On February 29, 2016, the federal banking agencies (the OCC, Federal Reserve and the FDIC) issued a joint interagency interim final rule which amends the agencies’ relevant regulations governing the eligibility of supervised institutions for the 18-month examination cycle. Generally, interim final rule makes qualifying 1- and 2-rated national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies with less than $1 billion in total assets eligible for an 18-month (rather than a 12-month) examination cycle. The agencies will, however, maintain their authority to examine such banking organizations on a more frequent basis as deemed appropriate.

The interagency interim final rule can be found at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-02-29/pdf/2016-03877.pdf.