Darrin Benhart and Bethany Dugan Named to Deputy Comptroller Posts

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced two appointments today, naming Darrin Benhart Deputy Comptroller for Supervision Risk Management and Bethany Dugan Deputy Comptroller for Operational Risk.

Mr. Benhart will serve as full-time chair of the agency’s National Risk Committee, a new position created in response to a recommendation from the international peer review of the OCC's supervision of large and midsize institutions, which was conducted last year. The risk committee is charged with identifying primary and emerging areas of risk affecting national banks and federal savings associations and ensuring that they are communicated throughout the agency and to the industry. Among the risk committee’s products are the OCC’s Semiannual Risk Perspective, which provides an overview of risk areas the OCC believes are most significant. Mr. Benhart currently serves as Deputy Comptroller for Credit and Market Risk.

Ms. Dugan, who is currently Examiner in Charge of Citizens Bank, NA in Providence, RI, will now oversee development of policy and examination procedures that address operational risk issues, including bank information technology. She succeeds Carolyn DuChene, who was recently named Examiner in Charge of MUFG Union Bank, NA, San Francisco.

Both positions report to Jennifer C. Kelly, Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy and Chief National Bank Examiner.

“I’m very pleased that we have men and women of the caliber of Darrin and Beth to fill these important positions,” Ms. Kelly said.

“Darrin has played a key role in the OCC’s efforts to monitor and address risk in the national banking system, and he has served as co-chair of the National Risk Committee for the past three years,” Ms. Kelly added. “This new position will enhance the OCC’s ability to address risk in the system, and nobody is better qualified than Darrin to fill this role. He has a deep understanding of the industry, strong analytical skills and a well-deserved reputation for collaboration across the agency.”

Ms. Kelly said Ms. Dugan’s background would serve her well in her new position.

“Operational risk has been a key concern for the OCC for several years now, and Beth has held a number of key positions that have amply prepared her to assume responsibility for policy in this area,” Ms. Kelly said. “Of particular importance today is cybersecurity, which falls under operational risk, and Beth has spent a number of years as an Information Technology (IT) specialist in both community bank and large bank supervision.”

Ms. Dugan joined the OCC in 1987 and was commissioned as a National Bank Examiner in 1993. She gained specialized skills in information technology, eventually becoming the IT Lead Expert in the Southeastern District. She transitioned to Large Bank Supervision in 1998 as an IT specialist, and was selected to serve as a team leader on the Wells Fargo supervision staff with responsibility for IT, operational risk, audit, corporate governance, and Basel II coordination. Three years later, she was named Examiner in Charge of Citizens Bank, NA.

Mr. Benhart was heavily involved in the agency’s efforts to implement the recommendations of the Supervision Peer Review, which brought together a group of senior international regulators to evaluate the OCC’s supervision of large and midsize banks and make recommendations on how that work could be improved. He chaired one of the teams charged with studying the international group’s findings and making recommendations on how to implement them.

Mr. Benhart was named Deputy Comptroller for Credit and Market Risk in August 2011. Prior to that he served as Director for Commercial Credit in the agency’s Credit and Market Risk division, where he oversaw a team responsible for commercial credit policy issues and commercial credit analytics.

A commissioned national bank examiner experienced in dealing with both community banks and large institutions, Mr. Benhart has served in a variety of technical and managerial roles since joining the OCC in 1992.