OCC: Agency Confirms Bank Authority to Hold Certain Crypto-Assets as Principal for Purposes of Paying Crypto-Asset Network Fees
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today confirmed permissible bank activities related to paying crypto-asset network fees. The OCC published Interpretive Letter 1186 confirming that a national bank may pay network fees, sometimes referred to as “gas fees,” on blockchain networks to facilitate otherwise permissible activities and hold, as principal, amounts of…
Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies Release 2024 Small Business, Small Farm, and Community Development Lending Data
The federal bank regulatory agencies, as members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), today released data on small business, small farm, and community development lending during 2024. The Community Reinvestment Act regulations require the agencies to annually disclose these data. The FFIEC also prepared aggregate reports of small business and small farm lending…
ICBA: ICBA Urges OCC to Deny Coinbase’s Application for a National Bank Charter
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to reject Coinbase’s application for a national trust bank charter for its subsidiary, Coinbase National Trust Co. (CNTC). In a letter to the OCC, ICBA outlined serious concerns with the application, stating it failed to meet requirements of the National…
OCC: Comments Requested on Proposed Rescission of Its Recovery Planning Guidelines
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today requested comment on a proposal to rescind its recovery planning guidelines for certain large insured national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches (banks). Under the proposal, the recovery planning guidelines that went into effect January 1, 2025, and applied to banks with at least…
Agencies Announce Withdrawal of Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management
The federal bank regulatory agencies today announced the withdrawal of interagency Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions. The agencies do not believe principles for managing climate-related financial risk are necessary because the agencies’ existing safety and soundness standards require all supervised institutions to have effective risk management commensurate with their size,…
Agencies Issue Proposal to Focus Supervision on Material Financial Risks
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the agencies) today issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking that would continue their effort to focus supervision on material financial risks. Among other things, the proposal would define the term “unsafe or unsound practice” for purposes of section 8 of the…
Agencies Issue Proposal to Prohibit Use of Reputation Risk by Regulators in Supervisory Programs
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the agencies) today issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking that would codify the elimination of reputation risk from their supervisory programs. The proposed rule would define “reputation risk” and prohibit the agencies from criticizing or taking adverse action against an…
OCC: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Issued to Simplify Community Bank Licensing Amendments
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is proposing to amend its regulations to simplify licensing requirements for corporate activities and transactions involving national banks and federal savings associations that have less than $30 billion in total assets and satisfy certain conditions. The proposed rule is intended to reduce burden on these institutions….
OCC: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Issued to Rescind 12 CFR 27 Fair Housing Home Loan Data System
On October 6, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to rescind 12 CFR 27, “Fair Housing Home Loan Data System.” In connection with the OCC’s ongoing efforts to tailor bank supervision and regulation to bank risk profile, the OCC has reviewed 12 CFR 27 (part…