Rules of Practice and Procedure

Following a corresponding consultation in April 2022 (EventID 15456), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FED), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) have now published in the Federal Register their final rule regarding the modernization of their rules and regulations to account for developments in communication services and bring about more streamlined processes when dealing with supervised entities.
To recall, the regulators sought to adjust their delivery processes for documents within hearings and the entire administrative process to permit delivery and related communications via e-mail and to allow electronic signatures in filings and delivery processes. They also proposed to remove any remaining references to the „Office of Thrift Supervision“ which was eliminated in 2011 and to modify the „local“ rules of each regulator to also adjust these rules to reflect digital developments. Finally, the OCC proposed to „consolidate its uniform and local rules by applying 12 CFR Part 19 to both national bank- and federal savings association-related proceedings and investigations and removing its separate enforcement-related rules for federal savings associations under 12 CFR Parts 108, 109, 112, and 165.
In their final rule now, the regulators state that they will proceed as proposed with some minor modifications to remove gender-related terms (his/her). They did NOT receive any „substantive comments“ which is why no further adjustments have been made.
In detail and among other things, the final rule now
– adds a definition for electronic signatures to the uniform rules of all regulators;
– codifies the current practice of permitting electronic service and filings in administrative actions in the rules of all regulators;
– adds specific provisions related to the forfeiture of a national bank, federal savings associations, or federal branch or agency for certain money laundering or cash transaction offenses;
– updates the cease-and-desist authority of the OCC to include violations of certain provisions of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act which sets out enhanced corporate governance, internal control, and financial disclosure requirements of financial institutions;
– establishes new rules for expert and hybrid fact-expert witnesses to ensure that their testimony is reliable, relevant, and helpful to the court or administrative body in making its determination; and
– consolidates the enforcement rules for national banks and federal savings associations.
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The final rule will come into force on April 1, 2024.