Lacewell’s Time as New York Finance Cop Marked by Missed Chances

Linda Lacewell prioritized consumer protection, promoted financial innovation, and pushed banks to combat climate change despite a distant relationship with both industry and consumer advocates during her tenure as New York’s top financial cop, agency watchers say.

Lacewell, who is leaving her post as New York superintendent of financial services on Tuesday, came into office promising to be a bulwark against the Trump administration’s rollback of consumer protection and climate change policies, as well as a champion of responsible innovation.

To those ends, she continued an existing lawsuit against an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rule that would ...