National Bank Appeals Process

Comptroller of the Currency Eugene A. Ludwig established the National Bank Appeals Process in June 1993. The effectiveness of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC's) process contributed to a congressional mandate that all federal banking agencies establish their own appeals processes. In September 1994, President Clinton signed into law section 309(a) of the Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, which contains that requirement.

The OCC Bulletin 2002-9 (PDF) , "National Bank Appeals Process" (Revised and reissued) February 25, 2002, describes the OCC's policy regarding its appeal process.

HOW TO FILE AN APPEAL

The OCC established the National Bank Appeals Process for the express purpose of providing an independent, alternate avenue for handling matters on which reasonable people disagree. The availability of an appeals process to the Office of the Ombudsman not only benefits the individual bank filing the appeal, but also provides systemic benefits to all national banks and the OCC by bringing issues to the attention of the agency.

If a national bank and the supervisory office cannot resolve a disagreement arising out of the supervisory process through informal discussions, the OCC encourages national banks to seek a further review of the OCC decision or actions that are in dispute through the National Bank Appeals Process. The ombudsman has authority, with the prior consent of the Comptroller, to stay any appealable agency decision or action in the resolution of an appealable matter. Except as otherwise provided below, a national bank may seek review of any agency decision or action, including (1) examination ratings (2) adequacy of loan loss reserve provisions and (3) classifications of loans that are significant to an institution. A national bank may not appeal to the ombudsman or its immediate OCC supervisory office:

1. Appointment of receivers and conservators;
   
2. Preliminary examination conclusions;
3. Any formal enforcement-related actions or decisions, including decisions to (a) seek issuance of a formal agreement or cease and desist order, or the assessment of a civil money penalty; (b) take prompt corrective action; (c) issue a safety and soundness order; and (d) commence formal investigations;
   
4. Formal and informal rulemakings;
   
5. Decisions or recommended decision following formal and informal adjudications;
   
6. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests;
   
7. Decisions made to disapprove directors and senior executive officers pursuant to Section 914 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA); and
   
8. Any other agency decisions that are subject to judicial review.

A national bank may seek review of appealable matters by filing an appeal with either the ombudsman or the bank's immediate supervisory office. The bank should submit information in writing fully describing the matter(s) in dispute. In the absence of any extenuating circumstances, the OCC official will issue a written response to the appeal within 45 calendar days of accepting an appeal. If a bank files the appeal with its immediate supervisory office and it disagrees with the decision rendered, it may further appeal the matter to the ombudsman.