Ex-FDIC enforcer joins LendingUSA as CCO

Jenann Shemisa

LendingUSA has hired a former banking regulator as its new general counsel and chief compliance officer (CCO). Jenann Shemisa reports directly to the company’s CEO and founder, Camilo Concha. Shemisa is based in the company’s main office in Sherman Oaks, California. She is LendingUSA’s first internal general counsel and CCO, the company having previously used outside firms, according to a spokesperson. 

Shemisa previously served as counsel at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) consumer enforcement unit in Washington, DC, providing legal advice and guidance to the FDIC’s legal division and the division of depositor and consumer protection in matters regarding compliance and consumer protection, according to LendingUSA.

She began her career with the FDIC as a senior attorney in Irvine, California, helping the agency tackle the financial crisis. Shemisa provided legal advice and guidance to the FDIC’s legal division and the division of receiverships and resolutions on managing the agency’s receiverships and their assets. An FDIC spokesperson declined to comment.

Before serving at the FDIC, Shemisa was general counsel and vice president of business administration at Lakeshore Equipment Company. Earlier in her career, she was general counsel of Axiom Investments and Management.

LendingUSA offers financing for consumers in specialty markets such as the elective medical industry, dental care, pets and pet care.

‘As LendingUSA continues to grow and innovate the way consumers finance the things that matter most to them, having a compliance expert like Jenann join our leadership team is crucial,’ chief risk and operations officer Sharat Shankar says in a statement.

‘Finding somebody who has government and private sector experience is key to the design of the best possible compliance program for our organization,’ Concha adds.

‘Having witnessed firsthand the devastation that occurred during the 2008 financial crisis, it was important for me to be part of a company that is committed to providing high-quality, innovative financial products and services,’ Shemisa says in the announcement.