Office address: 400 7th St. SW, Washington, DC 20219
Website: occ.gov
Year established: 1863
Company type: government agency
Employees: 3,130+ (2025)
Expertise: bank supervision, bank regulation, bank chartering, licensing, consumer protection, risk management, federal savings association oversight, foreign bank supervision, financial compliance, bank examination
Parent company: US Department of the Treasury
Key people: Jonathan Gould (comptroller), Kate Tyrrell (CoS), Adam Cohen (chief counsel), Jay Gallagher (chief national bank examiner), Larry Hattix (chief risk officer), Greg Coleman and Stephen Lybarger (senior deputy comptrollers)
Financing status: government-funded agency
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is a Washington-based, independent federal banking regulator within the US Department of the Treasury. It charters, regulates, and supervises over 1,000 national banks and federal savings associations across the US. The agency has more than 3,130 employees and a $1.38 billion budget as of 2025.
The US faced a serious challenge in the early 1860s with unreliable paper money and limited credit. President Abraham Lincoln and Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase came up with a solution to this problem.
They created the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency through the National Currency Act of 1863. The OCC's job was to charter national banks and establish a stable, uniform currency system.
The next 50 years brought major changes to American finance. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 created a central banking system with branches across major US cities.
World War II then pulled many OCC bank examiners away from their desks and into military combat. The agency maintained its oversight as banks shifted their lending focus to support the government during wartime.
The year 2008 tested the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency like never before. Housing prices dropped for the first time on record as foreclosures reached historic levels across the country.
The OCC stepped in to help stabilize banks through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The agency also developed stress tests to check how well large banks could survive major economic shocks.
The agency launched the Office of Innovation and began accepting fintech charter applications in 2018. By 2024, the OCC turned its attention to AI regulation and consumer protection compliance. The agency also tightened its enforcement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to shield bank customers from unwanted calls.
More changes followed in 2025. The Trump administration's downsizing efforts resulted in over 2,300 job cuts across agencies, the OCC included. To address staff shortages, the OCC merged its supervision teams to keep bank oversight with a smaller workforce.
The OCC offers regulatory services that help maintain a safe and sound federal banking system:
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also provides technical assistance to banks through the Office of Innovation. The agency helps institutions adopt new technologies while managing risk responsibly.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regularly ranks as a top federal workplace, according to the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government. The OCC states that it operates according to four guiding principles:
The agency offers several employee benefits to help its staff:
Alongside these perks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency offers careers that shape the US banking system. The agency seeks self-motivated professionals for supervision and various core business roles.
Jonathan Gould took office as the 32nd Comptroller of the Currency in 2025. He held prior roles as a partner at Jones Day and as senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel at the OCC. He graduated from Princeton University and got his law degree from Washington and Lee University.
Gould leads the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency alongside several senior leaders on the executive committee:
The OCC's leadership team brings expertise in law, risk management, finance, and bank examination. These leaders work together to keep the federal banking system safe and sound.
In 2024, the OCC ended a consent order it had placed on Wells Fargo back in 2016. The order was tied to a fake accounts scandal where the bank created accounts for customers without permission. The termination shows the OCC's willingness to lift restrictions when banks meet compliance standards.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is also shaping AI adoption in banking. The agency teamed up with the Federal Reserve and FDIC to set AI guidelines for banks. This move shows that the OCC is adapting its oversight to address new risks in the industry.
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