View source for Office of Thrift Supervision

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Update|inaccurate=yes|article|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name  = Office of Thrift Supervision
|nativename  =
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|formed    = 9 August 1989
|preceding1  = [[Federal Home Loan Bank Board]]
|preceding2  =
|dissolved   = 21 July 2011
|superseding  = [[Office of the Comptroller of the Currency]] (OCC)<br />[[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] (FDIC)<br />[[Federal Reserve Board of Governors]]<br />[[United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau|Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]] (CFPB)
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|headquarters = [[Washington, D.C.]]
|coordinates   = 
|employees   = 1024 (2007)
|budget    = [[US$]]250 million (2008)
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|chief1_name   = [[John E. Bowman]], Acting Director
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|parent_agency = [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]]
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|website    = http://www.ots.treas.gov/
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The '''Office of Thrift Supervision''' ('''OTS''') was a [[List of federal agencies in the United States|United States federal agency]] under the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] that chartered, supervised, and regulated all federally chartered and state-chartered savings banks and savings and loans associations. It was created in 1989 as a renamed version of the [[Federal Home Loan Bank Board]], another federal agency (that was faulted for its role in the [[savings and loan crisis]]). Like other U.S.&nbsp;federal bank regulators, it was paid by the banks it regulated. The OTS was initially seen as an aggressive regulator, but was later lax. Declining revenues and staff led the OTS to [[Regulatory capture|market itself to companies as a lax regulator]] in order to get revenue.

The OTS also expanded its oversight to companies that were not banks. Some of the companies that failed under OTS supervision during the [[financial crisis of 2007–2010]] include [[American International Group]] (AIG), [[Washington Mutual]], and [[IndyMac]].

The OTS was implicated in a backdating scandal regarding the balance sheet of IndyMac. Section 312 of the [[Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act]] dissolved the OTS, transferring its functions to other agencies.

==Funding==
OTS did not receive a government budget; instead, they were funded by the banks they regulate, like other U.S. federal bank regulators.<ref name="The Watchmen. p. 11">The Watchmen. p. 11.</ref> Other regulatory agencies like the OTS include the [[Office of the Comptroller of the Currency]], the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation|FDIC]], the [[Federal Reserve System]], and the [[National Credit Union Administration]].

If banks regulated by OTS fail, revenues for the agency decline; conversely, if the OTS regulates more banks, revenues increase.<ref name="The Watchmen. p. 11"/>

==History==
The OTS was established in 1989 in response to the [[savings and loan crisis]]. On television, President [[George H. W. Bush]] said,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/106021328|title = Bank Crisis Through the Ages| website=[[NPR]] }}</ref>
{{quote|Never again will America allow any insured institution to operate normally if owners lack sufficient tangible capital to protect depositors and taxpayers alike.}}
and "trashed" the predecessor [[Federal Home Loan Bank Board]]; soon thereafter, the sign was changed to the "Office of Thrift Supervision".<ref>The Watchmen. p. 10–11.</ref> Savings and Loan legislation—the [[Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989]]—"abolished",<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/195.html
 |title=Records of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB)
 |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]
 |access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref> or renamed, the independent Federal Home Loan Bank Board to the Office of Thrift Supervision and placed it under [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] supervision.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nominee Seen for Top Savings Regulator |first=Nathaniel C. |last=Cash |newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 March 1990 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/09/business/nominee-seen-for-top-savings-regulator.html |access-date=27 November 2009}}</ref> On 22 March 1990, in a setback to the George H. W. Bush administration, Federal District Judge [[Royce C. Lamberth]] ruled that OTS appointments of the former director and acting director, [[Danny Wall|M. Danny Wall]] and [[Salvatore R. Martoche]], had been unconstitutional because they were not nominated by the President and confirmed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Setback for Bailout and Savings Regulator |first=Nathaniel C. |last=Cash |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 March 1990 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/22/business/setback-for-bailout-and-savings-regulator.html |access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref>

In 1992, under Director T. Timothy Ryan, the OTS aggressively shut down troubled Savings and Loan (S&L) outfits, and was criticized by the industry and industry lawyers for not allowing some S&Ls that might survive to have a chance.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thrift Office's Eager Terminator |author=Leslie Wayne |newspaper=The New York Times |date=21 January 1992 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/21/business/thrift-office-s-eager-terminator.html |access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref> Ryan contrasted the OTS cleanup of the S&L industry to the former situation.

{{quote|We're the regulator of the industry. We aren't the trade association and we're not its promoter. That's how they got into trouble the last time. They had a regulator who was a promoter.}}

S&Ls were "dropping like flies" and this presented problems for OTS staff—declining revenues led to a declining staff.<ref name="The Watchmen. p. 11"/> The OTS responded by marketing itself at industry meetings.<ref name="The Watchmen. p. 11"/> At one such meeting, federal regulators were "announcing a campaign to ease regulation" and they were in a photo-op over a stack of the federal regulations—holding garden shears signaling their intent to cut through them.<ref name="The Watchmen. p. 11"/> OTS Director James Gilleran brought a [[chainsaw]].<ref name="The Watchmen. p. 11"/> "Companies got the message."<ref>The Watchmen. p. 12.</ref> In 1998, OTS approved 43 charters, with more than a third going to non-banks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Silverman |first=Gary |date=22 March 1999 |title=Commentary: It's a Wonderful Loophole |url=http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1999/b3621138.arc.htm |url-status=dead |work=[[BusinessWeek]] |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20121023000000/http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1999/b3621138.arc.htm |archive-date=23 October 2012 |access-date=6 January 2010}}</ref> In 2004 Gilleran said "our goal is to allow thrifts to operate with a wide breadth of freedom from regulatory intrusion".<ref name=PlayedAdvocate/> The OTS "adopted an aggressively deregulatory stance toward the mortgage lenders it regulated... [and] allowed the reserves the banks held as a buffer against losses to dwindle to a historic low."<ref name=PlayedAdvocate>{{cite news |first1=Binyamin |last1=Appelbaum |last2=Nakashima |first2=Ellen |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112202213.html |title=Banking Regulator Played Advocate Over Enforcer: Agency Let Lenders Grow Out of Control, Then Fail |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=23 November 2008}}</ref>

In March 2007, a [[Government Accountability Office]] report noted that "In contrast [to the [[Federal Reserve]]], a substantial minority of the firms OTS oversees—especially the large, complex ones—have primary businesses other than those traditionally engaged in by thrifts, such as insurance, securities, or commercial activities."<ref>{{cite report |last=Government Accountability Office |author-link=Government Accountability Office |date=15 March 2007 |title=Financial Market Regulation: Agencies Engaged in Consolidated Supervision Can Strengthen Performance Measurement and Collaboration |url=http://www.gao.gov/htext/d07154.html |language=en |id=GAO-07-154 |access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref>

Section 312 of the [[Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act]] transferred OTS functions to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Board, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as of 21 July 2011. The OTS ceased to exist on 19 October 2011.

The end of the OTS prompted at least one thrift, [[Thrivent Financial for Lutherans]], to convert to a credit union rather than meet the "strict" insurance regulations set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rubenstein |first=Jim |date=5 April 2012 |title=Thrivent Financial Bank Still on Track to Become Credit Union |url=https://www.cutimes.com/2012/04/05/thrivent-financial-bank-still-on-track-to-become-c/ |work=Credit Union Times |access-date=19 June 2019 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

==Reform==
* In 2008, then Treasury Secretary [[Henry Paulson]] proposed merging the OTS with the [[Office of the Comptroller of the Currency]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Westbrook |first1=Jesse |last2=Vekshin |first2=Alison |date=31 March 2008 |title=Paulson Plan Endorses Fed's Enhanced Market Authority |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZ.m2Z1hfGoY&refer=home |url-status=dead |work=Bloomberg |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121011600/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZ.m2Z1hfGoY&refer=home |archive-date=21 January 2013 |access-date=7 January 2010 }}</ref>
* On 17 June 2009 President [[Barack Obama]] announced that he would ask the [[United States Congress]] to merge OTS into the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates federally chartered banks.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obama Sought a Wide Range of Views on Finance Rules |last=Labaton |first=Stephen |newspaper=The New York Times |date=17 June 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/business/17regulate.html}}</ref>
* In 2009, both the House and Senate proposals included merging OTS with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.<ref>{{cite news |title=20 ways US House, Senate financial reforms differ |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2919483620100106 |work=[[Reuters]] |publisher=[[Thomson Reuters]] |date=6 January 2010 |access-date=7 January 2010}}</ref>
* In 2010, the US Senate passed legislation that would strengthen oversight of large financial institutions, but would continue to allow smaller banks to shop for their own regulator, a loophole sought by the [[Independent Community Bankers of America]] and the [[American Bankers Association]].<ref>{{cite news |title=New financial rules might not prevent next crisis |last2=Jacobs |first2=Stevenson |last1=Wagner |first1=Daniel |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=23 May 2010 |url=http://www.sify.com/finance/new-financial-rules-might-not-prevent-next-crisis-news-international-kfyaElehaadsi.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621045012/http://www.sify.com/finance/new-financial-rules-might-not-prevent-next-crisis-news-international-kfyaElehaadsi.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 June 2019}}</ref>

==Responsibilities==
OTS supervised [[holding companies]] as well as [[thrift institutions]]. This resulted in OTS providing consolidated supervision for such well-known firms as [[General Electric]] (GE), [[American International Group|AIG, Inc.]], [[Ameriprise Financial]], [[American Express]], [[Morgan Stanley]], and [[Merrill Lynch]]. OTS's consolidated supervision program for GE, AIG Inc., and Ameriprise was recognized as "equivalent" by the [[European Union]]—allowing these firms to operate their financial businesses in the EU without forming an EU holding company and submitting to supervision in the EU.

The OTS was the primary regulator of [[Federal Savings Associations]] (sometimes referred to as Federal thrifts). Federal savings associations include both Federal Savings Banks and Federal [[Savings and Loan]]s. The OTS was also responsible for supervising Savings and Loan Holding Companies (SLHCs) and some state-chartered institutions.

==Institutions regulated==
The following are some of the larger institutions that were regulated by the OTS:
* [[American Express]] Bank, FSB – Salt Lake City, UT
* [[American International Group]] – New York City, NY (''Note 4'')
* [[Astoria Federal Savings and Loan Association]] – Long Island City, NY
* [[BankUnited]], FSB – Coral Gables, FL now (BankUnited)
* [[Capital One]], F.S.B. – McLean, VA (''Note 1'')
* [[Chevy Chase Bank]], Federal Savings Bank – McLean, VA
* [[Citicorp]] Trust Bank, FSB – Wilmington, DE
* [[Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania]] – Philadelphia, PA
* [[Countrywide Bank]], FSB - Alexandria, VA (''Note 2'' - now a part of [[Bank of America]])
* [[Downey Savings]], F.A. – Newport Beach, CA (now a part of [[US Bank]])
* [[E-Trade]] Bank – Arlington, VA
* [[Flagstar Bank]], FSB – Troy, MI
* [[Guaranty Bank (Texas)|Guaranty Bank]] – Austin, TX
* [[H&R Block Bank]] - Kansas City, MO
* [[Hudson City Savings Bank]], FSB – Paramus, NJ
* [[IndyMac Bank]], FSB – Pasadena, CA (''Note 3'')
* [[ING Group|ING Bank]], FSB – Wilmington, DE
* [[New York Community Bank]] – Flushing, NY
* [[Ohio Savings Bank]] / [[Amtrust]] – Cleveland, OH
* [[PFF Bank & Trust]] - Rancho Cucamonga, CA (''Note 2'' - now part of US Bank)
* [[Sovereign Bank]] – Wyomissing, PA
* [[USAA]] Federal Savings Bank – San Antonio, TX
* [[Washington Mutual]] FSB - Seattle, WA (''Note 2'' - now a part of [[JPMorgan Chase]])
* [[WSFS Bank|Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB]] - Wilmington, DE

===Indymac===
In March 2008, OTS Director [[John M. Reich]] stated that the Savings and Loan industry remained vibrant due to the effectiveness of regulators.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obstacles Seen as Treasury Proposes New Financial Rules |author=Stephen LaBaton |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 November 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/business/31cnd-regulate.html |access-date=22 November 2009}}</ref> Reich blamed Indymac's 11 July 2008 failure on $1.3bn of withdrawals in the fortnight following concerns raised from Senator [[Chuck Schumer]] over the bank's solvency.<ref>{{cite news |title=US Treasury credit deal to shore up Freddie and Fannie |author=James Daley |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=14 July 2008 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/us-treasury-credit-deal-to-shore-up-freddie-and-fannie-866954.html |access-date=27 November 2009 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/13/indymac.schumer/index.html |title=Schumer: Don't blame me for IndyMac failure |publisher=Cnn.com |date=13 July 2008 |access-date=26 November 2011}}</ref> Schumer faulted the OTS.<ref>{{cite news |title=US economy: Investigators target home loans at failed California bank |author=Andrew Clark |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=16 July 2008 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/jul/16/useconomy.subprimecrisis1 |access-date=22 November 2009 |location=London}}</ref> The failure of [[IndyMac Bank]] was the fourth largest [[Bank run|bank failure]] in [[United States]] history.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrea |last=Shalal-Esa |title=FACTBOX: Top ten U.S. bank failures |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE48P0YC20080926 |work=Reuters |publisher=Thomson Reuters |date=25 September 2008 |access-date=26 September 2008}}</ref> Prior to IndyMac's failure on 11 July 2008, the bank had come to rely heavily on higher cost, less stable, brokered deposits, as well as secured borrowings, to fund its operations. The bank had focused on stated income and other aggressively underwritten loans in areas with rapidly escalating home prices, particularly in California and Florida.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2009/pr09001.html |title=FDIC Board Approves Letter of Intent to Sell IndyMac Federal |publisher=Fdic.gov |date=2 January 2009 |access-date=26 November 2011}}</ref>

On 21 July 2008, Mr. Reich described "interference with the regulatory process by reporting and disseminating speculation about the condition of financial institutions, thereby undermining public confidence in those institutions and causing serious harm" as a contributor to the failure of IndyMac as well as [[Fannie Mae]], [[Freddie Mac]] and [[Lehman Brothers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://files.ots.treas.gov/87169.pdf |title=Remarks to American Bankers Association Summer Meeting|date=21 July 2008 |access-date=26 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005041952/http://files.ots.treas.gov/87169.pdf |archive-date=5 October 2011}}</ref>

On 22 December 2008, Mr. Reich removed his agency's western director, Darrel W. Dochow for allowing IndyMac to backdate a capital infusion of $18 million from its parent company so that the bank would appear "well capitalized" in its 10-Q for the period ending 31 March 2008. According to a source with knowledge of the incident, at another point Mr. Dochow limited the scope of a review by OTS regulators of IndyMac's portfolio of loans and other assets, overruling the advice of others in the agency.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Binyamin |last1=Appelbaum |last2=Nakashima |first2=Ellen |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/22/AR2008122201301_pf.html |title=Regulator Let IndyMac Bank Falsify Report |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=23 December 2008 |access-date=26 November 2011}}</ref> Mr. Dochow played a central role in the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s, overriding a recommendation by federal bank examiners in San Francisco to seize Lincoln Savings, the giant savings and loan owned by Charles Keating. Mr. Reich called the backdating irregularity "a relatively small factor" in the collapse of IndyMac.<ref>{{cite news|last=Andrews |first=Edmund L. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/business/23thrift.html |title=Irregularity Uncovered at IndyMac |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 December 2008 |access-date=26 November 2011}}</ref>

On 12 February 2009, Mr. Reich resigned, announcing he would step down 27 February.<ref name="washington.bizjournals.com">{{cite news|url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/02/09/daily83.html |title=OTS director Reich resigns |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=26 November 2011 |first=Bryant Ruiz |last=Switzky |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]]}}</ref>

On 26 February 2009, the Treasury Department's inspector general released a report citing laxity at the OTS under Reich for adding significantly to the $10.7 billion in FDIC losses from the IndyMac failure, as well as the estimated $270 million in losses suffered by uninsured depositors. The report concluded that, under the law, OTS should have taken Prompt Corrective Action against IndyMac in May 2008.<ref>{{cite report |last=Treasury Office of Inspector General |url=https://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/ig/Documents/oig09032.pdf |title=SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS: Material Loss Review of IndyMac Bank, FSB |archive-date=19 April 2009 |date=26 February 2009 |id=OIG-09-032|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419101451/http://www.ustreas.gov/inspector-general/audit-reports/2009/oig09032.pdf}}</ref> Commenting on the report, Inspector General Eric Thorson dismissed Reich's claim that Senator Schumer's letters caused the failure. Marla Freedman, the assistant inspector general for audit, detailed a pattern of excess risk-taking and abuse of the lending process at IndyMac and the OTS's consistent and concurrent failure to act. Mr. Reich said in a letter to the inspector general that he agreed with the agency's filings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Heisel |first=William |date=26 February 2009 |title=Federal regulators ignored problems at IndyMac, report finds |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-indymacweb27-2009feb27,0,4269053.story |url-status=dead |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303234133/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-indymacweb27-2009feb27%2C0%2C4269053.story |archive-date=3 March 2009}}</ref>

On 27 February 2009, Mr. Reich stepped down amidst the continuing audit of backdating at IndyMac and four other institutions.<ref>{{cite news|last=Crittenden |first=Michael R. |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123569400027088259?mod=loomia&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r3:c0.107371:b0#articleTabs%3Darticle |title=Regulators Missed Woes at IndyMac |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal| url-access=subscription |date=27 February 2009 |access-date=26 November 2011}}</ref> Scott Polakoff, OTS senior deputy director and chief operating officer, hired under Mr. Reich, became acting director on his departure.

On 26 March 2009, Polakoff was removed and placed on leave by [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Timothy Geithner]], amidst an announced further review and investigation of the backdating scandal by the U.S. Treasury's Inspector General.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chadbourn |first=Margaret |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_NjQg96RSdk |title=Treasury's Watchdog Reviewing Backdating of Capital at Thrifts |work=Bloomberg |date=27 March 2009 |access-date=26 November 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208211239/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a_NjQg96RSdk |archive-date=8 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===AIG===
The OTS was pressed by the [[Senate Banking Committee]] to admit partial blame for the failure of [[American International Group]] (AIG).<ref name=SenatorsAsk>{{cite news |title=Senators Ask Who Got Money From A.I.G. |author=Mary Williams Walsh |newspaper=The New York Times |date=5 March 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/business/economy/06insure.html |access-date=27 November 2009}}</ref> In a congressional hearing, after [[Donald Kohn]] described how there was no regulator for [[AIG Financial Products]] or the company overall, Scott Polakoff interrupted.<ref name=P8>The Watchmen. p. 8.</ref><ref>{{cite video
 |people   = [[Christopher J. Dodd]] (Majority statements), Donald Kohn (witness), Scott M. Polakoff (witness), Eric Dinallo (witness)
 |date    = 5 March 2009
 |title   = American International Group: Examining what went wrong, government intervention, and implications for future regulation
 |url    = http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.LiveStream&Hearing_id=1655fd01-154e-48de-9fd8-2832a68f04d6
 |time       = 77:08 minutes in
 |publisher = [[United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs]]
 |location  = 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 538
 |access-date =13 December 2009}}</ref> Polakoff stated that it was time for the OTS to take some responsibility because they had been "deemed an acceptable regulator for both US domestic and international operations".<ref>The Watchmen. p. 8–9.</ref>

Due to OTS regulation of AIG, the [[Mayfair]]-based (London, UK) AIG Financial Products division was not subject to [[Financial Services Authority]] regulation.<ref>{{cite news |title=AIG London unit not regulated by FSA |author=Richard Northedge |newspaper=The Independent |date=15 March 2009 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/aig-london-unit-not-regulated-by-fsa-1645223.html |access-date=27 November 2009}}</ref> OTS regulation allowed France's {{ill|Commission Bancaire|fr|Commission bancaire (France)}} to grant approval for a Paris-based banking subsidiary, Banque AIG. The Mayfair-based AIG Financial Products division then opened under a system which allowed branch openings in member countries after one EU regulator's approval.

That OTS was the primary regulator of AIG has been described as "nonsense"<ref>{{cite news |title=Office of Thrift Supervision |author=Lex team |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |date=26 May 2009 |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3/53e1aeda-49fe-11de-8e7e-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/GlgZ0 |archive-date=11 December 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=21 November 2009 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> and compared to "the super-heavyweight of the world going up against the 65 lb, 13-year-old, class weakling".<ref>The Watchmen. p. 10</ref> AIG operates in 130 countries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Senators Call AIG 'Lost Cause' |first=Brady |last=Dennis |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=6 March 2009 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/05/AR2009030503264.html |access-date=27 November 2009}}</ref> The OTS had a small division that monitored [[Derivative (finance)|derivatives]] including the [[credit default swap]]s at AIG.<ref name=PP>{{cite news |title=Was AIG Watchdog Not Up to the Job? |author=Jeff Gerth |author-link=Jeff Gerth |newspaper=[[ProPublica]], [[MSN Money]] |date=10 November 2008 |url=https://www.propublica.org/feature/was-aig-watchdog-not-up-to-the-job |access-date=28 November 2009 |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20081216000000/https://www.propublica.org/feature/was-aig-watchdog-not-up-to-the-job |archive-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After a dispute with [[Goldman Sachs]] in 2007 over the value of the credit default swaps,<ref name=email>[https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/30/politics/washingtonpost/main6037444.shtml AIG E-Mail Trail Chronicles Crisis – Washington Post: Messages Sent Between Executives Track Insurance Giant's Colossal Collapse]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} 30 December 2009. ''Washington Post'' (On ''CBS News'').</ref> the OTS did not initiate formal enforcement action, but "periodically raised concerns with AIG managers".<ref name=PP/> Other sources of concern were the three [[credit rating agencies]] and AIG's auditor [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]].<ref name=email/> In March 2008, after AIG disclosed valuation problems, the OTS sent a letter to AIG requesting a "corrective action plan" in 30 days.<ref name=PP/> The division overseeing AIG Financial Products was "quietly disbanded" and AIG missed their deadline.<ref name=PP/>

==Locations==
In addition to being headquartered in Washington D.C., OTS had regional offices in [[Atlanta]], [[Dallas]], [[Jersey City]], [[San Francisco]], and [[Chicago]].

==See also==
* [[Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]
* [[2009 United States bank failures]]
* [[Bank regulation in the United States]]
* [[List of financial regulatory authorities by jurisdiction]]

==Notes==
* (''NOTE 1''): Now a national bank supervised by the [[Office of the Comptroller of the Currency]]
* (''NOTE 2''): Has failed and subsequently been acquired by a national bank
* (''NOTE 3''): Has failed and is now under receivership with the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]]
* (''NOTE 4''): Has effectively been nationalized and is currently run by the [[United States Department of Treasury]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Sources
* {{cite episode |title=The Watchmen |episode-link=List of 2009 This American Life episodes |series=This American Life |series-link=This American Life |credits=Chana Joffe-Walt ([[Planet Money]]) |network=[[Public Radio International]] |station=[[Chicago Public Radio]] |airdate=5 June 2009 |number=382 |minutes=8:40–30:33}} [http://www.thisamericanlife.org/sites/default/files/382_transcript.pdf Transcript] (PDF).

==External links==
* {{cite news |title=Banking Regulator Played Advocate Over Enforcer: Agency Let Lenders Grow Out of Control, Then Fail |first1=Binyamin |last1=Appelbaum |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=23 November 2008 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112202213.html |last2=Nakashima |first2=Ellen}}
* {{cite web |title=Office of Thrift Supervision |url=http://www.ots.treas.gov/ |access-date=7 October 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709162335/https://www.ots.treas.gov/ |archive-date=9 July 2011}} (the OTS's address redirects to the OCC's website)
* {{cite web |title=Information about OTS |website=hoovers.com |url=http://www.hoovers.com/ots/--ID__139354--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml?cm_ven=PAID&cm_cat=INK&cm_pla=CO1&cm_ite=ots |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922211547/http://www.hoovers.com/ots/--ID__139354--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml?cm_ven=PAID&cm_cat=INK&cm_pla=CO1&cm_ite=ots |archive-date=22 September 2007 |access-date=13 April 2006 }}

{{Bank regulation in the United States}}
{{US Treasury agencies}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Government agencies established in 1989]]
[[Category:United States Department of the Treasury agencies|Thrift Supervision]]
[[Category:Financial regulatory authorities of the United States]]