Ray Grace nominated to be new state banking commissioner

Ray Grace, the North Carolina chief deputy banking commissioner who has filled the top job for the past week after Joseph Smith announced he was stepping down, has been nominated to fill the role permanently, Gov. Bev Perdue announced Tuesday.

Smith announced on Feb. 14 he would leave the post he had filled for nearly a decade to focus on a new role: monitor of the $25 billion settlement between state attorneys general and the country's largest banks.

"Ray has helped guide the state’s financial system through the toughest economic times that many of us have ever seen," Perdue said in a statement. "With more than 35 years of experience at the Office of the Commissioner of Banks, he comes to this job uniquely qualified and able to seamlessly step into this critical role."

Grace joined the Office of the Commissioner of Banks in 1974 and was named chief deputy in 2010.

He must still be confirmed by the General Assembly.