The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has announced additional steps aimed at supporting community banks by reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, while keeping the US banking system safe and sound.
According to Alessa, the regulator said the measures build on its broader push to tailor supervision based on a bank’s size, complexity and risk profile, arguing that smaller institutions face different operational realities to large, complex firms.
According to the OCC, the latest actions focus on refining supervisory processes so examination expectations better match a bank’s risk profile, removing duplicative or outdated requirements that do not materially improve risk management outcomes, improving the clarity and consistency of examiner guidance and communications, and supporting responsible innovation without weakening compliance or consumer protection.
The OCC also stressed that regulatory relief should not be mistaken for lower standards, positioning the work as an attempt to make expectations more effective, efficient and risk-based, rather than less stringent.
For community banks, the shift matters because compliance teams are often smaller, budgets tighter, and the operational load of preparing for exams can be disproportionately heavy compared with larger peers that can spread costs across bigger organisations and specialist functions.
By streamlining processes and cutting back on rules the OCC views as repetitive or outdated, the regulator is signalling it wants these banks to spend more time serving local customers and businesses, while still meeting core obligations around capital, liquidity and financial crime risk management.
At the same time, the OCC reiterated that strong governance, internal controls and effective compliance programmes remain essential, underlining that risk-based supervision means expectations scale with risk, not that oversight disappears.
For banks thinking about what to do next, the message is to stay engaged: review current compliance and risk management processes to ensure they align with the latest OCC direction, speak proactively with examiners to understand how updated supervisory approaches apply in practice, and continue investing in scalable compliance solutions that improve efficiency without sacrificing oversight.
While the adjustments may ease pressure in certain areas, accountability for managing financial crime, operational and consumer risks remains firmly in place—meaning community banks will still need to demonstrate control, documentation and a clear understanding of their risk profile as supervisory expectations evolve.
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