Curry Pledges to Improve Internal OCC Communications

WASHINGTON — Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry said Friday that the agency is improving its own internal communications.

Speaking before the New England Council in Boston, Curry said the agency has worked to address several concerns from staff after a recent survey — the first being stepping up internal communications by senior management.

"We have made that commitment," said Curry in his prepared remarks.

Several other concerns also related to the integration last year of the Office of Thrift Supervision into the OCC as required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

"As some of you may know first-hand, blending together two agencies with distinctive cultures is always challenging," he said. "And we're working hard to ensure that nothing about this integration distracts our people from their responsibility for the safety and soundness of the federal banking system."

Curry said that banks need to go through a similar exercise by making a "critical self-assessment" and staying committed to their policies and culture

"Assessing and understanding a bank's culture of compliance with regulations and the bank's own internal policies — even where we think those policies are adequate — is one of the most challenging and important things we do as bank supervisors," he said. "That's one reason we've adopted heightened expectations for corporate governance of our large banks."

Curry said he expects bank boards to diligently review the bank's management, financials and business plans. He also cautioned that banks must have a strong internal audit process "with auditors who command support and respect throughout the enterprise" and "are independent of the business lines they review."

"When we find deficiencies in these areas of corporate governance, we require corrective action," he warned.