New examination guidance regarding banks’ recovery planning – for which compliance will be phased in by this July – was released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in a bulletin (No. 2018-9) Thursday to all national banks and federal savings associations, among others.
The guidance is provided in the form of a new “Recovery Planning” booklet for the OCC-published Comptroller’s Handbook. It’s part of the “Safety and Soundness” category in the handbook and addresses effective recovery planning as detailed in an OCC regulation appendix (12 CFR 30, appendix E) titled “OCC Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured Federal Branches.”
The guidelines only apply to covered banks and have phased-in compliance periods culminating in July 2018, the agency says.
A “covered bank,” the OCC says, means any bank with average total consolidated assets –
- equal to or greater than $50 billion;
- less than $50 billion if the bank was previously a covered bank, unless the OCC determines otherwise; or
- less than $50 billion, if the OCC determines that the bank is highly complex or otherwise presents a heightened risk as to warrant the application of the recovery planning guidelines pursuant to paragraph I.C.1.a. of 12 CFR 30, appendix E.
The booklet contains Q&A, examples, and other examiner guidance; and examinations procedures for examiners.