Republican lawmakers have asked the Treasury Department's inspector general to investigate whether the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's policies are encouraging banks to cut ties with entire lines of business or banks in other countries.
"Financial institutions have made clear to us that this 'de-risking' trend is very real, and is at least in part the result of actions taken by [the] OCC's regulatory supervisory, examination, or other staff to influence a bank's decision to exit a line of business or to terminate a banking relationship," said a letter dated Tuesday and signed by 11 members of the House Financial Services Committee.
The letter, which was
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De-risking can be curbed with tools that help lower the cost of complying with anti-money-laundering rules but do not sacrifice the effectiveness of controls.
May 3 -
As actions such as Operation Choke Point continue, the government should acknowledge the tension institutions face between serving a community and facing increased regulatory scrutiny.
April 7 -
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is collecting data on the decision-making process of banks that detach themselves from certain business sectors or geographical regions to limit potential heightened scrutiny from regulators, a process often called "de-risking."
March 7
The OCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. But in March, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said the OCC was
Curry also said then that the OCC bore no responsibility for de-risking, which he said was based on business rationales.
"We don't make those decisions," Curry said. "Banks make those decisions."
