US Treasury department prepares to streamline banking regulators, Semafor reports

(Reuters) -The U.S. Treasury department is preparing recommendations for streamlining some banking regulators, Semafor reported on Monday, as it seeks a stronger role in the oversight of the country's biggest lenders.

The recommendations could impact the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the report said, citing three people familiar with the process.

The FDIC and OCC declined to comment. The Treasury department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Trump administration has embraced an expansive view of the presidential power. Last month, an executive order gave the White House greater control over independent agencies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's push for greater control over banking regulators aligns with this strategy, according to the Semafor report.

If approved, the recommendations could be the latest in a series of assertive measures by the Trump administration, which has moved to defund federal programs and freeze billions of dollars in spending approved by Congress.

Officials have already taken steps to reshape the financial industry and loosen regulation. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — a top consumer watchdog — has largely been dormant after it was ordered to halt all activity.

The OCC, the regulator charged with monitoring large national banks, told staff last month it was firing 76 probationary employees.

Last week, President Donald Trump fired two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has a bipartisan structure where no more than three of the five commissioners can come from the same party.

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)