Proposed Rule2025-20199
Rescission of OCC Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured Federal Branches
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Published
November 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentComptroller of the Currency
Abstract
The OCC proposes amending 12 CFR part 30 by rescinding appendix E, OCC Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal Savings, and Insured Federal Branches.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51587-51590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20199]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
12 CFR Part 30
[Docket ID OCC-2025-0339]
RIN 1557-AF40
Rescission of OCC Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery
Planning by Certain Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal
Savings Associations, and Insured Federal Branches
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The OCC proposes amending 12 CFR part 30 by rescinding
appendix E, OCC Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning
by Certain Large Insured National Banks,
[[Page 51588]]
Insured Federal Savings, and Insured Federal Branches.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 18, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Please use the title ``Rescission of OCC
Guidelines Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain
Large Insured National Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and
Insured Federal Branches'' to facilitate the organization and
distribution of the comments. You may submit comments by any of the
following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal--<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>:
Go to <a href="https://regulations.gov">https://regulations.gov</a>. Enter Docket ID ``OCC-2025-0339'' in
the Search Box and click ``Search.'' Public comments can be submitted
via the ``Comment'' box below the displayed document information or by
clicking on the document title and then clicking the ``Comment'' box on
the top-left side of the screen. For help with submitting effective
comments, please click on ``Commenter's Checklist.'' For assistance
with the <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> site, please call 1-866-498-2945 (toll free)
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EST or email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a485f5d4f565b4e53555449525f564a5e5f49517a5d495b145d554c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7d5c2c0d2cbc6d3cec8c9d4cfc2cbd7c3c2d4cce7c0d4c689c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment
Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street
SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219.
<bullet> Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218,
Washington, DC 20219.
Instructions: You must include ``OCC'' as the agency name and
Docket ID ``OCC-2025-0339'' in your comment. In general, the OCC will
enter all comments received into the docket and publish the comments on
the <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> website without change, including any business or
personal information provided such as name and address information,
email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including
attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public
record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information
in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential
or inappropriate for public disclosure.
You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to
this action by the following method:
<bullet> Viewing Comments Electronically--<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>:
Go to <a href="https://regulations.gov">https://regulations.gov</a>. Enter Docket ID ``OCC-2025-0339'' in
the Search Box and click ``Search.'' Click on the ``Documents'' tab and
then the document's title. After clicking the document's title, click
the ``Browse Comments'' tab. Comments can be viewed and filtered by
clicking on the ``Sort By'' drop-down on the right side of the screen
or the ``Refine Results'' options on the left side of the screen.
Supporting materials can be viewed by clicking on the ``Documents'' tab
and filtered by clicking on the ``Sort By'' drop-down on the right side
of the screen or the ``Refine Documents Results'' options on the left
side of the screen.'' For assistance with the <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> site,
please call 1-866-498-2945 (toll free) Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EST
or email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fe8c9b998b929f8a9791908d969b928e9a9b8d95be998d9fd0999188"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="22504745574e43564b4d4c514a474e5246475149624551430c454d54">[email protected]</span></a>.
The docket may be viewed after the close of the comment period in
the same manner as during the comment period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Young, Chief Counsel's Office,
(202) 649-5490; Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th
Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or
have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On September 29, 2016, the OCC issued Guidelines Establishing
Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National
Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured Federal
Branches (Guidelines).\1\ Under the Guidelines, an insured national
bank, insured Federal savings association, or insured Federal branch
subject to the standards (covered banks) should have a recovery plan
that includes (1) quantitative or qualitative indicators of the risk or
existence of severe stress that reflect its particular vulnerabilities;
(2) a wide range of credible options that it could undertake in
response to the stress to restore its financial strength and viability;
and (3) an assessment and description of how these options would affect
it. The Guidelines provide that a recovery plan should also address (1)
the covered bank's overall organizational and legal entity structure
and its interconnections and interdependencies; (2) procedures for
escalating decision-making to senior management or the board of
directors or an appropriate committee thereof (board); (3) management
reports; (4) communication procedures; and (5) any other information
the OCC communicates in writing. The Guidelines also set forth the
responsibilities of management and the board with respect to the
covered bank's recovery plan.
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\1\ 81 FR 66791 (Sept. 29, 2016). The Guidelines are codified at
12 CFR part 30, appendix E. They were issued pursuant to section 39
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. 1831p-1, which
authorizes the OCC to prescribe enforceable safety and soundness
standards.
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The 2016 Guidelines applied to banks with total consolidated assets
of $50 billion or more. In 2018, the OCC amended the Guidelines to
raise the threshold to $250 billion based on its view, at that time,
that these larger, more complex, and potentially more interconnected
banks presented greater systemic risk to the financial system and would
benefit most from recovery planning.\2\
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\2\ 83 FR 66604 (Dec. 27, 2018).
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In October 2024, the OCC amended the Guidelines to apply to banks
with average total consolidated assets of $100 billion or more;
incorporate a testing standard; and clarify the role of non-financial
(including operational and strategic) risk in recovery planning.\3\
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\3\ 89 FR 84255 (Oct. 22, 2024).
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II. Recission of Guidelines
As a part of the ongoing assessment of the agency's supervisory
framework to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burden, the
OCC is proposing to amend 12 CFR part 30 by rescinding the Guidelines
contained in appendix E. The Guidelines cause covered banks to direct
significant resources towards developing responsive documentation. In
the OCC's experience, much of this documentation is, by its nature,
scenario-dependent or otherwise conjectural and, therefore, is likely
to be irrelevant or of limited utility when a covered bank faces
stress. Appropriate recovery options and communication procedures, for
example, may vary widely depending on the facts and circumstances of
the particular stress scenario, including many that would be outside of
the covered banks' control or ability to reliably predict. Likewise,
impact assessments for such recovery options appear conjectural by
nature and of limited utility in an actual stress scenario.
The OCC has also observed that covered banks are well attuned to
indicia of stress without regard to the presence of the recovery
planning triggers and escalation procedure expectations of the
Guidelines. Moreover, the OCC is concerned that escalation or
communication procedures or other actions tied to such triggers may be
unnecessary or inappropriate under the particular facts and
circumstances of a stress scenario.
[[Page 51589]]
More generally, the OCC believes that proper risk management should
be a dynamic process that involves real-time responses to the facts and
circumstances of a stress event or periods of stress. As such, the OCC
would not necessarily expect adherence to recovery plans. Rather, the
OCC would expect to closely monitor a covered bank as it assesses and
responds to a stress event.\4\ Banks are in the business of risk
management and are constantly assessing and adjusting their operations
to adapt to evolving risk factors and conditions. Relieving covered
banks of the obligation to engage in prescriptive recovery planning
activities will further restore the risk management function to bank
management's control and enhances resource availability that can be
directed towards improving risk management operations and other
productive activities.
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\4\ Although the OCC does not intend to discourage covered banks
from developing plans to address stress scenarios, the OCC does not
expect to require or review the appropriateness of such plans, nor
does it expect for the covered bank to adhere to such plan unless it
is the most consistent with the bank's safe and sound operations
under the circumstances.
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Further, the OCC's existing safety and soundness standards require
all insured depository institutions to have effective risk management
processes, including in times of stress, that is commensurate with the
size, complexity, and risk of their activities.\5\ In addition, the OCC
expects financial institutions of all sizes to consider and
appropriately address all material risks in their operating environment
and be resilient to a range of risks.\6\ Further, the OCC expects that
all institutions have a formal contingency funding plan that considers
a range of possible stress scenarios, assesses the stability of funding
during periods of stress, and provides for a broad range of funding
sources under adverse conditions.\7\ The duplication of these
principles in the Guidelines can be eliminated without undermining the
structural integrity of prudential regulation of covered banks.
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\5\ Section 39 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C.
1831p-1 requires the OCC to prescribe safety and soundness standards
for insured depository institutions. Such standards were implemented
by rule in 12 CFR part 30, appendix A. These guidelines address,
among other things, operational and managerial standards relating to
(1) internal controls, information systems; (2) internal audit
systems; (3) loan documentation; (4) credit underwriting; (5)
interest rate risk exposure; (6) asset growth; (7) asset quality;
(8) earnings; and (9) compensation.
\6\ See, e.g., the Bank Supervision Process booklet of the
Comptroller's Handbook, <a href="https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/comptrollers-handbook/files/bank-supervision-process/index-bank-supervision-process.html">https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/comptrollers-handbook/files/bank-supervision-process/index-bank-supervision-process.html</a>.
\7\ See Addendum to the Interagency Policy Statement on Funding
and Liquidity Risk Management: Importance of Contingency Funding
Plans, OCC Bulletin 2023-25, which can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2023/nr-ia-2023-82a.pdf">https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2023/nr-ia-2023-82a.pdf</a>;
see also Interagency Policy Statement on Funding and Liquidity Risk
Management, Federal Reserve SR 10-6 (March 17, 2010), FDIC FIL-13-
2010 (April 10, 2010), and OCC Bulletin 2010-13 (March 22, 2010).
These individual agency issuances released the 2010 Interagency
Policy Statement on Funding and Liquidity Risk Management, which can
be accessed here: <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2010-03-22/pdf/2010-6137.pdf">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2010-03-22/pdf/2010-6137.pdf</a>.
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Finally, unlike statutorily mandated resolution planning,\8\ there
is no statutory requirement that covered banks undertake recovery
planning. Rather, the Guidelines impose an unnecessary regulatory
burden on covered banks that consumes valuable resources and fails to
account for management's ability to assess and manage risks prior to
and during periods of stress. Therefore, the OCC is proposing to amend
12 CFR part 30 by rescinding the Guidelines contained in appendix E.
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\8\ See 12 U.S.C. 5365.
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III. Request for Feedback
Question 1. Should the OCC codify the contingency funding plan
expectations set forth in the Interagency Policy Statement on Funding
and Liquidity Risk Management and the Addendum to the Interagency
Policy Statement on Funding and Liquidity Risk Management: Importance
of Contingency Funding Plans? If so, should the codified contingency
funding plan requirements apply to all OCC-regulated institutions or a
subset of regulated entities? \9\
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\9\ See supra note 7.
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IV. Request for Comment
The OCC encourages comment on any aspect of this proposal and
especially on the specific issues discussed in this SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
V. Regulatory Analysis
Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),\10\ the OCC may
not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to,
an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC has reviewed the
notice of proposed rulemaking and determined that it would not create
any new or revise any existing, collections of information under the
PRA and therefore, require no PRA filings, other than a discontinuance
request to OMB for the currently approved ``Guidelines Establishing
Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National
Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured Federal
Branches (1557-0333)'' information collection following the
finalization of the rule.
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\10\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.
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Title of Information Collection: OCC Guidelines Establishing
Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured National
Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured Federal
Branches.
OMB Control Number: 1557-0333.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit organizations.
Description: Twelve CFR part 30, appendix E, current Guidelines
apply to national banks, insured Federal savings associations, and
insured Federal branches of foreign banks with total consolidated
assets of $100 billion or more. The OMB previously approved the
collection of information in the current Guidelines, which are found at
paragraphs II.B., II.C., and III. Specifically, paragraph II.B. lists
the elements of the recovery plan, which are an overview of the covered
bank; triggers; options for recovery; impact assessments; escalation
procedures; management reports; communication procedures; and other
information. Paragraph II.C. addresses the relationship of the plan to
other covered bank processes and coordination with other plans,
including the processes and plans of its bank holding company.
Paragraph III. outlines management and the board's responsibilities.
The Guidelines also include a testing standard, which provides that a
covered bank should test its recovery plan.
Additionally, the Guidelines clarify the role of non-financial risk
(including operational and strategic risk) in recovery planning.
Current Burden
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Total Number of Respondents: 21.
Total Burden per Respondent: 32,017 hours.
Total Burden for Collection: 672,360 hours.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.,
requires an agency, in connection with a proposed rule, to prepare an
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis describing the impact of the
rule on small entities (defined by the Small Business Administration
(SBA) for purposes of the RFA to include commercial banks and savings
institutions with total assets of $850 million or less and trust
companies with total assets of $47 million or less) or to
[[Page 51590]]
certify that the proposed rule would not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. However, under
section 605(b) of the RFA, this analysis is not required if an agency
certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities and publishes its certification
and a short explanatory statement in the Federal Register along with
its rule.
The OCC certifies that the proposed recission of part 30, appendix
E, if adopted, will not have a significant impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Twelve CFR part 30, appendix E currently
applies to only those insured national bank, insured Federal savings
association, or insured Federal branch with average total consolidated
assets of $100 billion or more. Therefore, the recission of appendix E
would impact no small entities supervised by the OCC. Accordingly, an
initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
The OCC analyzed the proposed rule under the factors set forth in
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) (2 U.S.C. 1532). Under
this analysis, the OCC considered whether the proposed rule includes a
Federal mandate that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and
Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100
million or more (currently $187 million, as adjusted annually for
inflation) in any one year. The OCC has determined that the cost
savings associated with the rescission of the Guidelines' mandates will
be approximately $20 million. Therefore, the OCC concludes that the
recission of 12 CFR part 30, appendix E, will not result in an
expenditure of $187 million or more annually by State, local, and
Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector.
Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994
Pursuant to section 302(a) of the Riegle Community Development and
Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994,\11\ in determining the effective
date and administrative compliance requirements for new regulations
that impose additional reporting, disclosure, or other requirements on
insured depository institutions, the OCC must consider, consistent with
the principles of safety and soundness and the public interest: (1) any
administrative burdens that the proposed rule would place on depository
institutions, including small depository institutions, and customers of
depository institutions and (2) the benefits of the proposed rule. This
rulemaking would not impose additional reporting, disclosure, or other
requirements on insured depository institutions. Therefore, section
302(a) of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement
Act of 1994 does not apply to this rulemaking.
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\11\ 12 U.S.C. 4802(a).
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Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2023
The Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2023 \12\
requires that a notice of proposed rulemaking include the internet
address of a summary of not more than 100 words in length of a proposed
rule, in plain language, that shall be posted on the internet website
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
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\12\ 12 U.S.C. 553(b)(4).
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The proposed rulemaking would rescind the OCC's Guidelines
Establishing Standards for Recovery Planning by Certain Large Insured
National Banks, Insured Federal Savings Associations, and Insured
Federal Branches contained in appendix E of 12 CFR part 30.
The proposal and the required summary can be found at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by searching for Docket ID OCC-2025-0339 and
<a href="https://occ.gov/topics/laws-and-regulations/occ-regulations/proposed-issuances/index-proposed-issuances.html">https://occ.gov/topics/laws-and-regulations/occ-regulations/proposed-issuances/index-proposed-issuances.html</a>.
Executive Orders 12866 and 14192
Executive Order 12866, titled ``Regulatory Planning and Review,''
as amended, provides that the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (OIRA), will review all ``significant regulatory actions'' as
defined therein. OIRA has determined that this proposal is not a
``significant regulatory action'' for purposes of Executive Order
12866.
Executive Order 14192, titled ``Unleashing Prosperity Through
Deregulation,'' separately requires that an agency, unless prohibited
by law, identify at least 10 existing regulations to be repealed when
the agency publicly proposes for notice and comment or otherwise
promulgates a new regulation with total costs greater than zero.
Executive Order 14192 further requires that new incremental costs
associated with new regulations shall, to the extent permitted by law,
be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with at least
ten prior regulations. The OCC expects the proposed rule will be a
deregulatory action under Executive Order 14192.
List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 30
Administrative practice and procedure, National banks, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
PART 30--SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS STANDARDS
Appendix E to Part 30 [Removed]
0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, and under the authority of 12
U.S.C. 93a and 12 U.S.C. 1831p-1, the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency proposes to remove Appendix E to part 30.
Jonathan V. Gould,
Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 2025-20199 Filed 11-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P
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