Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ends reputation risk examinations and removes references from supervisory guidance

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced it will no longer examine its regulated institutions for reputation risk and will remove references to reputation risk from the Comptroller’s Handbook booklets and guidance issuances. The OCC positioned the change as refocusing supervision on risk management, fair customer treatment, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations rather than on how particular activities may be perceived by the public. Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood said reputation risk has not been used as a catch-all basis for supervisory action and that concentrating examinations on more transparent risk areas is intended to clarify that the OCC does not make business decisions for banks. The agency added that the change does not alter expectations for prudent risk management across other risk areas. The OCC expects to complete updates to its public documents in the coming weeks.