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On October 16, the OCC announced a formal agreement with a national bank in Florida for alleged unsafe or unsound practices related to board oversight, corporate governance, strategic and capital planning, and compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. The OCC also alleged violations involving the Suspicious Activity Reports rule under the Bank Secrecy Act and the due diligence program requirements for correspondent accounts for foreign financial institutions under the USA PATRIOT Act.Continue Reading OCC Settles with Bank Over Alleged BSA/AML Violations

On October 7, the OCC and FDIC jointly proposed two rules to refocus bank supervision on material financial risks and eliminate “reputation risk” from their oversight frameworks. The first proposal would define the term unsafe or unsound practice under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and revise the agencies’ standards for issuing matters requiring attention (MRAs). The second proposal would codify the agencies’ removal of reputation risk from supervisory programs and prohibit examiners from taking actions based on a bank’s perceived reputational exposure.Continue Reading OCC and FDIC Propose Rules to Eliminate Reputation Risk and Debanking

On October 6, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced new guidance eliminating policy-based examination requirements for community banks that are not mandated by statute or regulation. Effective January 1, 2026, the revisions aim to reduce supervisory burden while maintaining risk-based oversight under section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.Continue Reading OCC Announces Guidance Reducing Compliance Scope for Community Banks

On September 18, the OCC announced its monthly enforcement actions for September, which included the termination of a 2023 consent order against a national bank and the termination of a 2020 consent order against a federal savings association. Both terminations followed earlier OCC findings of unsafe or unsound practices and alleged violations of federal banking and consumer protection laws.Continue Reading OCC Terminates Two Consent Orders

On September 8, the OCC issued two bulletins addressing banks’ obligations under the Right to Financial Privacy Act and clarifying how the agency will evaluate “politicized or unlawful debanking” in licensing and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) reviews. The guidance was issued consistent with the recently issued Executive Order 14331 (previously discussed here).Continue Reading OCC Issues Bulletins on Customer Financial Record Protections and Politicized Debanking

On August 18, the OCC terminated its 2022 consent order against a national bank. The order was issued under the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering regulations, and required the bank to implement corrective measures in areas such as customer due diligence, suspicious activity monitoring, and governance.Continue Reading OCC Terminates 2022 Consent Order Against National Bank

On July 18, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS ACT) was signed into law, creating the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The law prohibits the issuance of payment stablecoins in the United States unless the issuer is a permitted entity under a state or federal regime that meets strict reserve, redemption, compliance, and disclosure requirements.Continue Reading Stablecoin Regulation Takes Effect Under Newly Enacted GENIUS Act

On July 10, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Jonathan Gould as Comptroller of the Currency in a 50–45 vote. Gould will serve a five-year term and returns to the OCC, where he previously served as Chief Counsel and Senior Deputy Comptroller under the first Trump administration. He has served in several positions at the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, including as Chief Counsel under former Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo. He also had various positions in the private sector. Gould replaces Rodney Hood, who was Acting Comptroller.Continue Reading Senate Confirms Jonathan Gould as Comptroller of the Currency

On July 14, the OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC announced the release of a joint statement clarifying how existing laws and regulations apply to crypto-asset safekeeping services offered by banking organizations. The statement does not impose new supervisory expectations but reinforces how banking organizations must apply established fiduciary duties, risk management standards, and third-party oversight frameworks when holding crypto-assets on behalf of customers.Continue Reading Federal Banking Regulators Issue Joint Guidance on Crypto-Asset Safekeeping

On May 14, the OCC entered into a formal agreement with a New York-based bank after determining that the institution is in “troubled condition.” In its findings, the OCC cited alleged unsafe or unsound practices tied to the bank’s strategic planning and earnings performance.Continue Reading OCC Enters Consent Orders Against New York-based Bank