meta_id 3440030

On August 27, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a final rule establishing uniform standards for enforcement and supervisory activities focused on material financial risks and banking compliance. The final rule establishes a uniform definition for "unsafe or unsound practice" under 12 U.S.C. § 1818, clarifying enforcement and supervision standards across both agencies. The definition prioritizes material financial risks over policy, process, documentation, and other nonfinancial concerns, ensuring examiners direct attention to substantive compliance issues rather than administrative matters. The rule also establishes uniform standards for issuing Matters Requiring Attention (MRAs) and communicating supervisory observations and violations of laws and regulations during the examination process. The agencies developed this rule to build on their October 2025 proposal, incorporating modifications to clarify how they will exercise enforcement and supervisory authority. The final rule allows the agencies to tailor their application of the unsafe or unsound practices definition and MRA standards based on risk factors specific to individual institutions, providing flexibility while maintaining consistency. The rule explicitly applies only to institutions supervised by the OCC and FDIC. The final rule represents a significant shift in supervisory approach, emphasizing risk-based examination processes that focus examiner and institutional resources on material financial concerns. This approach aims to reduce compliance burden on institutions while maintaining robust oversight of substantive risks to the banking system. The final rule is available on the OCC website.