The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking that would codify the elimination of “reputation risk” from their supervisory programs, including by barring examiners from criticizing or taking adverse action against an institution on that basis. The proposal would define “reputation risk” and would also prohibit the agencies from requiring, instructing, or encouraging banks to close customer accounts or take other actions based on a person or entity’s political, social, cultural, or religious views or beliefs, constitutionally protected speech, or solely on the basis of politically disfavored but lawful business activities perceived to present reputation risk. The agencies framed the proposal as responding to concerns in Executive Order 14331, Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans, that reputation risk can be used as a pretext to restrict access to financial services. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 2025-10-07
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation propose rule to prohibit supervisors from using reputation risk
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposed a rule to eliminate "reputation risk" from supervisory programs, preventing examiners from taking adverse actions based on this criterion. The proposal prohibits agencies from influencing banks to close accounts or take actions based on political, social, cultural, or religious views, or lawful activities perceived as reputation risks. This responds to concerns in Executive Order 14331 about restricting access to financial services.