IPA Statement on OCC Nom

 Washington, D.C. (October 27, 2021) — The Innovative Payments Association (IPA) President & CEO, Brian Tate, has released the following statement on President Joe Biden’s nomination of Professor Saule Omarova to be the next Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). 

The IPA encourages the U.S. Senate Banking Committee to thoughtfully review Professor Omarova’s qualifications to be the next Comptroller of the Currency. Moreover, we urge Members to thoroughly explore her stated views on the private banking system, which appear on their face to be inconsistent with previous banking agency precedent and leadership who served in this critically important role, regardless of party affiliation.  

Americans’ lives have been disrupted at all levels by the pandemic. The payments community has worked hard to make it easier for Americans to receive government benefits, adapt to the demands of a remote-based economy, and protect against fraud.  Regulators need to help maintain certainty for all Americans and businesses as the country transitions to normalcy. 

Members of the payments community have raised concerns about Professor Omarova’s nomination because she has expressed very strong views in favor of disrupting the nation’s banking system. Professor Omarova has proposed, amongst other things: 

• Removing checking and savings accounts from consumers’ bank accounts,
• Putting household bank accounts under control of the Federal Reserve, 
• Breaking up financial institutions,
• Abolishing FDIC Insurance for bank accounts, and
• Removing FDIC oversight from state-chartered banks

Collectively, these actions would make it impossible for American consumers to choose financial institutions and products that would help them best meet their day-to-day financial needs. The proposals would add risks for all Americans and stifle the innovation of new products to help them manage their financial lives. While many of Professor Omarova’s proposals could only be achieved through enabling legislation, a regulator whose primary goal is the deconstruction of the industry they are to regulate would ultimately lead to harm for those who are supposed to be protected – the American financial services consumer.   
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It is critically important that the next Comptroller of the Currency have a fundamental understanding of the challenges the financial system faces and a sense of what viable solutions can developed to improving consumers’ financial lives.