Policy group overview
The DOB's Policy Group is chaired by the Commissioner of Banks. The Policy Group meets regularly.
The goals of the Policy Group are:
- Oversee all regulatory matters involving the DOB
- Direct the DOB's day-to-day operations
- Conduct the DOB's strategic planning efforts
Mary L. Gallagher, Commissioner of Banks
Mary Gallagher has served as Commissioner of Banks since 2019. Prior to her appointment, she served as the agency’s Chief Operating Officer overseeing the agency's operational and administrative teams, fiscal oversight, budget and accounting, human resources and staff development, information technology, security, facilities, and vendor management and procurement. Commissioner Gallagher and her colleagues at the Division continue the agency’s proud reputation for leadership at myriad national regulatory associations—including the Conference of State Bank Supervisors where Ms. Gallagher has served as a Board Member and Legislative Committee Chair.
Before her state service, Ms. Gallagher’s career in financial services included foreign exchange and equity market sales trading roles at Morgan Stanley, State Street Global Markets, and Deutsche Bank in London, New York, and Boston. Outside of work, her non-profit interests include service as a trustee for New England Donor Services (organ and tissue donation) and advisory board member for the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge. Ms. Gallagher holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Harvard University.
Paul A. Gibson, Chief Risk Officer
Paul Gibson was appointed Chief Risk Officer in 2019. In this role, Mr. Gibson is responsible for the oversight of regulated banks, credit unions, and nearly 10,000 non-depository licensees. He has over 23 years of experience in financial services regulation including, most recently, serving as the Senior Deputy Commissioner for the Non-Depository Institution Supervision (NDIS) unit. Mr. Gibson held many bank examiner and management positions throughout his tenure supervising both depository and non-depository examinations. Before joining the Division, he gained experience in the banking industry. Mr. Gibson holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Finance from Suffolk University.
Christine Docherty, Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel
Christine Docherty was appointed Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel in February 2026. Ms. Docherty joins the Division of Banks with over two decades of experience providing regulatory advice in the financial services sector. She most recently served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where she had responsibility for day-to-day oversight of the legal function and advised on bank supervision and Reserve Bank lending matters. Prior to her time at the Dallas Fed, Ms. Docherty worked on regulatory and transactional matters for financial institutions based both in the United States and abroad while at Goodwin Procter LLP and at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP. She also served as an attorney-advisor in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where she helped implement economic programs to aid the recovery from the pandemic, and was previously an Associate General Counsel at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and a Vice President at State Street Bank and Trust Company.
Ms. Docherty earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University.
Christopher R. Pope, Senior Deputy Commissioner
Mr. Pope was appointed Senior Deputy Commissioner for the Non-Depository Institution Supervision (NDIS) unit in 2019. In this role, Mr. Pope oversees the licensing, financial safety and soundness, and consumer compliance examinations of non-depository licensees as well as the agency’s Enforcement and Investigation Unit. He has been serving as the Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement and Investigation since 2008 and acting as the agency’s liaison to various federal and state law enforcement agencies on criminal referral matters.
Mr. Pope has over 20 years of experience at the Division from bank examiner to several management positions, supervising both depository and non-depository examinations. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Money Transmitters Regulatory Association (MTRA), and has served as the Chair of the Multi-State Mortgage Committee (MMC). Mr. Pope previously worked in investment portfolio management at a state-charted bank. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Concentration in History from Bridgewater State College.