Banker Education:

OCC Fair Lending Conference

Statistical Analysis and Modeling for Risk Assessment
The Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans, French Quarter

September 9-10, 2008

Welcome

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) welcomes you to the city of New Orleans and to the OCC Fair Lending Conference 2008: Statistical Analysis and Modeling for Risk Assessment. We want to thank you for attending and trust that you will take advantage of the numerous and unique opportunities that our agenda and the beautiful city of New Orleans offer. The OCC organized this conference to provide an opportunity for you to learn about the agency’s fair lending examination process, especially the economic and statistical modeling tools used by OCC economists on fair lending examinations. You will hear from panelists who will share their diverse perspectives on the fair lending process. Our agenda includes discussions of current issues in consumer protection by the government agencies responsible for fair lending supervision and enforcement; observations from bankers on their experiences with fair lending compliance, from internal controls to interactions with regulators; and insights from industry and regulatory professionals on key issues in fair lending, such as credit scoring and pricing.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

The OCC was established in 1863 as a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks. The OCC also supervises the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the OCC has four district offices, numerous field offices, and an office in London. The OCC’s nationwide staff conducts on-site reviews of national banks and provides ongoing supervision of bank operations. The agency also issues rules, legal interpretations, and corporate decisions concerning banking, bank investments, bank community development activities, and other aspects of bank operations. The OCC is headed by the Comptroller of the Currency, who is appointed by the President, with Senate confirmation, for a five-year term. John C. Dugan became the 29th Comptroller of the Currency in August 2005.

Risk Analysis Division

The OCC’s Risk Analysis Division (RAD) provides direct support to examiners and policymakers in risk modeling, decision modeling, and modeling to detect compliance with fair lending laws. RAD is staffed by a specialized group of economists and mathematicians who use statistical methods and models to analyze banking risks and to evaluate how banks use such models. RAD provides expertise within the OCC through direct participation in examinations, construction of models and tools for use by examiners, consultation with examiners and policymakers, educational outreach and training of examiners, and preparation of written materials for use by examiners and policymakers. Furthermore, the applied economists and mathematicians of this division pursue active individual and collaborative research programs to maintain and improve relevant knowledge and skills, and to develop valuable new approaches for addressing a wide range of quantitative challenges in banking and bank supervision. RAD staff provide expertise in consumer compliance on the use of statistical evidence for ensuring adherence to applicable law, primarily in fair lending. They assist examiners with statistical assessments of the effects that underwriting and pricing decisions at banks have on protected classes. They also provide examiners and policymakers with tools that promote efficient, risk-targeted use of the OCC’s compliance resources.

An Important Note

Statements made by panelists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the OCC or the U.S. Department of the Treasury.