Joseph Otting. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

A day after releasing long-planned updates to the Community Reinvestment Act, Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting resigned, effective May 29. The OCC’s first deputy and chief operating officer, Brian Brooks, will become acting comptroller of the currency, the OCC announced Thursday.

“It has been my distinct honor to serve the United States and this administration as the 31st comptroller of the currency,” Otting said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of what the women and men of the agency have accomplished to promote economic opportunity, eliminate unnecessary regulatory burden, and operate the agency in a more effective and efficient manner.”

American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols said in a separate statement that the organization appreciated Otting’s “willingness to take on difficult issues.”

“His previous experience as a banker gave him a unique understanding of how the industry can best serve its customers and communities, while also maintaining safety, soundness and consumer protections,” Nichols said. “On his watch, Comptroller Otting took important actions that will help stabilize and grow the economy, and he started the long-overdue national conversation on modernizing CRA rules.”

The OCC Wednesday released updated CRA rules, despite requests from multiple stakeholders to delay revisions while banks and community organizations focus on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which in December supported the OCC’s CRA proposal, decided not to move ahead with changes, citing the pandemic. The other bank regulator, the Federal Reserve, declined last year to support the OCC’s proposal.

In a statement reacting to the OCC’s CRA rule, Nichols said banks and communities would benefit from having a list of qualifying CRA activities. But he expressed concerns that the OCC finalized the rule without the FDIC and Federal Reserve. He also said that new performance measurements could “present significant data collection challenges for banks.”

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors said in a statement that CRA reforms should have been agreed upon by all three bank regulators.

Any fallout from the updated CRA rules will be left to Brooks, who joined the OCC in April. Brooks was previously chief legal officer at Coinbase Inc., a digital currency exchange, and executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Fannie Mae. He was also on the senior executive management team at OneWest Bank.