WASHINGTON
– The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Conference of
State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced agreement today on procedures for the
exchange of consumer complaint information between state banking departments
and the OCC.
The agreement recognizes that consumers do not always know which regulatory
agency – state or federal – supervises their bank, and provides a model
Memorandum of Understanding to ensure misdirected complaints are sent to the
appropriate agency. The MOU, which is intended to be executed by state
banking departments and the OCC on a state-by-state basis, provides a two-way
street for the sharing of such complaints, including information on how
complaints are resolved.
“This agreement is an excellent first step in an effort to enhance
cooperation between the states and federal government in the area of consumer
protection,” said CSBS President and CEO Neil Milner.
“I am committed to working with state bank regulators to ensure a high level
of consumer protection for all bank customers,” said Comptroller John C.
Dugan. “The burden should not be on consumers to know which agency
regulates their financial institution, and the framework we developed offers
bank customers a seamless system for ensuring that their complaints reach the
right supervisory agency.”
The CSBS Executive Committee, acting at the direction of the Board of
Directors, approved the MOU at a meeting last week.
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Media Contacts:
OCC Kevin
Mukri 202-874-5770
CSBS Buz
Gorman 202-728-5726
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was
created by Congress to charter national banks, to oversee a nationwide system
of banking institutions, and to assure that national banks are safe and sound,
competitive and profitable, and capable of serving the banking needs of their
customers in the best possible manner.
OCC press releases and other information are available at http://www.occ.gov. To receive OCC press releases and issuances
by email, subscribe at http://www.occ.gov/listserv.htm.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors
is the nationwide organization for state banking, representing the bank
regulators of the 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and
approximately 6,200 state-chartered financial institutions. The Conference is
responsible for defending state authority to determine banking structure and
the products and services state-chartered institutions can offer and for improving
the quality of state bank supervision by providing department performance
evaluation and accreditation programs and supervisory education/training
programs for state banking department personnel. CSBS press releases and other information are
available at www.csbs.org.