OCC Announces New Senior Executives

WASHINGTON — Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry today announced Grace Dailey will become Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy and Chief National Bank Examiner and Grovetta Gardineer will fill the newly created position of Senior Deputy Comptroller for Compliance and Community Affairs.

Ms. Dailey will succeed Jennifer Kelly, who is retiring at the end of April after 37 years of service to the OCC. Ms. Gardineer assumes her new title and responsibilities immediately.

“The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the federal banking system are fortunate to have someone as skilled as Grace to step up for one of our most important positions,” said Comptroller Curry. “Since joining the agency in 1983, Grace has honed her keen skill and sound judgment supervising banks of all sizes. She exemplifies what it is to be an OCC leader and understands the kind of policy and support our supervisory staff needs to keep national banks and federal savings associations safe and sound.”

In her new position, Ms. Dailey will direct the formulation of policies and procedures for supervising and examining national banks and federal savings associations. She will serve on the agency's Executive Committee and Committee on Bank Supervision. Ms. Dailey previously served as a National Bank Examiner, Assistant Deputy Comptroller in Midsize and Community Bank Supervision, Examiner-in-Charge of two of the nation’s largest banks, and Deputy Comptroller for Large Bank Supervision.

In announcing the creation of the Senior Deputy Comptroller for Compliance and Community Affairs position, Comptroller Curry explained, “The new role grows from one of the lessons that we—the industry and our agency—have learned since the end of the most recent financial crisis, that compliance risk management deficiencies pose safety and soundness risks. Accordingly, we need to focus on compliance as we focus on safety and soundness. They are two sides of the same coin and require dedicated staff and infrastructure to ensure the appropriate balance.”

In this new role, Ms. Gardineer will serve as a member of the agency’s Executive Committee and Committee on Bank Supervision. She will oversee compliance exams of national banks and federal savings associations and will manage the agency’s Community Affairs and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) programs. In addition, Ms. Gardineer retains her responsibilities for policy and examination procedures relating to consumer issues and anti-money laundering. She will continue to represent the OCC on interagency groups and activities related to compliance, CRA, fair lending, and the Bank Secrecy Act.

Ms. Gardineer has more than 28 years of experience in bank supervision and regulation. Prior to joining the OCC, she worked for the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), where she served as the Managing Director for Corporate and International Activities. Before that, she was the Managing Director for Supervision Policy and was responsible for capital policy, credit risk, trust operations, accounting policy, and information technology risk. Ms. Gardineer also spent several years as an attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation handling enforcement actions and preparing financial services policies and regulations.

In announcing these new executive appointments, Comptroller Curry also noted the contributions Ms. Kelly made to the OCC and federal banking system. “Jennifer is a tremendous leader, a first-rate bank supervisor, and a remarkable person who will be deeply missed,” said the Comptroller. “She leaves behind a stronger agency than the one she found in 1979. I personally learned a great deal from Jennifer, and she enriched my time as Comptroller through her sage counsel and her friendship. The OCC and the federal banking system are better for her years of service.”