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OCC updates Comptroller’s Licensing Manual
On November 23, the OCC announced a new Comptroller’s Licensing Manual booklet, “Mutual to Stock Conversions,” which incorporates provisions of revised regulation 12 CFR Part 192. The new booklet, among other things, “provides an overview of policy considerations and decision criteria that the OCC considers when reviewing applications by federal savings associations to convert from a mutual to stock form of ownership under 12 CFR 192.” The new booklet also outlines requirements for covered institutions when filing conversion applications, as well as references and information resources for prospective filers.
OCC revises the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual
On September 9, the OCC announced an updated version of its “Federal Branches and Agencies” booklet of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. According to Bulletin 2020-80, the revised booklet clarifies and updates the OCC’s policies and processes covering the establishment, operations, and other corporate activities of federally licensed offices of foreign banks, including (i) notice and application filing requirements; (ii) decision factors and criteria; and (iii) removal of internal licensing procedures.
OCC revises the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual
On January 31, the OCC announced an updated version of its “Subsidiaries and Equity Investments” booklet of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. According to Bulletin 2019-4, the revised booklet now provides additional guidance describing activities that the OCC has determined may be performed in operating subsidiaries and servicer corporations, or through pass-through investments.
Buckley Sandler Special Alert: OCC announces it will accept fintech charter applications, following the release of Treasury report on nonbank financial institutions
On July 31, the OCC announced that nondepository financial technology firms engaged in one or more core banking functions may apply for a special purpose national bank (SPNB) charter. The announcement follows a report released the same day by the Treasury Department, which discusses a number of recommendations for creating a streamlined environment for regulating financial technology, and includes an endorsement of the OCC’s SPNB charter for fintech firms (fintech charter).
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Click here to read the full special alert.If you have questions about the report or other related issues, please visit our Fintech practice page, or contact a Buckley Sandler attorney with whom you have worked in the past.
OCC updates Comptroller’s Licensing Manual to revise public comment period calculation for business combination applicants
On July 30, the OCC released Bulletin 2018-22 announcing an updated version of its “Business Combinations” booklet of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. As previously covered in InfoBytes, the OCC released a revised version of the booklet last November, which included updates related to regulations addressing applications for national banks and federal savings associations proposing to execute a business combination. Current version 1.1 of the booklet incorporates minor technical corrections and includes a change in the public comment period calculation, which is “generally 30 days after the newspaper publication.” Among other things, the booklet provides a requirement that a notice “must be published three times in a newspaper of general circulation in the community or communities where the main or home offices of the banks involved in the transaction are located.” The OCC further advises applicants to consider the possibility of a processing delay in the event “significant or adverse comments” are received, and stresses potential delays should be a factored in when planning target dates for consummating a business combination.
OCC updates Comptroller’s Licensing Manual to revise background investigation guidance
On February 23, the OCC released Bulletin 2018-5 announcing a revised version of its “Background Investigations (Version 1.1)” booklet, which is part of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. The revised booklet replaces a November 2017 booklet of the same name, and reflects minor technical corrections and one process update. The booklet outlines the OCC’s procedures for carrying out background investigations of individuals, companies, and other organizations who file applications or notices seeking to acquire control of or influence a national bank or a federal branch or agency of a foreign bank. Specifically, the changes made under the heading “Application Process” (i) removes enforcement actions and 12 USC §1818 approval conditions from a list of filers subject to OCC background investigations; and (ii) adds a description of language the OCC may use should the agency decide to allow an individual to assume his duties before the background investigation has been completed.
OCC Updates Public Comment Policy on Licensing Applications
On November 17, the OCC released Bulletin 2017-55 announcing a revised version of its “Public Notice and Comments” booklet. This revised booklet replaces a May 2017 booklet of the same name, and is part of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. The revised booklet reflects updates related to the OCC’s policy regarding review of public comments on licensing filings. Specifically, the OCC will now only consider public comments if they are received before the close of the comment period (typically 30 days following a filing), unless an extension has been granted “in accordance with 12 CFR 5.10(b)(2).” The revised booklet also describes situations in which an extension may be granted.
OCC Updates Comptroller’s Licensing Manual to Provide Revised Guidance on Branching and Relocation Procedures
On November 15, the OCC released Bulletin 2017-54 announcing a revised version of its “Branches and Relocations” booklet (replacing the booklet of the same title issued in October 2009), which includes updates related to procedures and requirements for national banks and federal savings associations submitting branch or relocation applications. The booklet, which is part of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual, covers:
- policies and criteria of general applicability, including the application and approval process; and
- specific policies and requirements unique to national banks and those unique to federal savings associations.
Reflected in the newly revised booklet are updates to procedures and regulations that have been implemented since 2009, including the integration of the Office of Thrift Supervision into the OCC and the issuance of revised regulation 12 C.F.R. § 5 that went into effect July 1, 2015.
OCC Updates Comptroller’s Licensing Manual to Provide Revised Guidance on Business Combination Applications
On November 14, the OCC released Bulletin 2017-53 announcing a revised version of its “Business Combinations” booklet (replacing the booklet of the same title issued in December 2006), which includes updates related to regulations addressing applications for national banks and federal savings associations proposing to execute a business combination. The booklet, which is part of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual, covers:
- policies and decision criteria that the OCC considers when evaluating applications from banks seeking to execute business combinations, including mergers, consolidations, certain purchase and assumption transactions, and reorganizations;
- the application process, including the pre-filing, filing, review, decision, and post-consummation phases;
- guidance on application requirements and circumstances under which a streamlined business combination is granted; and
- references and links to informational resources for applicants to use during the filing process.
Reflected in the newly revised booklet are updates to procedures and regulations that have been implemented since 2006, including the integration of the Office of Thrift Supervision into the OCC and the issuance of revised regulation 12 C.F.R. § 5 that went into effect July 1, 2015.
OCC Updates Comptroller’s Licensing Manual to Provide Revised Guidance on Flood Insurance Requirements
On September 7, the OCC released OCC Bulletin 2017-35 announcing a replacement of its handbook titled “Flood Disaster Protection Act” (FDPA)—last issued in 1999—to reflect recent amendments to the FDPA and implement regulations that resulted from the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters Act) and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014. The booklet, which is part of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual, clarifies the following changes, among other things:
- flood insurance requirement exemptions for certain detached nonresidential structures;
- a requirement that banks—or servicers acting on behalf of a bank—escrow flood insurance premiums and fees for “any loan secured by a residential improved real estate or a mobile home that is made, increased, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2016,” and also lists exemptions to the requirement;
- a requirement that banks and servicers “subject to the escrow requirement” must provide borrowers the option to escrow flood insurance premiums and fees and are required to implement the escrow “as soon as reasonably practicable” after the request has been received;
- FDPA provisions on force-placed insurance, including termination and refund requirements; and
- “examination procedures for determining compliance with the detached structure, escrow, and force placement provisions.”
Notably, the OCC stated that the Biggert-Waters Act provision, which requires the acceptance of private flood insurance policies that meets specified criteria to satisfy the mandatory purchase requirement, has not yet been adopted and will be addressed separately.
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