OCC

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On January 12, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its national bank chartering regulation, 12 C.F.R. § 5.20, to clarify a point the agency views as well settled: national banks chartered as trust companies may engage in certain non-fiduciary activities in addition to fiduciary activities.… Continue Reading

The FDIC and the OCC have issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to establish a standard definition for what constitutes an “unsafe or unsound practice.”

“Too often, examiners focus on a litany of process-related items that are unrelated to a bank’s current or future financial condition,” Acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill said, in a statement outlining the NPRM, which was unanimously adopted by the agency board. … Continue Reading

As the government shutdown drags on, some financial services programs—particularly housing programs– are being affected.

The CFPB is funded through the Federal Reserve system, not through annual appropriations, and technically is still operating, although as we have reported previously many CFPB employees are not being permitted to work. (That CFPB funding mechanism was the subject of a Supreme Court case and the court found the funding system constitutional.)… Continue Reading

The FDIC and the OCC have approved the joint publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would codify the removal of reputational risk from their supervisory programs.

“Examining for reputation risk can result in agency examiners implicitly or explicitly encouraging institutions to restrict access to banking services on the basis of examiners’ personal views of a group’s or individual’s political, social, cultural, or religious views or beliefs, constitutionally protected speech, or politically disfavored but lawful business activities,” the FDIC staff said, in a memo.… Continue Reading

As our regular podcast listeners know, we ordinarily release a new podcast show once each week on Thursday. On a very few occasions, we have released a special extra podcast show during the same week. We have only done that when a development occurs which we feel is of extraordinary importance and time sensitive.… Continue Reading

HERE IS A LINK TO OUR SPECIAL PODCAST SHOW ABOUT THIS CASE AND ITS ENORMOUS IMPLICATIONS RELEASED ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1.

On September 22, 2025, a panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant opinion in Conti v. Citizens Bank, N.A., holding unanimously that the National Bank Act does not preempt a Rhode Island statute requiring mortgage lenders to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts.… Continue Reading

The OCC has issued two bulletins clarifying how it will handle debanking at its supervised institutions.

One bulletin states that the agency will assess debanking in connection with licensing activities, including, but not limited to, charter applications, charter conversions, applications to exercise fiduciary powers, branch applications and requests for approval of business combinations, and as part of its Community Reinvestment Act reviews.… Continue Reading

On August 7, President Trump signed a landmark executive order, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans.” This sweeping action prohibits financial institutions of any size from denying services to individuals or businesses based on political or religious beliefs, orientation, or lawful industry involvement.

The order is already being called one of the most consequential banking actions in years.… Continue Reading

Republican senators on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee are asking banking regulators to review their process of using Matters Requiring Attention (MRA) in the bank supervisory process.

“If used effectively, these are valuable supervisory tools that can mitigate broader issues and maintain financial stability,” 11 GOP senators said in a letter to the FDIC, OCC and the Federal Reserve.… Continue Reading