According to an official from a U.S. banking regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will release a new set of rules on Thursday, with the core idea being to "focus regulatory attention on significant financial risks." Regulators stated that this reform aims to prevent bank inspections from becoming a "check-off compliance effort," instead concentrating on the most critical financial risks that could jeopardize a bank's survival. The reform includes a new definition of the term "dangerous or unsound behavior," which previously had considerable room for interpretation. The new rules will also raise the bar for issuing "issues of concern," formal notices issued by regulators to banks requiring them to rectify existing problems. Previously, U.S. regulators faced criticism for failing to address Silicon Valley Bank's interest rate and liquidity risks in a timely manner. The regulatory official stated, "We are pushing regulators and banks to focus their attention on the risks that are most important to them—those that could have a significant impact on their balance sheets and liquidity." Furthermore, the OCC announced that it will release its policy and procedure manuals for the first time to improve transparency and accountability. The agency stated that it will now categorize legal and regulatory violations into "substantive violations" and "technical violations." For non-substantive violations, regulators will seek to address them outside of the formal written notification system.
