OCC Bulletin 2019-42 | August 27, 2019

Flood Disaster Protection Act: Revised Interagency Examination Procedures

To

Chief Executive Officers and Compliance Officers of All National Banks, Federal Savings Associations, and Federal Branches and Agencies; Department and Division Heads; All Examining Personnel; and Other Interested Parties

Summary

The Task Force on Consumer Compliance of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council¹ (FFIEC) adopted revised interagency examination procedures for the Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA). The revised procedures reflect the amendments to the regulations regarding loans in areas having special flood hazards to implement the private flood insurance provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters Act). The amendments to the regulations were issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit Administration, and the National Credit Union Administration and published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2019.²

This bulletin makes available on the OCC website the revised interagency FDPA examination procedures that reflect the private flood insurance requirements, which are effective July 1, 2019.

Rescission

The "Flood Disaster Protection Act" booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook is rescinded with the issuance of the interagency examination procedures. OCC examiners will rely on the interagency procedures. This bulletin also rescinds OCC Bulletin 2017-35, "Flood Disaster Protection Act: Revised Comptroller’s Handbook Booklet."

Note for Community Banks

The interagency examination procedures apply to examinations of all national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations.

Highlights

The FFIEC members developed these examination procedures to promote consistency in the examination process and communication of supervisory expectations. The new regulatory requirements are effective on July 1, 2019. The interagency procedures reflect regulatory provisions that

require a regulated lending institution to accept private flood insurance policies that meet the definition of "private flood insurance" in satisfaction of the flood insurance purchase requirement.
include a compliance aid to facilitate a regulated lending institution’s determination that a policy meets the definition of "private flood insurance."
permit a regulated lending institution to exercise its discretion to accept a flood insurance policy issued by a private insurer that does not meet the definition of "private flood insurance," subject to certain restrictions.
permit a regulated lending institution to exercise its discretion to accept flood coverage provided by a mutual aid society, subject to certain restrictions.

Further Information

Please contact Paul R. Reymann, Director for Consumer Compliance Policy, at (202) 649-5470.

Grovetta N. Gardineer
Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy