyle Hauptman appointed Sarah Bang to be the agency’s chief of staff and senior policy advisor. Bang has served as Hauptman’s senior policy advisor since joining the NCUA Board in December 2020. Bang has almost 40 years of experience at various levels of the credit union industry. Prior to retiring in 2017, she served as the executive vice president of industry relations at CO-OP Financial Services. Read more here.
OCC releases list of February enforcement actions
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released enforcement actions taken against national banks and federal savings associations, and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with banks the OCC supervises. Among the actions included in its latest batch of enforcement announcements were two new actions against banks and six actions against institution-affiliated parties, which include bank directors, officers, employees, and controlling shareholders. The OCC also terminated a cease-and-desist order against Wells Fargo and announced updates to its enforcement action search tool. Learn more here.
FDIC releases 175 documents on crypto-related supervision
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) released 175 documents detailing its supervisory activities related to banks that engaged in, or sought to engage in, offering crypto-related products or services. FDIC acting Chairman Travis Hill directed staff to conduct a comprehensive review of all supervisory communications with banks related to such activities and decided to release the documents to reflect the agency’s commitment to enhancing transparency, beyond what is required by the Freedom of Information Act. Read more here.