Released by Commissioner Nikki Fried’s Office …
Tallahassee, Fla. – With the prior Commissioner of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation on administrative leave since May 10, and with Florida Cabinet meetings scheduled for August 6 and August 27 having been cancelled, Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried today offered the following statement:
Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation has been without a Commissioner for over 100 days. At our previous Cabinet meeting on July 25, CFO Patronis called for the appointment of an Interim Commissioner at the next Cabinet meeting. Unfortunately, both August meetings of the Cabinet have been cancelled. I have already met with OFR’s Chief of Staff and General Counsel, and my senior staff has interviewed several qualified candidates for Interim Commissioner. Neither Floridians nor OFR’s employees should expect to wait yet another month for this appointment to be made. Given the urgency of the situation, I am calling for a special meeting of the Cabinet to appoint much-needed leadership, and I am placing into consideration Greg Oaks, OFR’s Director of Consumer Finance and a trusted veteran of the agency for 26 years.