Biden plans to nominate crypto, big-bank critic to run top Wall Street regulator

President Joe Biden plans to choose a law professor who has criticised cryptocurrencies and said that the government should play a larger role in banking to lead a prominent Wall Street regulator.

Saule Omarova has stated that she wants to “put an end to banking as we know it.” “According to three people familiar with the nomination process who asked not to be identified before a White House announcement, will be named to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as soon as this week. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., and Citigroup Inc. are among the largest lenders supervised by the OCC.

Picking Omarova, who teaches at Cornell University Law School, is a shot across the bow for Wall Street as she’s expected to pursue tougher oversight and stricter rules. The appointment also raises questions about whether the Biden administration will support Omarova’s agenda if she follows some of her most radical ideas, such as transferring consumer banking from private institutions to the Federal Reserve.

She also stated that the quick emergence of cryptocurrencies is “primarily benefiting the already flawed financial system we have.”” Digital tokens, according to Omarova, threaten to disrupt the economy and are subject to private-sector exploitation at the expense of public safeguards.

A request for comment from Omarova was not immediately returned. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Omarova may face a tough confirmation fight in the Senate, where Democrats have a razor-thin majority. Banks, which are major donors to both political parties, will almost certainly oppose her candidacy. So far, the Biden administration has had difficulty filling the position of OCC. The White House was forced to reject other nominees earlier this year, including a former Treasury official who was opposed by progressive Democrats. Since May, Michael Hsu, a former Fed employee, has been acting as the OCC’s chairman.

If confirmed by the Senate, Omarova, a Kazakhstan native, would be the first woman to lead the OCC on a full-time basis. The OCC has only ever had a female comptroller serve in an acting capacity.

She was a special adviser in President George W. Bush’s Treasury Department and worked as a banking lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell. According to Omarova, she graduated from Moscow State University and was studying in the United States when the Soviet Union fell apart. She has a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Omarova has advocated for transferring customer deposits to the Fed’s digital-dollar accounts in scholarly papers, describing it as part of a “blueprint for dramatically changing the core architecture and dynamics of modern finance.”” She has made comments on Twitter regarding her distrust of megabanks.

“Does the world require JPMorgan to expand and become more powerful? “she enquired in a tweet. “Oh, great!” she exclaimed after big banks announced increases in dividends and stock buybacks. That is exactly what this country requires.”

Her nomination is likely to please liberal groups. Early this year, the Action Center on Race and the Economy praised her as a possible presidential candidate, saying in a statement that she “puts us on a path to correct the wrongdoings of previous administrations who have been too cosy with Wall Street executives while ignoring the widening racial and economic disparities in our country.””