<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has named Coinbase chief legal officer Brian Brooks as its next Chief Operating Officer and First Deputy Comptroller, starting April 1, 2020. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brooks has been working as Coinbase's CLO since September 2018, leading its legal, compliance, and government relations efforts. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to a Monday </span><a href="https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2019/nr-occ-2019-5.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">announcement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by the OCC, he is set to resign from Coinbase and replace Morris Morgan as the OCC's Chief Operating Officer. The OCC is an independent bureau within the Treasury Department and is responsible for charting and regulating national banks within the United States.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brooks is also a board member of mortgage loan company Fannie Mae but will step down from that post following his appointment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Brian Brooks is a strong leader with extensive experience in the financial services sector," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who designated Brooks as the OCC’s first deputy comptroller, said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him to ensure the stability of our financial system and its ability to foster greater economic growth for the benefit of all Americans."</span></p>