Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) delivered the following opening statement at today’s House Financial Services Committee hearing with Comptroller Otting of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency:

Comptroller Otting, thank you very much for joining us today. I can’t tell you how great it is to have somebody that actually has banking experience running the OCC – welcome.

As a former banker and bank examiner, I felt incredible frustration over the last eight years. We experienced failed economic policies that lead to the slowest recovery in the modern era, and a regulatory pendulum that swung too far after the financial crisis.  Our financial system needs stability, it needs rigorous supervision, but it also needs certainty. Institutions need clear rules of the road. 

Despite a recent financial renaissance and changes at the most senior levels of government, I remain concerned that there are legacy supervisory issues that need to be addressed. That's particularly true when we look at the troubling trend of de-risking, which is still an issue I hear about on a near weekly basis. I urge you to take steps to ensure that the decisions you make are clearly communicated to the field and that OCC examiners use their positions to promote safety and soundness in our financial system, and not to advance any sort of political agenda.

With your leadership and experience, I'm confident that we will be witness to a more effective and responsible supervisory regime, one that upholds rule of law rather than thumbing its nose at it. 

My colleagues and I thank you for being here today, and for taking on this responsibility.  We look forward to your testimony. 

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