Final Rule Eliminates Reputation Risk from Bank Supervision Programs
Summary
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule eliminating reputation risk as a basis for supervisory action. The rule, developed jointly with the FDIC, removes reputation risk from OCC supervisory programs and implements the President's fair banking Executive Order. National banks and federal thrifts are affected by this structural change to supervisory standards, which aims to prevent denial of banking services based on political, religious, or lawful business activity considerations.
“Reputation risk is not a sound basis for supervision.”
National banks and federal thrifts should review customer on-boarding and retention policies to assess whether prior reputation-risk-based restrictions are consistent with the new supervisory framework. The Comptroller's statement signals ongoing scrutiny of both agency and bank conduct regarding access to financial services — firms with policies that previously relied on reputation-risk assessments should evaluate alignment with the new standards.
What changed
The OCC has finalized a rule that codifies the elimination of reputation risk as a basis for government action in bank supervision. This represents a significant shift in supervisory philosophy, removing a subjective measure that the Comptroller stated was too often used as pretext for decisions unrelated to safety and soundness, financial risk, or BSA/AML compliance. The rule implements the President's fair banking Executive Order.
National banks and federal thrifts should review their compliance frameworks in light of this change. The removal of reputation risk as a supervisory basis means that supervisory actions must now be grounded in less subjective measures tied to actual safety and soundness concerns. Banks that may have faced restrictions or denial of services under prior reputation risk guidance could see different treatment going forward, and the OCC's ongoing review of alleged debanking actions signals continued attention to access-to-banking issues.
Archived snapshot
Apr 20, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
News Release 2026-27 | April 7, 2026
Comptroller Statement on Final Rule Eliminating Reputation Risk from Bank Supervision
Share This Page:
WASHINGTON—Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould issued the following statement today at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s board meeting about a final rule that codifies the elimination of reputation risk from Office of the Comptroller of the Currency supervisory programs.
Today’s final rule is another step toward reducing the opportunities for regulatory abuse by removing reputation risk as a basis for government action.
Reputation risk is not a sound basis for supervision. Regulators and banks have too often used it as a pretext for decisions that have nothing to do with safety and soundness, financial risk, or even BSA/AML compliance. The result, in too many cases, has been lawful businesses and individuals denied access to banking services. Supervisory action should be grounded in less subjective measures. This rule, together with other actions we are taking, helps move us in that direction.
Our rulemaking also implements the President’s fair banking Executive Order. But our work is not done under that EO. Although we have made significant progress in our review of the alleged debanking actions of the largest national banks, we continue to delve into the details of specific complaints and policy choices. Our collective efforts under the EO should shine a spotlight on the actions of agencies and certain banks, bringing accountability and ensuring that neither we nor banks restrict access to financial services on the basis of political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities.
I want to thank the teams at the FDIC and the OCC for their efforts in finalizing this rule, and I look forward to its implementation.
Related Link
- Remarks (PDF)
Media Contact
Stephanie Collins
(202) 649-6870
Topic(s):
Related changes
Get daily alerts for OCC News RSS
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from OCC.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when OCC News RSS publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.