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Office of Financial Research

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The Office of Financial Research (OFR) is an independent bureau of the United States Treasury Department. The office was established in July 2010 with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The OFR's primary task is to provide data and analysis for the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), an agency that monitors and responds to risks to the United States' financial system. The OFR compiles information about private banks and non-bank financial companies on the FSOC’s behalf.[1]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The Office of Financial Research is headed by a director; the director is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. As of October 2016, the director of the OFR was Richard Berner.
  • In addition to providing data to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the office's director has the authority to issue subpoenas to any financial institution for any data needed to carry out the office's functions.
  • Two other entities support the OFR's data collection efforts: the Data Center and the Research and Analysis Center.

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    The OFR is headed by a director who is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The director provides overall leadership for the OFR and serves as a non-voting member of the FSOC. The director of the OFR serves a six-year term and reports directly to the United States Secretary of the Treasury. The acting director of the OFR was James Martin as of June 2025.[2][3]

    As the Financial Stability Oversight Council only meets four times per year, the OFR acts as the full-time administrative body for the council by making the data it provides to the FSOC available to financial regulation authorities. The OFR also assists the FSOC in determining the types of data to collect.[1]

    Authority and responsibilities

    The primary purpose of the office is to provide data and analysis for the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Specifically, Section 153 of the Dodd-Frank Act charges the office with supporting the FSOC by doing the following:

    “

    (1) collecting data on behalf of the Council, and providing such data to the Council and member agencies;
    (2) standardizing the types and formats of data reported and collected;
    (3) performing applied research and essential long-term research;
    (4) developing tools for risk measurement and monitoring;
    (5) performing other related services;
    (6) making the results of the activities of the Office available to financial regulatory agencies; and
    (7) assisting such member agencies in determining the types and formats of data authorized by this Act to be collected by such member agencies. [4]

    		”
    —H.R.4173, Sec. 153

    To accomplish these tasks, the office has the authority to share data with the FSOC, to sponsor and conduct research projects, and to assist financial analyses conducted by other federal agencies. In addition, the office's director has the authority to issue subpoenas to any financial institution for any data needed to carry out the office's functions.[1]

    The director of the Office of Financial Research reports to the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services annually, with no other agency having the authority to require the director to submit any testimony.[1]

    Data collection

    Daniel K. Tarullo, a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Board, at an Office of Financial Research and Financial Stability Oversight Council conference.

    The OFR's data collection efforts are supported by two other agencies: the Data Center and the Research and Analysis Center. These entities were created along with the OFR with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. These agencies are subordinate to the OFR.[1]

    These two entities and their authority are established in Section 154 of the Dodd-Frank Act:

    “ The Data Center, on behalf of the Council, shall collect, validate, and maintain all data necessary to carry out the duties of the Data Center, as described in this subtitle. The data assembled shall be obtained from member agencies, commercial data providers, publicly available data sources, and financial entities under subparagraph (B)[4] ”
    —H.R.4173, Sec. 154
    “ (1) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Research and Analysis Center,

    on behalf of the Council, shall develop and maintain independent analytical capabilities and computing resources— (A) to develop and maintain metrics and reporting systems for risks to the financial stability of the United States; (B) to monitor, investigate, and report on changes in systemwide risk levels and patterns to the Council and Congress; (C) to conduct, coordinate, and sponsor research to support and improve regulation of financial entities and markets; (D) to evaluate and report on stress tests or other stability-related evaluations of financial entities overseen by the member agencies; (E) to maintain expertise in such areas as may be necessary to support specific requests for advice and assistance from financial regulators; (F) to investigate disruptions and failures in the financial markets, report findings, and make recommendations to the Council based on those findings; (G) to conduct studies and provide advice on the impact of policies related to systemic risk; and (H) to promote best practices for financial risk management.[4]

    		”
    —H.R.4173, Sec. 154

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "H. R. 4173," accessed September 22, 2016
    2. ↑ Office of Financial Research, "Strategic Framework," March 2012
    3. ↑ Office of Financial Research, "OFR Leadership," accessed June 16, 2025
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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