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Saule Omarova

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Saule Omarova
Omarova in 2018
Born (1966-11-02) November 2, 1966 (age 58)
Uralsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (now Oral, Kazakhstan)
EducationMoscow State University (BA)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (MA, PhD)
Northwestern University (JD)

Saule Tarikhovna Omarova (Russian: Сауле Тариховна Омарова,[1] Säule Tarihqyzy Omarova, Kazakh Cyrillic: Сәуле Тарихқызы Омарова;[2] born November 2, 1966[1]) is a Kazakh-American attorney, academic, and public policy advisor. She was the nominee for comptroller of the currency before her nomination was withdrawn at her request on December 7, 2021.[3][4]

Omarova is the Earle Hepburn Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where her work focuses on financial regulation, corporate governance, and the political economy of finance.[5] Omarova previously served as an advisor within the United States Department of the Treasury.[6] She is a Senior Berggruen Fellow at the Berggruen Institute in Los Angeles[7] and a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute.[8]

Early life and education

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Omarova was born in the West Kazakhstan Region of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic,[9] where she studied at Oral's School No. 21 before moving to Moscow in 1984. Omarova graduated from Moscow State University in 1989.[10]

Omarova moved to the United States in 1991 "with one suitcase and a fifty-dollar bill in my pocket".[11][12] She received a Ph.D in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW), and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.[13] At UW, Omarova defended her thesis, The Political Economy of Oil in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan.[14]

Career

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Omarova practiced law in the Financial Institutions Group of New York-based law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell for six years.[15] During the George W. Bush Administration, Omarova served in the Department of the Treasury as a special advisor on regulatory policy to the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance.[6] During her time as an associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Omarova testified as a witness at a U.S. Senate hearing on bank ownership of energy facilities and warehouses.[16]

Omarova joined Cornell Law School in 2014.[17] She was professor of law and public affairs from July 2014 to June 2019 and was named the Beth and Marc Goldberg Professor of Law in June 2019.[18] In 2025, she joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School as the Earle Hepburn Professor of Law.[19]

OCC nomination

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In August 2021, Omarova's name was floated as a potential contender to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) under President Joe Biden.[20] She was chosen to serve as comptroller of the currency in September 2021, pending Senate confirmation.[3][21] Omarova's nomination was endorsed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, who stated she would be a "fearless champion for consumers" in the role if confirmed.[22] Her nomination was criticized by credit unions and bank lobbyists.[4]

Her confirmation hearings occurred before the Senate Banking Committee on November 18, 2021.[23] Republicans were critical of her 2021 paper "The People's Ledger"[24] in which Omarova proposed that the Federal Reserve should provide consumer banking services.[23] Her confirmation hearing drew controversy, with Senator Patrick Toomey characterizing some of her views as "extreme leftist ideas."[23] Omarova's Kazakh origins were the subject of scrutiny from Republican lawmakers including Senator John Kennedy, who said to her, "I don't know whether to call you 'professor' or 'comrade,'" comments that drew rebukes from Democrats on the committee.[25]

Omarova also faced opposition from several moderate Democratic Senators, including Jon Tester, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.[26] On December 7, 2021, the White House announced that Omarova had withdrawn her name from nomination.[4]

Policy positions

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National Investment Authority

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Omarova is noted for her support for a "National Investment Authority" (NIA),[27] a proposal she has likened to New Deal-era programs. The proposal was first developed in 2015 in conjunction with Robert C. Hockett, a fellow professor of law at Cornell Law School.[28] Omarova has stated that the NIA would be responsible for "devising, financing, and executing a long-term national strategy of economic development and reconstruction."[29] In 2020, Omarova wrote a report for think tank Data for Progress, where she stated the "Green New Deal (GND) movement has successfully propelled [a] programmatic vision of an environmentally clean, just, and equitable future."[30]

The proposed NIA would be made up of two components: a "National Infrastructure Bank" (NIB), as well as a National Management Corporation (which she nicknames "Nicki Mac"), which would serve to invest in green technologies.[31] A 2020 article published in The New York Times reported that the proposed NIA would function in a manner similar to the Federal Reserve, and compared the NIA framework to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation created in 1932.[32]

Federal Reserve reform

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In a 2021 Vanderbilt Law Review article, "The People's Ledger: How to Democratize Money and Finance the Economy", Omarova proposed a comprehensive reform of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, offering what she wrote was "a blueprint for democratizing both access to money and control over financial flows in the nation's economy."[33] She called for the Federal Reserve to offer consumer bank accounts and become "the ultimate public platform for generating, modulating, and allocating financial resources in a modern economy," writing that the "radical reform outlined here is ultimately a more pragmatic and sensible response to the challenge of democratizing finance."[33]

Financial regulation

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According to a report by The New York Times, Omarova favors stricter regulations on cryptocurrencies and financial technology (fintech) companies.[20] In response to reports that Facebook may launch its own cryptocurrency, Omarova argued it was an example of "Big Tech companies [resorting] to ever more creative ways to expand a monopolistic and extractive business model under the guise of corporate activism."[34] In a paper by Omarova published in the Yale Journal on Regulation, "New Tech v. New Deal: Fintech as a Systemic Phenomenon" (2019), she argued that financial technology applications may amplify tensions and imbalances in financial markets and the broader economy, "render[ing] fintech a public policy challenge of the highest order."[35]

References

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  1. ^ a b see photo
  2. ^ Өмірбек, Дархан (October 21, 2021). ""Ол нағыз қазақ". АҚШ валюта басқармасы жетекшілігіне ұсынылған Сәуле Омарова кім?" ["She is a real Kazakh." Who is Saule Omarova nominated for the leadership of the US currency administration?]. Азаттық радиосы (in Kazakh). Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Biden to tap big-bank critic Omarova to head OCC - Bloomberg News". Reuters. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Statement of President Joe Biden and Nominee for Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Saule Omarova". The White House. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "Saule Omarova". www.law.upenn.edu. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Written Testimony of Saule T. Omarova Before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs "Fintech: Examining Digitization, Data, and Technology"" (PDF). United States Senate.
  7. ^ "Berggruen Institute Announces 2021-2022 Class of Fellows, Imagining New Possibilities for the Post-Covid World - News". Berggruen Institute. May 14, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "Saule Omarova". Roosevelt Institute. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  9. ^ "Байден Сәуле Омарованы Қаржы министрлігіндегі жоғары лауазымға тағайындамақ" [Biden intends to appoint Saule Omarova to a high position in the Ministry of Finance]. inbusiness.kz (in Kazakh). September 23, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Comptroller of the Economy". WSJ. September 30, 2021. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Olson, Tyler; DeMarche, Edmund (November 18, 2021). "Saule Omarova, Biden Treasury pick, grilled on past comments during Senate hearing: LIVE UPDATES". Fox News. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  12. ^ "Why Is This Happening? Saving the economy with Saule Omarova". NBC News. May 9, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "Saule Omarova". Cornell Law School. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  14. ^ Omarova, Saule (1999). The Political Economy of Oil in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan (PhD). University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  15. ^ "Written Testimony of Saule T. Omarova, Associate Professor of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection (July 23, 2013)" (PDF). United States Senate. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  16. ^ "Examining Financial Holding Companies: Should Banks Control Power Plants, Warehouses, and Oil Refineries?". United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "Faculty Directory: Saule Omarova". Cornell Law School. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021.
  18. ^ "Saule T. Omarova (CV)" (PDF). Cornell Law School. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "Welcome, New Faculty!". www.law.upenn.edu. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Flitter, Emily (August 5, 2021). "New Candidate for Top Bank Regulator Sees Risks in Crypto and Fintechs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  21. ^ "Nomination Hearing | United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs". www.banking.senate.gov. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  22. ^ Warmbrodt, Zachary (September 24, 2021). "'Radical' Biden nominee faces backlash from banks". POLITICO. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  23. ^ a b c "Saule Omarova, Biden's pick to lead a key banking agency, set for tough confirmation hearing". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  24. ^ Omarova, Saule T. (October 2021). "The People's Ledger: How to Democratize Money and Finance the Economy" (PDF). Vanderbilt Law Review. 74 (5): 1231. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  25. ^ Franck, Thomas (November 18, 2021). "Senators snipe at each other in heated confirmation hearing for Biden bank regulator pick". CNBC. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  26. ^ Lonas, Lexi (November 25, 2021). "Five Senate Democrats reportedly opposed to Biden banking nominee". The Hill. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  27. ^ "The idea for a National Investment Authority, explained (with Saule Omarova)". Pitchfork Economics. March 2, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  28. ^ "Saule Omarova on Emergency Fiscal Facilities and the Missing Architecture of Government Finance". Mercatus Center. March 7, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  29. ^ Omarova, Saule (December 1, 2020). "Public Investment Reimagined: A National Investment Authority". The American Prospect. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  30. ^ "Report: The Climate Case for a National Investment Authority". Data For Progress. July 30, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  31. ^ Aronoff, Kate (August 14, 2020). "A Novel Way to Fund a Green Economy". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  32. ^ Yablon, Alex (July 16, 2021). "Opinion | Could Banking Magic Save Cities From Climate Disaster?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  33. ^ a b Omarova, Saule T. (October 2021). "The People's Ledger: How to Democratize Money and Finance the Economy" (PDF). Vanderbilt Law Review. 74 (5): 1231, 1257–1258. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  34. ^ "Millions of Low-Income People Are Locked Out of The Financial System. More Big Tech Monopoly Power Is Not The Answer". The Lab by the Appeal. May 6, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  35. ^ Omarova, Saule T. (January 1, 2019). "New Tech v. New Deal: Fintech as a Systemic Phenomenon". Yale Journal on Regulation. 36 (2). ISSN 0741-9457.
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