The Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced on Monday that Karen K. Lawson has been named as executive vice president for policy and supervision. The CSBS is a national organization of state bank regulators that supervises U.S. banks and certain non-depository financial services.
In this role, Lawson will serve as a member of the CSBS executive leadership team and will be responsible for managing the policy and supervision business units.
Lawson will also spearhead the legislative, regulatory and bank or nonbank supervisory processes at CSBS and oversee the development and implementation of policies with a goal of advancing financial regulation at the state level.
“Not only does she have deep knowledge as a former state regulator, (but) Karen has extensive experience in working with federal agency partners,” Jim Cooper, president and CEO of CSBS, said in a statement.
Lawson joined CSBS in July 2021 as senior vice president for policy. In that role, Lawson was responsible for coordinating public policy development and advocacy efforts.
Lawson has also served as part of the CSBS Board of Directors, acting as chair and serving on numerous committees. In addition, Lawson recently served as the staff deputy to the state banking supervisor member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
Prior to joining CSBS, Lawson spent more than two decades at the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, where she led the bank regulatory program. Lawson was also an active member of the State Liaison Committee, which represents state regulators at the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
Earlier this year, CSBS announced that James Cooper would be taking over as permanent president and CEO. Cooper stepped in as the acting president and CEO in mid-May after former CSBS CEO John Ryan passed away.
The organization released its CSBS 2022 National Survey of Community Banks in September, which examined how current economic conditions are affecting community banks. The survey, which polled 500 U.S.-based community banks, revealed numerous challenges due to a lagging economy, high interest rates and other economic issues.
According to the survey, cybersecurity, interest margins, the economy and loan demand were among the greatest risks to these banks.
