OCC Revises Process for Managing Matters Requiring Attention

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today published revised policy and procedures for how it manages Matters Requiring Attention (MRA) resulting from its examination of supervised institutions.

MRAs communicate specific supervisory concerns identified during examinations in writing to boards and management teams of regulated institutions. MRAs must receive timely and effective corrective action by bank management and follow-up by OCC examiners.

"Successful supervision relies upon clear communication of supervisory expectations," said Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry. "Clarifying how we use MRAs helps ensure that our concerns are addressed, that deficient practices are corrected early, and that we can track concerns more effectively."

The OCC's updated MRA guidance enhances the agency's ability to ensure a safe and sound federal banking system by emphasizing timely detection and sustainable corrective action of deficient bank practices before they affect the bank's condition. The updated guidance standardizes MRA terminology, format, follow-up, analysis, and reporting across the agency. The guidance addresses recommendations from the international peer review of the OCC's supervision of large and midsize institutions, which was conducted last year.

The bulletin released today by the OCC highlights changes to policy and procedures regarding MRAs, which have been incorporated into the "Bank Supervision Process," "Large Bank Supervision," "Community Bank Supervision," and "Federal Branches and Agencies Supervision" booklets of the Comptroller's Handbook and internal guidance.

The principles contained in the MRA guidance apply to examinations of all national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies, regardless of size.

Related Links

• OCC Bulletin 2014-52, "Matters Requiring Attention"
• Comptroller's Handbook
• "An International Review of OCC's Supervision of Large and Midsize Institutions"