James E. Smith (politician, born 1930)

James E. Smith
23rd Comptroller of the Currency
In office
July 5, 1973 – July 31, 1976
PresidentRichard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Preceded byWilliam B. Camp
Succeeded byJohn G. Heimann
Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
In office
March 16, 1976 - March 18, 1976
Preceded byFrank Wille
Succeeded byRobert E. Barnett
Personal details
Born(1930-09-29)September 29, 1930
Aberdeen, South Dakota
DiedSeptember 23, 2020(2020-09-23) (aged 89)
Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupationfinancial consultant

James Enlo Smith (September 29, 1930 – September 23, 2020) was Comptroller of the Currency of the United States from 1973 to 1976.[1] Smith was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota.[2]

James E. Smith was Deputy Under-Secretary of the Treasury before being named Comptroller by President Nixon. The explosive growth of banking in the 1960s and 1970s was changing the face of banking.

In response, Smith led a review of the agency's examination practices, which changed the way the agency did business: more emphasis was placed on assessment of a bank's own policies, procedures, decision making, and management information system, and the importance of training and career development for national bank examiners was recognized. After his resignation, Smith became a financial consultant. Smith died on September 23, 2020, at the age of 89.[3]

  1. ^ "People and Business". The New York Times. 1973-05-25.
  2. ^ Schoenebaum, Eleanora W. (1979). Profiles of an era, the Nixon/Ford years. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 9780156746625.
  3. ^ "James E Smith Obituary". Rapid City Journal. 2020-10-02.