Patomak Global Partners today announced former acting Comptroller of the Currency and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Partner Keith Noreika joined the firm to head its Banking Supervision and Regulation Group.

“We are thrilled to add Keith’s deep expertise and unique experience in financial services and banking regulation to our bench of industry-leading experts,” said Patomak’s Chief Executive Paul S. Atkins. “For more than two decades, Keith has been one of the top counselors to the financial world providing keen policy insights, sound regulatory and compliance guidance, and actionable risk management advice to help clients succeed in their complex and ever-changing environments.”

Mr. Noreika joined the firm as Executive Vice President and Banking Supervision and Regulation Group Chairman today. Mr. Noreika reports directly to Mr. Atkins and functions as his primary deputy. In this role, he leads Patomak’s projects related to the U.S. banking industry, as well as those clients that span beyond traditional banking including financial technology and cryptocurrency companies. He is the company’s focal point for c-suite advice on compliance and regulatory requirements at all levels – both domestic and international. He expands the team’s expertise in banking and prudential supervision, adding to its already unmatched group of experts in financial and capital markets and commodities.

“Patomak has become the first choice for global players seeking advice and insight on emerging market opportunities and risks, as well as how regulation and policies affect their ability to serve their customers and operate their businesses,” said Keith Noreika. “I look forward to working with the team at Patomak to deliver even greater value to our clients by anticipating their needs and giving them practical guidance that they can act on.”

Prior to joining Patomak, Mr. Noreika was a lead lawyer in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP’s financial institutions regulatory practice. In that role, he advised domestic and international financial institutions on regulatory issues relating to mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, capital issuances, structuring and compliance activities, and litigation matters.

In 2017, Mr. Noreika served as the acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), heading the independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that administers and oversees the federal banking system. There, he led nearly 4,000 people who supervised more than 1,400 national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks that conducted approximately 70 percent of banking activity in the country. Together, the team ensured these institutions operated in a safe and sound manner, provided fair access to financial services, treated customers fairly, and complied with laws and regulations. At the OCC, he worked to make regulation more accountable, improve the efficiency of chartering and licensing decisions, and sought the enhance the value of the national bank and federal thrift charters and their ability to meet the credit and banking needs of their communities. As acting Comptroller, Mr. Noreika also served as a Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

Mr. Noreika previously was a partner at Covington & Burling LLP.

Mr. Noreika has also been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review and earned his B.S. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.