The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) said Tuesday it would create two new divisions – one to handle systemic resolutions and the other devoted to consumer protection – in response to the enactment of the regulatory reform law.
The Office of Complex Financial Institutions will conduct "continuous" reviews and oversight of bank holding companies with more than $100 billion of assets, the agency said. The office will also examine any non-bank financial companies designated as systemically important by the systemic risk council.
The office is responsible for carrying out the FDIC's new resolution powers to seize and dismantle any failing large firm.
"The FDIC plans to vigorously implement its new authorities under the Dodd-Frank Act, which ends the presumption of 'too big to fail' for the largest and most complex financial institutions," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said in a press release. "The creation of our new Office of Complex Financial Institutions is a critical first step in this process."
Although the reform law created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the FDIC also said it will create a division of depositor and consumer protection. The agency said the new office will "provide increased visibility to the FDIC's compliance examination and enforcement program."
The agency acknowledged the creation of a consumer protection regulator, but noted that while the CFPB will write new rules, the FDIC still has the responsibility to enforce them for all institutions with less than $10 billion of assets.
The new division will "complement the activities of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," Bair said. "The FDIC supports the CFPB, and we are committed to doing our part in carrying out the consumer responsibilities Congress has entrusted to us."
