Summary

The Comptroller General testified on the National Bank and Thrift Examiners' Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland, in December 1991. Hosted by four federal financial institution regulators who issued the "Interagency Policy Statement on the Review and Classification of Commercial Real Estate Loans" in November 1991, the conference sought to review with senior examination personnel the policy statement and other issues related to credit availability. The conference did not allay GAO's concerns about the inconsistency between the policy statement and the objectives of recently passed bank reform legislation. The "broader view" approach to loan evaluation and classification and the seeming shift in the burden of proof that the examination workforce must carry is troublesome to GAO and potentially dangerous to the safety and soundness of the banking system.