Comptroller of the Currency Dugan, a top bank regulator, to depart Aug. 14 when term ends

Key bank regulator Dugan will step down next month

WASHINGTON — The top regulator of the largest U.S. banks will leave office when his term expires next month.

Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, a Bush appointee and former bank lobbyist, plans to depart the job on Aug. 14. He announced his plans Thursday in a letter to President Barack Obama.

Dugan runs the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees national banks and U.S. divisions of foreign banks. It regulates the largest Wall Street retail banks, as well as 1,500 smaller institutions. Banks overseen by the OCC control more than half the banking assets in the industry.

In the letter to Obama, Dugan said his agency deserves credit for helping to stabilize the banking system after its worst crisis in generations.

He cites the OCC’s role in administering stress tests to some of the biggest banks. The tests were meant to show if banks had enough money to withstand a deeper recession.

The tests were successful in soothing the financial markets after months of white-knuckle swings. They helped reassure investors that banks were safe and the worst of the crisis was over.

Dugan has been criticized for pushing policies that benefit the financial industry at the expense of consumers. He blocked states’ attempts to crack down on abusive lending by national banks.

His concern: It would be too costly and confusing for banks to follow many different sets of rules.

That argument is popular among bank lobbyists seeking to weaken proposed regulations.

Dugan was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005.