Recovery Planning Guidelines: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Revised Guidelines

Summary

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is proposing to amend its enforceable guidelines relating to recovery planning standards (guidelines) for insured national banks, insured federal savings associations, and insured federal branches (banks) in order to limit the application of the guidelines to the largest, most complex banks and thereby provide regulatory burden relief to smaller, less complex institutions.

Highlights

• The proposal would amend the guidelines to increase the average total consolidated assets threshold for applying the guidelines to banks from $50 billion to $250 billion. This change would reduce the number of banks to which the guidelines apply from 25 to 8, based on the most recent data available.
• The proposal would decrease from 18 months to 12 months the time within which a bank should comply with the guidelines after the bank first becomes subject to the guidelines.
• The proposal would make technical amendments to the guidelines to remove outdated compliance dates.

Background

The 2008 financial crisis provided valuable lessons about the need for financial institutions to have strong risk governance frameworks, including plans for how to respond to and recover from the financial effects of severe stress. This was particularly true for larger, more complex banks in light of systemic risks and contagion effects that they pose. In response to these lessons, on September 29, 2016, the OCC published the guidelines establishing minimum standards for recovery planning by banks with average total consolidated assets equal to or greater than $50 billion. The proposal would amend the guidelines to increase the average total consolidated assets threshold for applying the guidelines from $50 billion to $250 billion. The proposal also would decrease from 18 months to 12 months the time within which a bank should comply with the guidelines after the bank first becomes subject to the guidelines. Additionally, the proposal would make technical amendments to the guidelines to remove outdated compliance dates.

Further Information

Please contact Lori Bittner, Large Bank Supervision–Resolution and Recovery, at (202) 649-6093; or Andra Shuster, Senior Counsel, or Rima Kundnani, Attorney, Chief Counsel’s Office, at (202) 649-5490.

Bao Nguyen
Acting Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel

Related Link

• “OCC Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured Federal Branches; Technical Amendments” (PDF)