Prohibition on Use of Reputation Risk by Regulators

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) are issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking to codify the elimination of reputation risk from their supervisory programs. Among other things, the proposed rule would prohibit the agencies from criticizing or taking adverse action against an institution on the basis of reputation risk. The proposed rule would also prohibit the agencies from requiring, instructing, or encouraging an institution to close an account, to refrain from providing an account, product, or service, or to modify or terminate any product or service on the basis of a person or entity's political, social, cultural, or religious views or beliefs, constitutionally protected speech, or solely on the basis of politically disfavored but lawful business activities perceived to present reputation risk.