Four booklets that are part of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual have been revised to streamline licensing processes to reflect that the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act do not apply to the approval of banking activities, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said in a bulletin Tuesday.
The “Branches and Relocations,” “Charters,” “Federal Branches and Agencies,” and “General Policies and Procedures” booklets of the licensing manual were revised to implement the changes.
“The revised booklets delete references to historic preservation and environmental review requirements under the acts because they are inapplicable to the approval of banking activities that are the subject of branch and relocation applications, applications to establish a federal branch or agency, and federal branch and agency relocation applications,” the OCC said in Bulletin 2019-50. “These revisions conform the OCC’s licensing processes to its legal position.”