Sign For Banking Reform: Mehrsa Baradaran for Comptroller

[Hoai-An Truong]

Please sign for banking reform at the federal level. Thanks!

"The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is a little-known but incredibly powerful office in our federal government. It decides which companies can bank in the United States and sets standards for banks' activities in our poor and minority communities.

Right now, President Biden is in the process of naming someone to lead the OCC."

Here's the link to Mehrsa Baradaran's Wikipedia page.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
Date: Mon, Jan 25, 2021 at 2:33 PM
Subject: Fwd: Mehrsa Baradaran for Comptroller

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is a little-known but incredibly powerful office in our federal government. It decides which companies can bank in the United States and sets standards for banks' activities in our poor and minority communities.

Right now, President Biden is in the process of naming someone to lead the OCC. He's likely to nominate Michael Barr — a former Obama administration official who has deep ties to the exploitative powers of fintech and cryptocurrency — over Mehrsa Baradaran, a banking law professor who supports reparations, postal banking, and is an expert on the racial wealth gap.

We need to speak out about this before it's too late. Will you join us and add your name to our petition insisting that Biden nominate Mehrsa Baradaran for the Comptroller of the Currency over Michael Barr?

Add your name » 

Putting Baradaran in charge would be a start to enacting much-needed systemic change in our nation. Her nomination would mean more than just healing from the last four years.

The OCC is an agency that historically let predatory lending flourish around the country, causing systemic harm to Black, brown, and Native American communities. This won't end with the Biden administration — especially if we pick someone like Michael Barr.

Progressives everywhere are pushing for Baradaran's appointment because we understand how important it is to have someone who can meet the urgency of the moment and address issues that, once solved, can provide much-needed financial security and healing to our communities.

This is yet another opportunity for us to keep the pressure on President Biden. Add your name to our petition and send a message that we must nominate Mehrsa Baradaran as Comptroller of the Currency.

Add your name » 

Thanks for taking action,

Team Bowman

 

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[Hoai-An Truong]

NY Times article:

Progressives Are Seething Over Biden’s Likely Pick for Banking Regulator

A former Obama administration official is the front-runner to be comptroller of the currency. The prospect has angered groups hoping for more dramatic reform.

“Black, Brown and Native communities are often the first victims of predatory banking and financing,” Vasudha Desikan, the Action Center’s political director, said in a statement emailed to journalists on Thursday. “We need a longtime advocate for racial and economic justice, like Mehrsa Baradaran, who understands this and can close the deepening racial wealth gap.”

...

And in Mr. Greenberger’s view, the difference between the two choices is not between good and evil. Rather, he said, it is akin to whether the office’s leader will be an activist, striking out in a new direction, or whether the agency will hew closer to the status quo.

“[Michael Barr] will not be a bad regulator,” Mr. Greenberger said. “But he will not be a leading reform regulator.”