OCC proposes changes to supervisory appeals process, creating appeals board

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is proposing several revisions to its supervisory appeals process, including the creation of a new board to review appeals.

According to proposed rulemaking, the OCC is seeking to enhance the role of its ombudsman as a neutral liaison to help banks seek redress for grievances. The agency also is proposing to establish a “de novo standard of review” that “does not defer to the previous decision but freely considers the matter anew,” and to strengthen prohibitions against retaliation by agency staff against banks that request an appeal.

The proposed appeals board would consist of a panel chief national bank examiner and two term appointees, with the latter consisting of individuals “with relevant supervisory experience gained either from working with a financial regulator or from working for a financial institution, law firm, consulting firm, trade group or other similar organization,” according to the proposed rule. Banks would have the option to file an appeal to the deputy director overseeing the supervisory unit in question or file directly to the board. The OCC would be able to escalate an appeal to the board “if there is a risk that delay can harm remediation of a material financial risk or result in costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund.”

The OCC is inviting public comment on the proposal, including how the appeals board should be structured.

The proposed changes come roughly a month after the FDIC board voted to bring back an independent office to oversee bank appeals of its supervisory decisions. Comptroller Jonathan Gould, who is a member of the FDIC board, said at the time his agency would be “following in the footsteps” of the FDIC.