Federal Bank Agencies Seek Comments on Efforts to Reduce Regulatory Burdens

The OCC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the FDIC (together, the "agencies") announced that they are reviewing regulations in order to identify those that are outdated or unnecessary. The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 ("EGRPRA") requires that the agencies review their regulations at least every 10 years.

The announcement was part of the fourth and final notice in a series published in the Federal Register. In these notices, the agencies have sought comments on various types of regulations. The final notice focuses on (i) rules of procedure, (ii) safety and soundness, and (iii) securities. The previous notices focused on applications and reporting, banking operations, Capital, the Community Reinvestment Act, consumer protection, directors, officers and employees, international operations, AML, and bank powers.

In the final notice, the agencies asked commenters to consider the following matters: (i) the need for statutory change, (ii) whether the relevant rule serves a purpose, (iii) whether the requirements are sufficiently flexible, (iv) whether the rule has an anticompetitive effect, (v) the reporting and recordkeeping requirements, (vi) whether the requirement is appropriate to the institution, (vii) whether the rule is clear, (viii) whether the requirements impose an excessive burden on small banks, and (ix) whether the scope of the rules matches their purpose.