Senate confirmation for expected Biden banking regular pick given slim chance

Capital Alpha Partners analyst Ian Katz on Thursday predicted a 35% chance that Cornell University law professor Saule Omarova will be approved by the U.S. Senate for the banking regulator job of running the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Omarava is a "polarizing" pick for the OCCC job as a critic of big banks, Katz said. She has suggested that the Fed should hold bank customer deposits on its balance sheet to democratize the financial system. "By separating banks' lending and monetary functions, banks wouldn't be special anymore, she wrote, marking the end of banking 'as we know it'," Katz wrote in a research note. Omarova also said the rise of cryptocurrencies mainly benefits the "dysfunctional financial system we already have," and could destabilize the economy. "We don't think Omarova would get a single Republican vote," Katz said. "So in a 50-50 Senate, she needs the support of every Democrat. We don't see it happening." Omarova will be nominated to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Bloomberg reported Wednesday. In August, The New York Times reported that Omarova was being vetted for the job.