On April 29, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comment on whether it should issue a formal proposal to expand the reach of its fiduciary regulations to certain activities deemed “trust adviser activities” and certain types of non-fiduciary custodial services.

..In particular, the OCC is contemplating an update to the regulatory definition of “fiduciary capacity” to include any activity based on the authority a national bank or federal savings association has with respect to a trust—such as the power to make discretionary distributions, override the trustee, or select a new trustee, collectively referred to as “trust adviser activities.” The OCC believes that these changes would better align with existing state trust laws.

..The OCC is also contemplating proposing a new regulation that would require bank and saving association custodians for non-fiduciary accounts to comply with the same custody and safekeeping standards that currently apply to fiduciary accounts.

..Comments on the ANPR must be submitted by June 28, 2019