Thrift Regulator Reich Leaving OTS

Office of Thrift Supervision director John Reich said he is leaving his post as the chief supervisor of 800 federally chartered thrift institutions at the end of this month. OTS senior director Scott Polakoff will serve as acting director until President Obama nominates a new director to run the agency. During his four-year tenure at OTS, Mr. Reich witnessed the demise of some of the largest savings and loans in history. Washington Mutual, IndyMac Bank and Countrywide failed on his watch. The OTS director was the most reluctant of federal banking regulators to tighten subprime and Alt-A lending underwriting guidelines. He generally insisted on giving thrifts the most flexibility in setting their lending polices. Mr. Reich was a Sarasota, Fla., banker before he came to Washington to work on the staff of former Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla. President Bush nominated Mr. Reich to run OTS in 2005.