| From
Coinbase Brooks Into OCC With List of
Conflicts Withheld So Now FOIA Request
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- CJR -
PFT
UN GATE / SDNY
COURT, June 18 – May 29 was
the last day for Joseph Otting
as US Comptroller of the
Currency, a position he has
misused to attack the
Community Reinvestment Act he
came to despise as head of
OneWest Bank.
A
week later Ottting cashed out,
taking a paying position on
the board of directors of
Black Knight, described as a
fintech.
But if bank regulators
have a cooling off period, how
can the just former
Comptroller joint a fintech,
an industry he and his
successor worked and work to
get into the national banking
world?
As to
Acting Comptroller Brian
Brooks, Bloomberg reported
that "[a]s Coinbase’s chief
legal officer, Brooks was paid
$1.4 million in salary --
separate from the stock
options -- in the year and a
half he spent with company,
which had weighed seeking a
charter through the OCC before
making other moves to access
the banking system... He still
has stock and bond holdings
between $1 million and $2.2
million. Because he’s acting
comptroller -- not yet
nominated by President Donald
Trump to seek Senate
confirmation -- he’s not
required to take the ethics
pledge that would limit his
ability to work in lobbying
after he leaves the job,
according to an OCC spokesman.
However, Brooks has submitted
a letter through the agency’s
ethics office outlining
companies he’ll steer clear of
because of potential conflicts
of interest, including
Amazon.com Inc., Bank of
America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch
unit, Coinbase and a number of
other tech firms he’s worked
with.... Otting, who
left the job last month,
wasn’t out of work long. He
was tapped this week to join
the board of Black Knight
Inc., which provides software
for the mortgage industry."
Bloomberg did not delve into
that conflict of interest. And
what are the "other tech
firms" as to which Brooks is
acknowledging a conflict?
The
OCC wrote to Inner City Press,
faux apologizing for
withholding information it has
requested about Otting until
after he had left the agency.
Inner City Press immediately
wrote back requesting a copy
of Brooks' ethics letter and
list of companies as to which
even he acknowledges a
conflict of interest.
Today on
June 18, that simple request
was denied and so a FOIA
request filed: "This is a
request under FOIA on behalf
of Inner City Press and in my
personal capacity for all
records concerning conflicts
of interest or the appearance
of conflict of interest by
Acting Comptroller Brian
Brooks, including but not
limited to the Ethics letter
Inner City Press requested
from the OCC, below, and
Coinbase, Avant, OneWest and
any other firm. Inner
City Press in responding to a
request by OCC to "close out"
a FOIA request still not
completed asked "I do have an
OCC public information /
transparency question - for
the Acting Comptroller's
ethics filing - can it be sent
to me at
Matthew.Lee@innercitypress.com?
To identify it: "Brooks has
submitted a letter through the
agency's ethics office
outlining companies he'll
steer clear of because of
potential conflicts of
interest, including Amazon.com
Inc., Bank of America Corp.'s
Merrill Lynch unit, Coinbase
and a number of other tech
firms he's worked with." What
are those companies? Thanks,
-Matthew Lee, Inner City
Press" Days later and
minutes ago Inner City Press
received this: Good Morning
Mr. Lee.... I don't know
the answer to the question you
asked. You should file a
FOIA request for the records
you seek regarding the Acting
Comptroller. " This is that
request, on which expedited
treatment should be granted -
such disclosures are among the
very purposes of FOIA."
Watch this site.
Amid
all this, Fair Finance Watch
and Inner City Press /
Community on the Move have
launched a new project. And so
far, Brooks' national banks
have been among the worst.
Watch this site.
***
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