FILE PHOTO: Joseph M. Otting speaks after being sworn in as Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will name Joseph Otting, head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the White House said on Thursday.

Otting will continue to carry out his duties as the Comptroller of the Currency, a statement from the White House said.

The current FHFA director Melvin Watt, who will depart at the end of his term in early January, was under investigation for alleged sexual harassment of a subordinate in July.