The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announce Friday that it will reduce assessments on national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks next year.
The OCC will reduce the marginal rates in its General Assessment Fee Schedule by 10 percent. This change is expected to reduce total assessments collected by the agency by more than $90 million. The reduction reflects cost savings in the OCC’s operations and projections of the OCC’s costs and revenue. It will take effect with the March 31, 2019, assessments.
“We have a responsibility to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us, and as assets within the federal banking system have grown, so have the assessments collected by the agency,” Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting said. “The agency has demonstrated it can reduce its costs by operating more effectively and efficiently while still ensuring the federal banking system operates in a safe, sound, and fair manner.”
The OCC also announced a change to its refund policy for institutions that leave the federal banking system during an assessment period. If a bank leaves the federal banking system during the first half of a semiannual assessment period, the OCC will issue a refund to the bank for the second half of the bank’s semiannual assessment. However, no refund will be issued if a bank leaves the federal banking system in the second half of the assessment period.
The National Bank Act and the Home Owners’ Loan Act authorizes the Comptroller to recover the costs of its operations through assessments, fees, and other charges on the institutions it supervises. Assessments are reviewed annually and marginal assessment rates are set for each year.