The Comptroller of the Currency (“Comptroller”) is the administrator of the federal banking system and chief executive officer of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”). The Comptroller also serves as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. The Comptroller is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Comptroller holds office for a term of five years, but the President may remove the Comptroller before the end of the term upon reasons to be communicated by the President to the Senate.
The OCC charters, regulates, and supervises all U.S. national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks. The OCC is an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In general terms, the OCC ensures that the federal banking system operates in a safe and sound manner, provides fair access to financial services, treats customers fairly, and complies with applicable laws and regulations.
Among others, the following are the main functions of the OCC:
- Supervise chartered banks.
- Conduct on-site reviews and supervise banks' operations.
- Evaluate applications made by financial institutions to be chartered as an OCC-supervised bank and ensure that their corporate structure is established and maintained in accordance with the principles of a safe and sound banking system.
- Issue regulations for banks chartered under the National Bank Act and federal savings associations chartered under the Home Owners' Loan Act.
- Take supervisory actions against banks that do not comply with the regulations issued by the OCC or that otherwise engage in risky practices.
- Ensure fair access and equal treatment to bank customers.
- Assist banks in making financial services accessible to underserved communities and consumers.
[Last updated in October of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]