Bank Appeals Process

You may seek review of matters that qualify for appeal by submitting a written description of the matter(s) under dispute to either the OCC's Ombudsman or your immediate supervisory office. Your president or chief executive office must submit the appeal and indicate your board's approval of the action. The appeal must include the supervisory standards (i.e., laws, regulations, supervisory guidance, etc.) that the bank deems were inappropriately applied by OCC examiners.

Your bank may seek review of almost any agency decision or action, including

• Examination ratings,
• Adequacy of the allowance for credit losses,
• Individual loan ratings,
• Violations of law,
• Shared National Credit decisions,
• Fair-lending-related decisions,
• Licensing decisions, and
• Material supervisory determinations such as matters requiring attention, compliance with enforcement actions, or other conclusions in the report of examination.

Yes. Matters that do not qualify for appeal include

• Appointment of receivers and conservators
• Preliminary examination conclusions
• Any formal enforcement-related actions or decisions, including decisions to
  • Seek issuance of a formal agreement or cease and desist order, or the assessment of a civil money penalty;
  • Take prompt corrective action;
  • Issue a safety and soundness order; and
  • Commence formal investigations
• Formal and informal rulemakings;
• Decisions or recommended decision following formal and informal adjudications;
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests;
• Decisions made to disapprove directors and senior executive officers pursuant to Section 914 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA); and
• Any other agency decisions that are subject to judicial review.

Please use the Large File Transfer (LFT) tool in BankNet to submit an appeal.

1. Visit BankNet and select Member Login.
2. Log in to BankNet using your username and password.
3. Select LFT under Quick Links.
4. Click on "Launch Large File Transfer" on the screen.
5. Log into the LFT portal by using your BankNet username and password.
6. On LFT home page, go to the bottom "Upload Files" section.
7. Upload files to the _Bank Appeals folder.

The Ombudsman or deputy comptroller will

• Contact the bank to discuss the appeals process and supervisory standards and ensure receipt of all relevant materials,
• Notify the bank within seven calendar days of receipt of the appeal whether the appeal has been accepted,
• Issue a written response within 45 calendar days of accepting your appeal (absent extenuating circumstances), and
• The Ombudsman will contact your bank during the follow-up procedure to determine if you believe OCC examiners have taken actions in retaliation for filing an appeal.

The filing times depend on the type of appeal.

• Informal appeals to the supervisory office are due within 10 calendar days of receipt of the agency decision or action.
• Formal appeals to the deputy comptroller or Ombudsman are due within 60 calendar days of receipt of the agency decision or action.
• Second-tier appeals to the Ombudsman are due within 15 calendar days of receipt of the appeal decision letter from the deputy comptroller.
• Appeals of fair-lending related referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice or notification to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are due within 15 calendar days of the date of notice.
• For Shared National Credit appeals, refer to the Q&A below.

Yes. If the agent bank for the SNC appeal is supervised by the OCC, the agent bank may submit a SNC appeal to the OCC’s deputy comptroller in Systemic Risk Identification and Support. If the agent bank refuses to file the appeal on behalf of the bank group, the deputy comptroller will accept an appeal from any participating bank.

An agent bank may file an appeal with the deputy comptroller within 14 calendar days of notification by the examiner-in-charge of the preliminary disposition of the credit.

Any participant bank can file an appeal either through the agent bank or on its own to the deputy comptroller within 14 calendar days of receiving the preliminary SNC results from the agent bank.

Second-tier appeals of SNC decisions to the Ombudsman may be filed within 30 calendar days of receipt of the decision letter from the deputy comptroller.

Yes. As a general matter, decisions and actions in dispute are not stayed during the pursuit of an appeal. However, when appropriate, the Ombudsman or appropriate OCC official may relieve your bank from compliance pending an appeal decision.

The OCC's Ombudsman functions independently from the bank supervision area and reports directly to the Comptroller, who grants the Ombudsman the authority to

• Stay any appealable agency decision or action in the resolution of a matter that qualifies for an appeal,
• Report weaknesses in OCC policy to the Comptroller, and
• Make recommendations regarding changes in OCC policy.

• OCC Bulletin 2013-15 ("Guidance for Bankers: Bank Appeals Process," June 7, 2013) - Describes the OCC's policy regarding its appeal process.
• Bank Appeals Process Brochure - Describes the appeals process for bankers and national bank examiners.