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Lawyer Who Helped Banks Avoid State Laws Now in Charge of Bank Regulation
Financial regulations do not come into existence for the purpose of penalizing banks seeking to operate in a lawful and ethic manner. Instead, they arise on an as-needed basis to retroactively attempt to address ills caused by financial institutions who have acted in their own best interest at the expense of a segment of the population or society overall.
We elect government officials who represent us and work in our favor. We "hire" them to do the dirty work which often includes protecting us from corporations such as those on Wall Street who can and do harm us intentionally or not for their own benefit. Yet a significant portion of the population, even on the left, sides with the banks and businesses due to a repeatedly hammered idea that doing anything to regulate private enterprise is un-American. We are supposed to own our government, yet corporations do; they write the rules and majority cheer for it at their own expense.
What we are experiencing currently, the effects of which will be lasting and far reaching, are lobbyists taking on positions throughout our government. This means they work for the citizens now, right? Not a chance. They continue to work for their former corporate employers, seeking to do their bidding from the inside, at all of our expense.
In this case, we are referring to Keith Noreika, Trump's pick to head the federal agency that oversees national banks. A Washington attorney, Noreika has specialized in representing banks fighting against state regulations and class-action lawsuits accusing banks of deceptive practices.
He is now the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a position he can serve for 130 days without Senate approval and during which he does not have to abide by stricter ethics rules governing permanent appointees. As head of the OCC, Noreika will be well-positioned to lighten regulations on banks — without the need for Congress to pass legislation. Among the targets may be the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul, which made it easier for states to hold national banks accountable. Noreika has criticized the law’s burdens, while Trump has called it “horrendous.” Under Dodd-Frank, the head of the OCC has broad power to review and preempt states’ consumer finance laws.
This is occurring throughout OUR government as the White House installs former lobbyist intent on destroyed meaningful regulations, meaning corporations are re-writing the very rules meant to keep them in check and protect us.
Noreika’s ascension fits into a broader pattern of Trump administration appointees. Many of them have worked to influence the same agencies they’ve now been assigned to lead. And while Trump has been slow to name people to positions that require Senate confirmation, he has been quick to install officials out of public view.