Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell announced today the establishment of a new Research and Innovation Division at the Department of Financial Services (DFS), as well as leadership appointments in the new division, strengthening the mission of the Department as technology transforms the regulatory landscape.  Matthew Homer will lead the new division as Executive Deputy Superintendent; Matthew Siegel and Olivia Bumgardner will be Deputy Superintendents of the new division; and Andrew Lucas will serve as Counsel to the division.

“The financial services regulatory landscape needs to evolve and adapt as innovation in banking, insurance and regulatory technology continues to grow,” Superintendent Lacewell said. “This new division and these appointments position DFS as the regulator of the future, allowing the Department to better protect consumers, develop best practices, and analyze market data to strengthen New York’s standing as the center of financial innovation.”

The new Research and Innovation Division will support internal transformation and market innovation, ensuring that DFS keeps pace with the rapid changes in all sectors of the financial services industry and that New York remains the jurisdiction of choice for innovators.  It will house the Department’s division responsible for licensing and supervising virtual currencies, and it will assess new efforts to use technology to address financial exclusion; identify and protect consumer data rights; and encourage innovations in the financial services marketplace to preserve New York’s competitiveness as a financial innovation hub.

Matthew Homer was recently Head of Policy and Research at Quovo, a New York fintech company providing open banking functionality for the financial services ecosystem, leading up to the company’s acquisition by fintech company Plaid, where he has worked since.

Mr. Homer is a former U.S. Government civil servant with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). At USAID, he designed, launched, and oversaw two new innovation programs: Cashless Catalyst, a partnership between the U.S. Government and the Government of India to promote payments innovations and greater financial inclusion; and the RegTech for Regulators Accelerator, a first-of-its-kind program designed to help financial regulators improve their supervision of digital firms through new technologies.  As a member of the Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection at the FDIC he focused on emerging technology and financial inclusion.  Earlier in his career, he worked for Deloitte Consulting, where he focused on financial regulatory reform.

Mr. Homer has also served as an advisor on matters related to digital innovation and financial inclusion to organizations such as the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor at the World Bank, the Aspen Institute, and the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance. He recently co-authored a report published by the University of Cambridge on regulatory innovation entitled “Early Lessons on Regulatory Innovations to Enable Inclusive FinTech: Innovation Offices, Regulatory Sandboxes, and RegTech.” He received a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Matthew Siegel most recently served as a Trial Attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and before that did similar work as an Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General.  In these roles Mr. Siegel participated in antitrust investigations and litigations involving industries including telecommunications & media, health care, real estate brokerage, and financial services.  He was on the trial teams of the litigations challenging the AT&T/Time Warner and Aetna/Humana mergers; Electrolux’s proposed acquisition of GE’s appliance business; and an alleged monopolization scheme involving the Alzheimer’s drug Namenda.  Mr. Siegel began his legal career at the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, where he worked on antitrust, bankruptcy, and commercial litigation matters.  He had an earlier career in editorial work, writing for publications including Fortune and The American Lawyer, and has served as a research fellow for the American Antitrust Institute.  He holds a J.D. from New York University, an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a Master of Science from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Olivia Bumgardner is currently Director of Research of DFS, where she has served as an economist responsible for the analysis of some of the most complicated financial transactions reviewed by the Department over the past six years.  She has led projects involving the Department’s key initiatives including virtual currency, cybersecurity and financial inclusion. Before DFS, Ms. Bumgardner developed significant industry experience in various research and leadership roles at leading banking institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays and UBS. As a fixed income research analyst, she covered financial institutions for clients and for the proprietary trading desk. Ms. Bumgardner holds an MBA in finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and mathematics from Columbia University. 

Andrew Lucas had previously served as the Department’s Director for the Office of Financial Innovation since December.  Before joining the Department, he served as Senior Counsel at the New York City Law Department, and as a law clerk to Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.  Mr. Lucas will serve as Counsel to the Innovation and Research Division. He earned his law degree from the Washington University School of Law and his undergraduate degree in political science from Washington University.