On April 8, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) officially notified Congress of a significant information security incident involving its email system. This notification, mandated by the Federal Information...more
4/11/2025
/ Banks ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Information Technology ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vulnerability Assessments
On March 17, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it has granted conditional approval for SmartBiz Loans to transform the business model of CenTrust Bank, N.A., located in Northbrook, Illinois....more
On March 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a significant update regarding the involvement of national banks and federal savings associations in cryptocurrency activities. Interpretive Letter 1183...more
3/13/2025
/ Banks ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Interpretive Letters ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
Yesterday, both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized new guidelines regarding bank mergers. According to the agencies, these updates aim to enhance...more
9/19/2024
/ Bank Merger Act ,
FDIC ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Merger Agreements ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
Last week, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint statement highlighting...more
7/29/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Joint Statements ,
OCC ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Third-Party Relationships
On June 24, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced it is requesting comments on proposed amendments to its recovery planning guidelines. A recovery plan’s purpose is to provide a covered bank with a...more
Today, a divided Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) Board of Directors issued a proposed Statement of Policy (SOP) on bank merger transactions that would create a combined bank with more than $100 billion in...more
3/22/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Bank Merger Act ,
Banks ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Merger Agreements ,
Money Laundering ,
OCC ,
Policy Statement
On March 12, at the Institute of International Bankers Annual Washington Conference, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu discussed the importance of operational resilience in the banking sector and hinted that...more
As discussed here, on October 24, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finally issued their long-awaited final rule modernizing how they...more
On January 29, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding its review of business combinations under the Bank Merger Act (BMA). Specifically, the OCC proposed: (i)...more
2/1/2024
/ Bank Merger Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Comment Period ,
CRA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCC ,
Policy Statement ,
Proposed Rules
On January 8, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced adjustments to the maximum amount of each civil money penalty (CMP) within its jurisdiction. The 2015 Adjustment Act requires federal agencies with...more
On January 2, New York Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled her 2024 consumer protection agenda, which includes plans to regulate the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) industry. Specifically, Governor Hochul plans to propose legislation...more
On December 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published the fall edition of its Semiannual Risk Perspective, which discusses key issues facing banks. From the OCC’s perspective, the overall strength of...more
12/11/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Banks ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
This week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance to banks on managing the risks associated with “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) lending. Specifically, the bulletin addresses BNPL loans that are...more
On October 24, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the agencies) finally issued their long-awaited final...more
10/26/2023
/ Community Reinvestment Act ,
CRA ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FRB ,
Lenders ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCC
On August 8, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance on the applicability of the legal lending limit (LLL) to purchased loans. This guidance applies to community banks’ purchases of loans. In...more
On June 29, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Administration (collectively, the agencies)...more
At a Peterson Institute for International Economics event on June 22, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced that the FDIC — along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve...more
On June 22, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released Version 1.0 of its Asset Management booklet, which provides an overview of sound risk management processes for bank asset management. The OCC will apply...more
On June 14, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published the spring edition of its Semiannual Risk Perspective, which discusses key issues facing banks. The good news is that the federal banking system saw...more
On April 26, both the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued separate advisories warning against the risks associated with overdraft fees, particularly...more
On February 23, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the Agencies) issued a...more
The Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) generally prohibits insured state banks, but not uninsured state member banks, from acting as principal in activities that are not permissible for national banks. Relying on its...more
On January 3, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the Agencies) issued a joint statement to banking organizations...more
On September 6, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu warned that fintech and big techs partnerships and their forays into payment and lending could lead to increased risk for the banking industry. “My sense is that...more