What the OCC’s heightened risk expectations mean for community banks
New risk management requirements could come into effect in the near future, according to the OCC’s announcement last week. Their proposal, which focused primarily on banks with more than $50 billion in assets, holds an individual institution’s board of directors responsible for the creation of internal tracking systems, as well as supervision of the appointment of risk and audit officers in their banks.
If the proposal passes, big banks will need to take a deeper internal look and determine their risk appetite, as described by the OCC’s Thomas Curry.
Their appetites, paired with a three-year strategic plan determining any unusual risks they may be taking on, will need to be submitted to examiners.
Although these guidelines are currently only under consideration for banks with more than $50 billion in assets, smaller institutions should take it as a forecast for the future of industry-wide standards.
While many community and regional banks have gotten by on traditional spreadsheet-based risk management methods, the expansion of these regulations to those institutions not considered “big banks” could put some stress on their executives and board members to update to a more modern practice of monitoring and tracking their credit risk with robust documentation and accountability.
For more information on how your bank can overcome spreadsheet inertia, download the whitepaper titled “Regulator Concerns with Spreadsheets in Risk Management.”
