OCC Releases Report on Risks Facing National Banks and Federal Savings Associations

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") has issued a report titled Semiannual Risk Perspective, Fall 2013, which provides an overview of various risks facing the banking industry. The report focused on issues that pose threats to the "safety and soundness" of those financial institutions which are regulated by the OCC, and is intended as a resource for the industry, examiners and the public. The first ten pages provides a useful summary of the report.

Lofchie Comment: One point of interest is that larger banks perform materially better than small ones (page 18), not so surprising in light of fixed expenses. That said, it seems in conflict with the implication sometimes given by the various regulators that large banks should be somehow inherently criticized. For example, if you were to read this speech (notwithstanding the genuineness of the too-big-to-fail issues raised), you could be left with the impression that small banks were outperforming the larger ones.

See: OCC Semiannual Risk Perspective for Fall 2013; Press Release.Related News: FDIC Vice Chairman Delivers Remarks Regarding Changing the Structure of the U.S. Financial System (with Lofchie Comment) (December 16, 2013).