Although the Trump administration has announced a number of cabinet and agency leadership nominees, there has been a curiously conspicuous silence over who will be appointed to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), as well as the take-over as the Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision. 

Federal Reserve

Until Michael Barr announced that he would step down from his position as the Federal Reserve Board's vice chair for supervision, the incoming administration was preparing for a messy legal fight to remove him from the Federal Reserve Board. It was unclear if and when the Trump administration would be able to appoint a new vice chair and whether it would need to choose a new board governor. 

With Barr's announcement, the incoming administration is now free to appoint a new vice chair. However, because Barr will continue to serve as a board governor, and there are no open seats until 2026, President Trump's choice of a new vice chair for supervision is limited to the current slate of board governors. Trump has not yet indicated which of the governors he is going to appoint to the vice chair position, although Governor Michelle Bowman is reportedly the front-runner.

FDIC

FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg stepped down on January 19, with FDIC Vice Chair Travis Hill automatically assuming the role of acting chair. Hill is a Republican and considered a likely nominee to lead the FDIC under the Trump administration, but he has not been officially nominated. 

OCC

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu has stated that he plans to remain head of the OCC until a successor is appointed. Hsu has been the acting comptroller of the currency since May 2021, an unusually long period of time for anyone to remain an acting head of the OCC and not officially approved.

Hsu and his policies have been unpopular with the banking industry and the cryptocurrency industry (a vocal Trump supporter). However, Trump has not announced any nominees to lead the OCC and there are no notable front-runners for the position. Hsu will continue in his leadership role for at least the beginning of Trump's term.

Possible Impact of the Trump “Government Efficiency” Agenda

As part of its focus on deregulation and government efficiency, the Trump administration is reportedly exploring the consolidation of all the banking agencies, eliminating the FDIC by moving it to the Department of the Treasury, or possibly moving all bank regulation to just one of the agencies and repurposing the other agencies for non-regulatory matters.

There are reports that some potential nominees to lead the OCC and FDIC are removing themselves from consideration due to this push for consolidation and the associated logistical and political headaches. Any consolidation would require congressional approval for changes in existing law, and the new Congress already has a number of other announced priorities. In addition, changes affecting the stability, or perceived stability, of FDIC deposit insurance are extremely unpopular.