US banking agency reduces 'reputational risk' in exams after crypto sector points out difficulties
The crypto industry claims that US regulators are using the concept of reputational risks for banks to force them to deny customers access to digital assets, and the OCC has responded.
Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De on 20 Mar 2025 22:28 UTC
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has notified U.S. national banks that they will no longer have to answer questions about how shady customers could damage their reputations, an approach that has been criticized by cryptocurrency companies and insiders who say it has encouraged them to debank.
On Thursday, the agency announced that the OCC was removing that aspect from its oversight guidelines.
“The OCC's examination process has always been based on ensuring adequate risk management processes for banking activities, not on forming opinions about how a particular activity might be perceived by the public,” said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made a similar pledge at a congressional hearing last month that the Fed would remove that category of control from its internal oversight rules.
The OCC is taking steps to simplify the compliance process for banks dealing in cryptocurrencies. The agency recently repealed previous guidance that required banks to obtain prior written consent from the agency if they wanted to deal in digital assets.
The banking regulator may soon have its own permanent leader, with President Donald Trump's nominee Jonathan Gould set for a Senate confirmation hearing next week. The OCC chief is typically able to act more quickly and decisively than other financial regulators because it operates as a single body without a commission or board to seek approval.
