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Comptroller
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Date: December 2, 2008 |
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On November 10, 2008, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published in the Federal Register the attached final rule amending its rules of practice and procedure to adjust the maximum amount of each civil money penalty (CMP) within its jurisdiction. The adjustments apply only to violations or practices that occur after December 10, the effective date of this rule. The Inflation Adjustment Act requires federal agencies with CMP authority to publish regulations to adjust each CMP authorized by law that the agency has jurisdiction to administer. These adjustments maintain the deterrent effect of CMPs and promote compliance with the law. The Inflation Adjustment Act requires the adjustments to be made at least once every four years. The OCC’s prior adjustment to each CMP was published in the Federal Register on November 10, 2004, and became effective on December 10, 2004. This rule revises the table that appears at 12 CFR 19.240 and modifies the chart format to make it more readable. The table identifies the statutes that provide the OCC with CMP authority, describes the different tiers of penalties provided in each statute (as applicable), and sets out the inflation-adjusted maximum penalty that the OCC may impose pursuant to each statutory provision. In addition to adjusting the amounts of the OCC’s current CMPs, the final rule adds a new penalty to the list, as authorized by 12 USC 1820(k)(6)(A)(ii). Section 1820(k), which took effect after the OCC’s last CMP adjustment, prohibits an OCC senior examiner (or a functionally equivalent position), for one year following that person’s departure as an employee from the OCC, from knowingly accepting compensation as an employee, officer, director of, or consultant for certain depository institutions or depository institution-holding companies that he or she examined, or from certain related entities. For further information, contact Jean Campbell, Senior Attorney, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division at (202) 874-5090.
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