Brian P. Brooks
Brian P. Brooks | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969 Pueblo, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Attorney, banking executive, entrepreneur, technologist, government official |
| Known for | Acting Comptroller of the Currency (May 29, 2020 – January 14, 2021) |
Brian P. Brooks (born 1969) is an American attorney, banking executive, entrepreneur, technologist, and former government official. He held the position of Acting Comptroller of the Currency from May 29, 2020, following the tenure of the 31st Comptroller Joseph Otting, until January 14, 2021. President Donald Trump nominated Brooks twice for a full five-year term as Comptroller during both the 116th and 117th sessions of Congress.
Early life and education
Raised in Pueblo, Colorado, Brooks earned his undergraduate degree in government from Harvard University and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School.
O’Melveny & Myers
At O’Melveny & Myers, Brooks served as Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office, overseeing a team exceeding 150 attorneys. He represented leading financial institutions in litigation and regulatory enforcement matters and was instrumental in guiding the banking sector’s response to the foreclosure crisis of 2010–2011. Additionally, he chaired the Financial Services Practice Group and was a member of the firm’s twelve-partner Policy Committee.
OneWest Bank
Between 2011 and 2014, Brooks held the roles of Vice Chairman and chief legal officer at OneWest Bank. His responsibilities included managing legal affairs, fair lending compliance, corporate customer experience, and mortgage marketing departments. He provided counsel to senior executives and the board on legal risks and strategic initiatives; handled litigation and regulatory investigations; directed major transactions; and ensured adherence to regulatory mandates related to mortgage servicing and foreclosure processes.
Fannie Mae
From 2014 through 2018, Brooks was Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Fannie Mae, an enterprise valued at $3.2 trillion. In this capacity, he led both the Legal Department and Government and Industry Relations teams while advising the CEO and Board of Directors.
Coinbase
Brooks served as Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase from 2018 until 2020. Coinbase is a Silicon Valley startup valued at $8 billion and ranks among the largest digital currency platforms worldwide. In this role, he oversaw legal affairs, compliance programs, internal audit functions, government relations, and global intelligence operations.
BitFury Group
From October 2021 until 2022, Brooks was Chief Executive Officer of BitFury Group, a prominent blockchain infrastructure company established in 2011. The firm provides services including artificial intelligence solutions, blockchain technologies, bitcoin mining operations, high-performance computing capabilities, and an enterprise digital payments system known as Peach. He currently remains on BitFury’s Board of Directors.
Boards and advisory roles
Brooks serves on the board of The HBAR Foundation, which supports the Hedera distributed ledger platform. His board memberships also extend to two special purpose acquisition companies: Valor Latitude Acquisition Corp. and EJF Acquisition Corp., as well as blockchain enterprise Spring Labs.
From March 2019 to March 2020, he was a member of Fannie Mae’s board of directors where he contributed to committees focused on Risk Policy as well as Capital and Strategic Initiatives.
Active within fintech leadership circles, Brooks was a board member at Avant Inc. from November 2017 to March 2020 alongside other industry figures. He has provided advisory support to fintech firms such as Spring Labs and EarnUp.
Brooks has been identified as a prospective candidate for SEC chairperson under Donald Trump’s administration for the year 2025.
Comptroller of the Currency
In April 2020, Brooks joined the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Operating Officer. His responsibilities encompassed overseeing bank supervision, policy development, economic analysis, supervisory systems, identification of systemic risks, specialty supervision areas, and innovation initiatives. He served on the OCC's Executive Committee and led the Technology and Systems Subcommittee.
Following Joseph Otting's resignation on May 29, 2020, Brooks was appointed Acting Comptroller under 12 USC § 4 by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin in his capacity as First Deputy Comptroller.
On that same day, Brooks authorized a final rule that reinforced the "valid when made" principle, confirming that interest rates allowed on loans remain enforceable even after these loans are transferred by national banks or savings associations.
Later, on October 27, 2020, he endorsed an OCC regulation establishing criteria for determining when a national bank or federal savings association qualifies as the “true lender,” including scenarios involving partnerships with third parties.
During Brooks' tenure, on November 20, 2020, the OCC introduced a proposed regulation intended to guarantee “fair access” to banking services offered by national banks and federal savings associations. This rule, which was finalized on January 14, 2021, requires banks to extend services to industries such as payday lending and firearms manufacturing—even if the banks do not endorse those sectors—a provision that drew criticism from various industry representatives concerning its structure and timing.
Community Reinvestment Act
On May 20, 2020, under the leadership of Joseph Otting, the OCC finalized a rule aimed at modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act regulations applicable to national banks and savings associations. The objective was to stimulate lending, investments, and services connected to CRA obligations in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods by:
- Defining eligible activities for CRA credit more clearly.
- Revising assessment area definitions to encompass nearby branch locations and introduce new assessment areas for banks lacking physical branches.
- Implementing quantitative measures to assess CRA performance more objectively.
- Improving transparency and accelerating reporting timelines.
- Promoting support for small enterprises, family farms, and Indian Country communities.
- Ensuring comprehensive evaluations across all designated assessment areas.
The U.S. Senate upheld this regulation on October 19, 2020, voting against a resolution intended to nullify it.
Responsible Innovation
On July 10, 2020, under Brooks' direction, the OCC initiated Project REACh (Roundtable for Economic Access and Change), which brought together leaders from banking, civil rights organizations, business sectors, and technology fields with the goal of lowering barriers to economic inclusion.
Subsequently, on July 22, 2020, the OCC clarified that national banks and federal savings associations are permitted to offer cryptocurrency custody services—including safeguarding cryptographic keys—as an extension of traditional banking custody functions. A follow-up letter dated September 21, 2020 reaffirmed that banks have the authority to hold reserves backing stablecoins.
Charters and Licensing
On July 31, 2020, Brooks secured the first-ever full-service national bank charter granted to a consumer-oriented fintech, establishing Varo Bank N.A. He characterized this achievement as a pivotal moment in banking’s transformation, propelled by technological innovation to better serve both consumers and enterprises. During his leadership, the OCC also authorized the merger between fintech payments company Jiko and Mid-Central Federal Savings Bank, marking the inaugural fintech acquisition of a federally insured depository institution. Furthermore, fintech firm SoFi was granted conditional approval for a newly established national bank charter.
On January 13, 2021, the OCC gave conditional consent for Anchorage Trust Company to transition into Anchorage Digital Bank, National Association.
Major Enforcement Actions
Under Brooks’s administration, on August 6, 2020, the OCC imposed an $80 million civil penalty on Capital One in response to a cyberattack from 2019 that compromised data of millions of customers.
On September 21, 2020, enforcement measures were taken against three former senior executives at Wells Fargo due to widespread sales misconduct. The sanctions included bans and civil penalties exceeding $1.6 million.
On October 7, 2020, Citibank was penalized $400 million by the OCC for failures related to enterprise risk management, compliance oversight, data governance, and internal control systems.
The following day, Morgan Stanley Bank NA and Morgan Stanley Private Bank NA received $60 million in fines for inadequate risk management connected to a data breach dating back to 2016.
USAA Federal Savings Bank was fined $85 million on October 14, 2020, for deficiencies in risk management and compliance with laws protecting military service members.
On November 24, 2020, JPMorgan Chase Bank faced a $250 million fine due to insufficient internal controls and audit processes within its fiduciary operations.
Nomination and Conclusion of Term
President Donald Trump announced on November 17, 2020, his plan to nominate Brooks for a five-year term, officially submitting the nomination to the Senate on November 27, 2020. However, on January 3, 2021, the nomination was returned to the President following Senate procedural rules. Brooks concluded his tenure on January 14, 2021, with Blake Paulson stepping in as Acting Comptroller of the Currency.
Binance.US
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal dated April 20, 2021, Brooks was set to assume the role of CEO at Binance.US, a cryptocurrency trading platform, beginning May 1, 2021. His tenure lasted only three months before his resignation on August 6, 2021.
Personal life
Brooks has served in various leadership capacities across professional and nonprofit sectors. His roles have included vice chairman at large of the California Bankers Association; membership on the executive council of the Housing Policy Council; chairmanship of the Appleseed Foundation; treasurer positions for both the National Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale; as well as board memberships with the Blockchain Association and Pasadena Conservatory of Music. He is also an elected member of the American Law Institute. An accomplished classical pianist, Brooks additionally performs keyboards in a classic rock cover band based in the Washington D.C. area. He lives in Pasadena, California with his wife Janet.
Attribution
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