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Comptroller Curry Discusses Importance of Effective Supervision Before Clearing House Annual Conference

Federal Issues Banking OCC Bank Supervision

Federal Issues

In prepared remarks delivered on November 30 before The Clearing House Annual Conference in New York City, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry discussed lessons from the 2008 financial crisis. Curry noted that he was “often disappointed how quickly some forget the lessons of more recent events, particularly what brought the financial system to the cliff in 2008 and what has put our banks and our economy on much firmer ground since.” His remarks emphasized the value of strong capital, the need for ample liquidity, and the importance of effective supervision.

In discussing capital, Curry noted that since the beginning of 2009, there has been a $700 billion increase in common equity capital. Such levels would allow the 33 largest bank holding companies to be well capitalized and continue lending even under the most severe scenario used by the banking agencies’ stress tests. He cautioned, however, that “[w]eakening the ratio through special exclusions only undermines our original intent and weakens the protection against excessive leverage.” Comptroller Curry similarly noted that the Liquidity Coverage Ratio and the proposed Net Stable Funding Ratio complement each other to push covered banks to hold ready resources to meet short-term cash outflows and to shift to more stable, longer-term funding.

On the subject of supervision, Curry noted the importance of “holistic supervision based on the CAMELS rating system.” He also added that while a periodic reassessment of banking laws and regulations is appropriate, “we must never settle for ‘light-touch’ supervision.” And, in concluding, Curry stressed that community banks and their examiners, in order to “remain strong and healthy,” need to “focus on strategic risk, rising credit risk from stretching for yield while relaxing underwriting standards, expansion of new technologies, and compliance issues.”