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Examiner Spotlight: Eugene T. Wilson

Evolution of Bank Supervision
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Merchant, journalist, and member of the Washington State Senate, Eugene T. Wilson was appointed a National Bank Examiner in 1892.

Eugene T. Wilson

During the Panic of 1893, he was assigned to supervise the national banks in Helena, Mont., where he uncovered evidence of fraud and mismanagement and took steps to force the banks to clean up their affairs. The bankers tried to bribe and discredit him, but Wilson prevailed.

According to a scholar who studied his OCC career, Wilson “brought to his job profound personal integrity, a well-developed concept of public responsibility, and a firm idea of fairness to all classes in connection with the banks.”