There comes a time when even seasoned observers have to dust off their old college textbooks to look into an obscure topic they may have glossed over during their time in school. This refers to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: a powerful bureaucratic position.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was established by the National Currency Act amendments of 1964. Residing in the Department of Treasury, it has been the responsibility of the comptroller to "assure the safety and soundness of, and compliance with laws and regulations, fair access to financial services, and fair treatment of customers by, the institutions and other persons subject to its jurisdiction."
In its most basic form, the comptroller controls who can or cannot be considered a bank capable of issuing what the Federal Reserve considers money. Linguistically there is nothing special; rather it was just a variant of the word controller, which can be deduced when realizing it controls who can issue our currency.
It supervises 1,141 national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and associations of foreign banks, or simply, a significant position in the Federal apparatus. Uniformity in the banking sector is the job of the "comptroller," governing thousands of people's hard-earned money, a position no less important than someone at the State Department or Department of Defense.
Sources
“About Us.” Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), https://www.occ.treas.gov/about/index-about.html. Accessed 28 May 2023.
“U.S.C. Title 12 - BANKS AND BANKING.” GovInfo, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title12/html/USCODE-2011-title12.htm. Accessed 28 May 2023.
“U.S.C. Title 12 - BANKS AND BANKING.” GovInfo, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title12/html/USCODE-2011-title12.htm. Accessed 28 May 2023.
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