FACTBOX: Major U.S. financial oversight agencies face reforms

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming Obama administration looks likely to shake up the federal agencies that regulate the U.S. financial system as Americans struggle through a deep recession and the worst financial crisis in decades.

* Treasury Department. Cabinet-level department tasked primarily with financing the government and collecting taxes. Plays a major role in bond markets. Heads the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, with about 300 employees. Also regulates banks mainly through two units: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).

* Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Treasury unit that charters, regulates and supervises national banks. About 3,000 employees. Formed in 1863.

* Office of Thrift Supervision. Treasury unit that regulates thrift institutions. About 1,000 employees. Formed after the 1980s-1990s savings and loan crisis.

* Federal Reserve. Independent agency that controls nation's monetary policy. Also supervises state-chartered banks that choose to opt into the Fed system. About 2,700 employees involved in supervision and regulation. Created in 1913.

* Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Independent agency that insures deposits in banks and thrifts. Examines and supervises state-chartered banks that do not join the Fed system. About 5,000 employees. Created in 1933 during the Great Depression.

* Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulates public corporations, securities exchanges, brokers, mutual funds, and corporate auditors. About 3,500 employees. Formed in 1934.

* Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Oversees commodity and financial futures. About 490 employees. Formed in 1974.

(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh, Glenn Somerville, Alister Bull, David Lawder, Christopher Doering; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)