The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is proposing to restructure its processes for making bank information available for public review, according to an agency announcement.
The proposed rulemaking seeks to strike a better balance between public disclosure and protecting confidential information collected as part of agency supervision, the OCC said. The proposal comes less than a month after the OCC and other banking agencies jointly announced a “coordinated approach” for handling sensitive information used in bank examinations.
Among the proposed changes, the OCC would formally define “confidential supervisory information” and allow regulated entities to publicly share that information without first notifying the agency, as long as certain conditions are met. The proposal would also expedite how the OCC handles Freedom of Information requests, and it would set a 25-year time limit under which information may no longer be subject to heightened confidentiality standards.
Comments on the proposal are due 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. The FDIC has proposed a similar rule, with an Aug. 31 deadline for public comment.
“The public’s understanding of, and confidence in, our supervision and banks are essential to the proper functioning of our financial system and good government,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said. “I look forward to commenters’ views on how today’s proposal would seek to effect these goals while still protecting against disclosures that could harm banks or the supervisory process.”
