OCC Puts Hold on Fair Access Rule

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced it has paused publication of its rule to ensure large banks provide all customers fair access to their services.

The agency proposed the rule in November 2020 to codify more than a decade of OCC guidance stating that banks should conduct risk assessments of individual customers, rather than make broad-based decisions affecting whole categories or classes of customers, when providing access to services, capital, and credit.

Pausing publication of the rule in the Federal Register will allow the next confirmed Comptroller of the Currency to review the final rule and the public comments the OCC received, as part of an orderly transition.

The OCC’s long-standing supervisory guidance stating that banks should avoid termination of broad categories of customers without assessing individual customer risk remains in effect.