The Treasury Department announced over the weekend that John Walsh will succeed John Dugan as the acting chief at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The selection skips a former acting comptroller of the currency. Dugan’s departure from the OCC, unveiled earlier this month, is expected on August 14. Walsh currently serves as chief of staff and public affairs at the OCC and has been there since 2005. “He has had long and impressive career in public service, including at the Office of Management and Budget, on Capitol Hill, and at Treasury,” said Treasury spokesperson Andrew Williams. “Given John’s background and his current role as Chief of Staff, he is well suited to lead the [financial reform] implementation effort, pending the appointment of a new Comptroller.” Under the recently passed financial reform legislation, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) will be merged into the OCC. Williams noted that Walsh will help the OCC address new international bank capital standards. An American Banker posting today noted the Treasury’s move to pick Walsh skipped the second-in-command at the OCC — Julie Williams — who was appointed chief counsel of the OCC in 1994. She currently serves as first senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel. Williams already served as acting comptroller of the currency, first from April to December 1998 and then from October 2004 through August 2005. “Julie Williams is one of the world’s leading experts on banking regulation and supervision, and she has done an outstanding job as chief counsel at the OCC,” the Treasury’s Williams said. “Her expertise and experience will be critical as the OCC implements financial reform.” The OCC would not comment on the Treasury’s pick for acting comptroller. Write to Diana Golobay.