Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

Office of Comptroller of the Currency

Program Summary by Budget Activity

Dollars in Thousands

 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2017 TO FY 2018

Budget Activity Actual Estimated Estimated $ Change % Change

Supervise $975,477 $1,057,980 $1,099,477 $41,497 3.92%

Regulate $90,463 $98,114 $101,963 $3,849 3.92%

Charter $23,978 $26,006 $27,026 $1,020 3.92%

Total Cost of Operations $1,089,918 $1,182,100 $1,228,466 $46,366 3.92%

FTE 3,845 3,938 4,041 103 2.62%

Summary

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 

(OCC) was created by Congress in 1863 to 

charter national banks; oversee a nationwide 

system of banking institutions; and ensure 

national banks are safe and sound, competitive 

and profitable, and capable of serving in the 

best possible manner the banking needs of 

their customers. 

As of March 31, 2017, the OCC supervised 

973 national bank charters and 48 federal 

branches of foreign banks in the United States 

with total assets of approximately $11.0 

trillion, and 373 federal savings associations 

with total assets of approximately $738 billion. 

In total, the OCC supervises approximately

$11. 7 trillion in financial institution assets.

The OCC has established three goals outlined 

in its strategic plan that help support a strong 

economy for the American public: 1) A 

vibrant and diverse system of national banks 

and federal savings associations that supports a 

robust U.S. economy; 2) “One OCC” focused 

on collaboration, innovation, coordination, and 

process efficiency; 3) An OCC that is firmly 

positioned to continue to operate 

independently and effectively into the future.

To achieve its goals and objectives, the OCC 

organizes its programs under three activities: 

1) Supervise, 2) Regulate, and 3) Charter.

Effective supervision and a comprehensive 

regulatory framework are the key tools that the 

OCC uses to ensure that national banks and 

federal savings associations operate in a safe 

and sound manner and that they provide fair 

access to financial services and fair treatment 

of their customers. A robust chartering 

program allows new entrants into the financial 

services sector while ensuring that they have 

the necessary capital, managerial, and risk 

management processes to conduct activities in 

a safe and sound manner.

The OCC’s nationwide staff of bank 

examiners conducts on-site reviews of banks 

and provides sustained supervision of these 

institutions’ operations. Examiners analyze 

asset quality, capital adequacy, earnings, 

liquidity, and sensitivity to market risk for all 

banks, and assess compliance with federal 

consumer protection laws and regulations.

Examiners also evaluate management’s ability 

to identify and control risk, and assess banks’ 

performance in meeting the credit needs of the 

communities in which they operate, pursuant 

to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

In supervising banks, the OCC has the power 

to:

• Approve or deny applications for new 

charters, branches, capital, or other 

changes in corporate or banking structure;

• Take supervisory and enforcement actions 

against banks that do not comply with laws 

and regulations or that otherwise engage in 

unsafe or unsound practices;
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

• Remove and prohibit officers and 

directors, negotiate agreements—both 

formal (i.e., public) and informal (i.e., nonpublic)—to change banking practices, and 

issue cease-and-desist orders as well as 

Civil Money Penalties (CMP); and

• Issue rules and regulations, legal 

interpretations, supervisory guidance, and 

corporate decisions governing investments, 

lending, and other practices.

Operations are funded primarily 

(approximately 97 percent) from semiannual 

assessments levied on national banks and

federal savings associations. Revenue from 

investments in Treasury securities and other 

income comprise the remaining three percent 

of the OCC’s funding. The OCC does not 

receive congressional appropriations to fund 

any portion of its operations. 

Explanation of Budget Activities

Supervise ($1,057,980 from 

revenue/offsetting collections)

The Supervise program consists of ongoing 

supervision and enforcement activities 

undertaken to ensure that each national bank 

and federal savings institution is operating in a 

safe and sound manner and is complying with 

applicable laws, rules, and regulations relative 

to the financial institution and the customers 

and communities it serves. Included are 

examinations and enforcement activities; 

resolution of disputes through a formal 

appeals process; ongoing monitoring of 

national banks and federal savings 

associations; and analysis of systemic risks 

and market trends in the federal banking 

system, the financial services industry, and the 

economic and regulatory environment.

Regulate ($98,114,000 from 

revenue/offsetting collections)

The Regulate Program supports the OCC’s 

strategic goal of a vibrant and diverse system 

of national banks and federal savings 

associations that supports a robust U.S. 

economy. Specifically, the Regulate Program 

consists of ongoing activities that result in the 

establishment of regulations, policies, 

operating guidance, and interpretations of 

general applicability to national banks and 

federal savings associations. These 

regulations, policies, and interpretations may 

establish system-wide standards, define 

acceptable national banking and federal 

savings association practices, provide 

guidance on risks and responsibilities facing 

national banks and federal savings 

associations, or prohibit (or restrict) national 

banking or federal savings association 

practices deemed to be imprudent or unsafe. 

They also establish standards for ensuring fair 

access to financial services and fair treatment 

of national bank and federal savings 

association customers. This program includes 

establishing examination policies and 

handbooks; interpreting administrative, 

judicial, and congressional proceedings; and 

establishing the applicable legal and 

supervisory framework for new financial 

services and products.

Charter ($26,006,000 from revenue/offsetting 

collections)

The Charter Program consists of ongoing 

activities that result in the chartering of 

national banks and federal savings associations 

and the evaluation of the permissibility of 

structures and activities of national banks and 

federal savings associations and their 

subsidiaries. This includes the review and 

approval of national bank and federal savings 

association charters, federal branches and 

agencies, mergers, acquisitions, conversions, 

business combinations, corporate 

reorganizations, changes in control, operating 

subsidiaries, branches, relocations, and 

subordinated debt issuances. By supporting 

the entry of new products and institutions into 

the financial system in a manner consistent 

with safety and soundness, the Charter 

Program supports the OCC’s strategic goals of 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

assuring safety and soundness while allowing 

national banks and federal savings associations 

to offer a full competitive array of financial 

services. 

Legislative Proposals

OCC has no legislative proposals.

OCC Performance Highlights

FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018

FY 2014 –

FY 2016

Budget Activity Performance Measures Actual Actual Actual Target Target Trend

Charter

Percentage of Licensing 

Applications and Notices 

Completed within Established 

Timeframes

98.0 97.0 98.0 95.0 95.0

Supervise

Percentage of National Banks 

and Federal Savings 

Associations with Composite 

CAMELS Rating 1 or 2

87.0 91.0 93.0 90.0 90.0

Supervise

Rehabilitated National Banks 

And Federal Savings 

Associations As A Percentage 

Of Problem National Banks One 

Year Ago (CAMEL 3,4, or 5)

39.0 39.0 43.0 40.0 40.0

Supervise

Percentage of National Banks 

and Federal Savings 

Associations With Consumer 

Compliance Rating of 1 or 2

95.0 96.0 98.0 90.0 90.0

Supervise

Total OCC Costs Relative To 

Every $100,000 in Bank And 

Federal Savings Associations 

Assets Regulated ($)

9.75 9.37 9.65 10.2 10.2

Supervise

Percentage of National Banks 

and Federal Savings 

Associations That Are 

Categorized As Well Capitalized 

(Oe)

93.0 95.0 96.0 95.0 95.0

Key: DISC - Discontinued, B - Baseline
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

Description of Performance

The OCC charters, regulates and supervises all 

national banks and federal savings 

associations, as well as supervises federal 

branches and agencies of foreign banks. The 

primary goal of the OCC’s Supervision 

Program is to ensure that these institutions 

operate in a safe and sound manner and in 

compliance with laws requiring fair treatment 

of their customers and fair access to credit and

financial products. The OCC also monitors 

risks and threats to the stability of the federal 

banking system through its regular 

examinations of the institutions it supervises 

and other monitoring. 

The overall objective of the OCC’s 

Supervision Program supports facilitating 

commerce through the goal of ensuring the 

safety and soundness of the federal banking 

system. Through its Supervision Program the 

OCC supports facilitating commerce through 

the goal of ensuring the safety and soundness 

of the federal banking system. The OCC has 

taken a number of steps to improve the 

cybersecurity of the nation’s financial sector 

critical infrastructure including organizing 

webinars for community bankers. The agency 

continues to update examiner handbooks, 

procedures, and training materials to ensure 

that, as threats evolve, all national banks and 

federal savings associations can identify cyber 

risks and strengthen their risk management and 

control systems. The OCC is an active 

member of the Financial Services Information 

Sharing and Analysis Center, which provides 

greater real-time insight into a broad range of 

potential threats to the industry and the ability 

to assist, when appropriate, in a coordinated 

response with other government 

agencies. Finally, the OCC supports 

protecting the integrity of the financial system 

through its examinations of compliance with 

BSA/AML and through the initiation of 

enforcement actions for non-compliance with 

BSA/AML laws and regulations.

The composite CAMELS (Capital adequacy, 

Asset quality, Management, Earnings, 

Liquidity, and Sensitivity to market risk) 

rating reflects the overall condition of a bank. 

Bank regulatory agencies use the Uniform 

Financial Institutions Rating System, 

CAMELS, to provide a general framework for 

evaluating all significant financial, operational, 

and compliance factors inherent in a bank. 

The rating scale is 1 through 5 of which 1 is 

the highest rating granted. CAMELS ratings 

are assigned at the completion of every 

supervisory cycle or when there is a significant 

event leading to a change in CAMELS. 

Through September 30, 2016, 93 percent of 

national banks and federal savings associations 

earned composite CAMELS rating of either 1 

or 2.

To ensure fair access to financial services and 

fair treatment of bank customers, the OCC 

evaluates a bank’s compliance with consumer 

laws and regulations. Bank regulatory 

agencies use the Uniform Financial 

Institutions Rating System, Interagency 

Consumer Compliance Rating, to provide a 

general framework for assimilating and 

evaluating significant consumer compliance 

factors inherent in a bank. Each financial 

institution is assigned a consumer compliance 

rating based on an evaluation of its present 

compliance with consumer protection and civil 

rights statutes and regulations, and the 

adequacy of its operating systems designed to 

ensure continuing compliance. Ratings are on 

a scale of 1 through 5 in increasing order of 

supervisory concern. National banks and 

federal savings associations continue to show 

strong compliance with consumer protection 

regulations with 98 percent earning a 

consumer compliance rating of either 1 or 2 

through September 30, 2016.

The OCC’s timely and effective approval of 

corporate applications contributes to the 

nation’s economy by enabling national banks 
Department of the Treasury – Budget in Brief

and federal savings associations to complete 

various corporate transactions and introduce 

new financial products and services. Delays in 

providing prompt decisions on applications 

and notices can deprive a bank of a 

competitive or business opportunity, create 

business uncertainties, or diminish financial 

results. Time frames have been established for 

completing each type of application and 

notice. The OCC completed 98 percent of 

applications and notices within the time 

standard through September 30, 2016.

The OCC monitors the efficient use of its 

resources by measuring Total OCC Costs 

Relative to Every $100,000 in Bank Assets 

Regulated. This measure reflects the 

efficiency of its operations while meeting the 

increasing supervisory demands of a growing 

and more complex financial system. This 

measure supports the OCC’s strategic goal of 

efficient use of agency resources. The OCC’s 

ability to control its costs while ensuring the 

safety and soundness of national banks and 

federal savings associations benefits all 

national bank and federal savings association 

customers. The OCC will continue its efforts 

to ensure that resources are used prudently and 

that programs are carried out in a cost effective 

manner.