About the OCC
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) charters, regulates, and
supervises all national banks. It also supervises the federal branches and
agencies of foreign banks. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the OCC has four
district offices plus an office in London to supervise the international
activities of national banks.
The OCC was established in 1863 as a bureau of the U.S. Department of the
Treasury. The OCC is headed by the Comptroller
, who is appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate,
for a five-year term. The Comptroller also serves as a director of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a director of the Neighborhood
Reinvestment Corporation.
The OCC's nationwide staff of examiners conducts on-site reviews of national
banks and provides sustained supervision of bank operations. The agency issues
rules, legal interpretations, and corporate decisions concerning banking, bank
investments, bank community development activities, and other aspects of bank
operations.
National bank examiners supervise domestic and international activities of
national banks and perform corporate analyses. Examiners analyze a bank's loan
and investment portfolios, funds management, capital, earnings, liquidity,
sensitivity to market risk, and compliance with consumer banking laws,
including the Community Reinvestment Act. They review the bank's internal
controls, internal and external audit, and compliance with law. They also
evaluate bank management's ability to identify and control risk.
In regulating national banks, the OCC has the power to:
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Examine the banks.
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Approve or deny applications for new charters, branches, capital, or other
changes in corporate or banking structure.
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Take supervisory actions against banks that do not comply with laws and
regulations or that otherwise engage in unsound banking practices. The agency
can remove officers and directors, negotiate agreements to change banking
practices, and issue cease and desist orders as well as civil money penalties.
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Issue rules and regulations governing bank investments, lending, and other
practices.
The OCC's Objectives
The OCC's activities are predicated on four objectives that support the OCC's
mission to ensure a stable and competitive national banking system. The four
objectives are:
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To ensure the safety and soundness of the national banking system.
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To foster competition by allowing banks to offer new products and services.
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To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of OCC supervision, including
reducing regulatory burden.
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To ensure fair and equal access to financial services for all Americans.
History
In 1861, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase recommended the
establishment of a system of federally chartered national banks, each of which
would have the power to issue standardized national bank notes based on United
States bonds held by the bank. In the National Currency Act of 1863, the
administration of the new national banking system was vested in the newly
created OCC and its chief administrator, the Comptroller of the Currency.
The law was completely rewritten and re-enacted as the National Bank Act. That
act authorized the Comptroller of the Currency to hire a staff of national bank
examiners to supervise and periodically examine national banks. The act also
gave the Comptroller authority to regulate lending and investment activities of
national banks.
One of the reasons Congress created a banking system that issued national currency was to finance the Civil War. Although national banks no longer issue currency, they continue to play a prominent role in the nation's economic life. The OCC regulates and supervises about 1,700 national banks and about 50 federal branches of foreign banks in the U.S., accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total assets of all U.S. commercial banks (as of June 30, 2008).
OCC Funding
The OCC does not receive any appropriations from Congress. Instead, its
operations are funded primarily by assessments on national banks. National
banks pay for their examinations, and they pay for the OCC's processing of
their corporate applications. The OCC also receives revenue from its investment
income, primarily from U.S. Treasury securities.
FDIC Insurance
The FDIC insures the deposits in all national banks. The basic insurance amount is $100,000 per depositor, per insured bank.
The $100,000 amount applies to all depositors of an insured bank except for owners of certain retirement accounts, which are insured up to $250,000 per owner, per insured bank. For more, visit the FDIC.
Information about the OCC and Banking
You can learn more about what the OCC does (as well as what national banks are
doing) by consulting the OCC's Web site (http://www.occ.gov). It contains the
OCC's latest news releases, banking issuances, employment information, and
publications. The Web site also has much more information, including the Weekly
Bulletin of national banks' corporate applications, Community Reinvestment Act
evaluations, the OCC's organizational directory, and forms and software.
Biographies
of OCC's key leaders are also available online.
By law, the OCC is prohibited from releasing information from its bank safety
and soundness examinations to the public. National banks must, however, submit
a Report of Condition and Income (call report) four times a year to the FDIC.
Call reports contain publicly available financial information about the bank.
The FDIC makes these reports available upon request by phone (202-898-6570) and
on the Web (http://www.fdic.gov/bank/index.html).
If you have a complaint about a national bank and cannot resolve it with the
institution, contact the OCC Customer Assistance Group at 1-800-613-6743 or
customer.assistance@occ.treas.gov. Or, visit our Customer
Assistance Group
online for more information.
OCC Equal Employment Opportunity
On September 19, 2005, the Comptroller issued an EEO policy statement, reaffirming OCC's commitment to diversity, equal employment opportunity, and fair and unbiased treatment. Consistent with that policy, OCC is committed to ensuring that the workplace maintains the highest standard of integrity and professionalism, and is free from discrimination, harassment, and reprisal. See our Equal Employment Opportunity web site.
Help for Customers of National Banks at HelpWithMyBank.gov
In July 2007, the OCC launched HelpWithMyBank.gov to assist customers of national banks. HelpWithMyBank.gov helps you find answers to your National Banking questions. Use the shortcut keywords below to visit the category that interests you, or use the search window located at the top right corner of every page. We're here to help!
Minority Affairs
Recognizing the important role that minority-owned banks play in addressing financial services needs in the minority and low-income communities they serve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is committed to encouraging the success of these banks. More information on minority-owned banks, visit OCC's Minority Affairs page.
OCC Alumni
The OCC has more than 143 years of tradition and rich history. Over the years thousands of OCC alumni have made valuable contributions to America's national banking system and have gone on to make additional contributions in private industry and other branches of the federal government. The OCC values its relationships with all of its alumni. The agency encourages former employees to stay informed and engaged by visiting http://www.occ.gov/alumni.htm.
For more information about the OCC, contact:
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Communications Division
Washington, DC 20219
202-874-4700
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