FDIC Ombudsman Highlights Stakeholder Concerns in 2023

In a report on its activities during 2023, the FDIC Office of the Ombudsman highlighted common themes of stakeholder feedback and requests for assistance the Office received in 2023.

According to the report, FDIC Regional Ombudsmen met with 574 external stakeholders during 2023. The report highlighted two recurring themes: (i) lack of communication about a report of examination or a pending application when the processing timeframes extended beyond published guidelines or reasonable expectations and (ii) disagreement with examination conclusions, ratings, expected corrective actions or application decisions.

The FDIC stated that it had 472 confidential sessions with bankers to collect feedback on FDIC supervisory processes. The bankers raised the following concerns:

• Reports of examination often criticized practices or conditions that did not violate regulations or pose undue risk to their bank’s operations or financial condition.
• Examiners often did not sufficiently tailor document request lists and examination procedures to the bank’s business model and risk profile; the bankers emphasized that this "one size fits all" approach often produced preliminary criticisms that did not reflect an understanding of their bank’s specific compliance or risk management processes.
• There were often prolonged periods with no communication from the FDIC, after an onsite examination concluded or an application was submitted. Organizers and bankers noted that they incurred sizeable legal and other costs while waiting for a response from the FDIC.
• The agency’s non-sufficient funds re-presentment reflected a perceived change in regulatory expectations without providing advance notice and a grace period to comply with re-presentment guidance. Bankers also noted cumbersome "look-back" reviews.