Diogo Mónica (Co-founder and President at Anchorage Digital) and Nathan McCauley (Co-Founder and CEO of Anchorage Digital) wrote in a blog post that an OCC veteran is joining America’s first federally-chartered digital asset bank.
After a solid year where Anchorage Digital experienced a significant 175% growth in headcount, they’re pleased to announce a notable addition to their bank operations, Rachel Anderika, whose hire “continues the momentum–in a very significant way–into 2022.”
Rachel’s hire is just the latest sign of what they’ve made clear since their founding: Anchorage will continue to build their risk and compliance program to “meet the high bar set by the OCC as we grow.”
As Anchorage Digital Bank’s first-ever Chief Risk Officer, Rachel will be responsible for leading an “already-robust team to ensure that [their] institutional clients are met with industry-leading standards.”
In a fast-evolving technology and regulatory landscape, she will “spearhead risk mitigation against new and emerging challenges that may face our business, our clients, and the digital asset class as a whole.”
Anchorage Digital Bank Chief Risk Officer, Rachel Anderika, stated:
“Anchorage is a pioneer in regulated digital asset banking, blazing an uncharted trail that others will follow. To me, this is about more than joining an exciting company; it’s about helping establish precedent in a space that has potential to reshape the global financial system as we know it. There’s no better place in the world than Anchorage to do so.”
Coming on board nearly one year to the day since Anchorage was granted their conditional banking charter by the OCC, Rachel brings with her almost a decade of professional experience within the same regulatory agency, where she “served as National Bank Examiner (and later, Large Bank Examiner).”
In those roles, she worked to “ensure that national banks operated safely and soundly, while complying with applicable laws and regulations.”
Rachel then served eight years in the private sector “at Promontory Financial Group, a premier bank regulatory consulting firm, later purchased by IBM. There Rachel worked with numerous large and complex traditional financial institutions on risk management and compliance strategy.”
During her time, she also “witnessed the explosive growth in the digital asset ecosystem which led her to work with large financial institutions on their crypto roadmaps.”
Rachel helped found Promontory’s Digital Assets Risk and Compliance Team, where she “guided digital assets custodians through the state and federal regulatory licensing process while implementing key risk and compliance programs to meet regulatory expectations and worked with banks in understanding risk and compliance needs underpinning their crypto strategies.”
Additionally, she helped develop the first-ever crypto-specific bank supervisory guidance “with the Wyoming Division of Banking which instilled her with a depth of first-hand crypto-regulatory insight.”
As noted in the update, Rachel’s unique blend of regulatory and digital asset experience, “paired with her leadership at some of the biggest names in traditional banking as well as fintechs, made her an ideal fit to serve as Anchorage Digital Bank’s first Chief Risk Officer.”
Rachel is currently onboard “as an advisor as she completes the regulatory review process,” the update confirmed.
Anchorage Digital offers the technical expertise and security institutions need and “meets their regulatory requirements as a partner.”