Month: February 2014

The OCC recently released proposed amendments to its Part 30 regulations, which reflect the agency’s “heightened expectations” for large banks. The “Interim Final Rule,” contains risk-management standards for institutions with more than $50 billion in assets. It also places greater responsibility on board members, particularly independent directors, to ensure that the rules are followed and to require that banks have independent audit and risk-management officers who can go straight to the board with concerns. In the Interim Final Rule OCC has explicitly reserved authority to apply the guidelines to an institution with less than $50 billion in assets if the OCC determines that it is highly complex or otherwise presents a heightened risk.