U.S. bank regulators are canceling some bank exams and cutting back on the use of confidential disciplinary notices, a reflection of the more business-friendly and de-regulatory approach of the second Trump administration, according to a media report.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Reserve have scaled back or canceled bank exams, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing seven industry executives. The lighter touch is mostly applying to non-core banking issues such as climate change risk, reputational risk, and diversity and inclusion, they said.
The bank supervisors are also being more focused on the scope of their exams, some related to critical banking issues, using more specific language in explaining what they’ll assess and in hewing closer to examination rulebooks, three of the people told Reuters.
Officials are also being more judicious in their use of formal disciplinary letters known as “matters requiring attention” or “matters requiring immediate attention” warnings. Instead, the bank examiners are favoring less formal communications to guide banks on correcting problems, the people told Reuters.
Bank executives have complained that the number and tone of the formal letters have been overly aggressive.
The executives that Reuters spoke with were mostly familiar with supervisory changes at large and mid-sized banks.
Relevant tickers include: JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs (GS), U.S. Bancorp (USB), PNC Financial Services (PNC), Truist Financial (TFC), Capital One (COF).
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