OCC: About the OCC

About the OCC

OCC official seal

The OCC charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks and federal savings associations as well as federal branches and agencies of foreign banks. The OCC is an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Mission

To ensure that national banks and federal savings associations operate in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Vision

The OCC is a preeminent prudential supervisor that

adds value through proactive and risk-based supervision;
is sought after as a source of knowledge and expertise; and
promotes a vibrant and diverse banking system that benefits consumers, communities, businesses, and the U.S. economy.

Core Values

Integrity
Expertise
Collaboration
Independence

Overview

The President, with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, appoints the Comptroller to head the agency for a five-year term. The Comptroller also is a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and NeighborWorks® America.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the OCC has four district offices plus an office in London to supervise the international activities of national banks. The OCC's nationwide staff of bank examiners conducts on-site reviews of national banks and federal savings associations and provides sustained supervision of these institutions’ operations. Examiners analyze loan and investment portfolios, funds management, capital, earnings, liquidity, sensitivity to market risk for all national banks and federal thrifts, and compliance with consumer banking laws for national banks and thrifts with less than $10 billion in assets. They review internal controls, internal and external audit, and compliance with law. They also evaluate management's ability to identify and control risk.

In regulating national banks and federal thrifts, the OCC has the power to:

Examine the national banks and federal thrifts.
Approve or deny applications for new charters, branches, capital, or other changes in corporate or banking structure.
Take supervisory actions against national banks and federal thrifts that do not comply with laws and regulations or that otherwise engage in unsound practices. Remove officers and directors, negotiate agreements to change banking practices, and issue cease and desist orders as well as civil money penalties.
Issue rules and regulations, legal interpretations, and corporate decisions governing investments, lending, and other practices.

Learn more about the OCC by reading its Strategic Plan and Annual Report.

Funding

The OCC does not receive appropriations from Congress. Instead, the OCC's operations are funded primarily by assessments on national banks and federal savings associations. National banks and federal savings associations pay for their examinations, and they pay for the OCC's processing of their corporate applications. The OCC also receives revenue from its investment income, primarily from U.S. Treasury securities.

Help for Customers of National Banks and Federal Savings Associations at HelpWithMyBank.gov

The OCC operates www.helpwithmybank.gov to assist customers of national banks and federal savings associations. Helpwithmybank.gov provides answers to common banking questions and provides a means for consumers to file complaints online.

Minority Bankers

Recognizing the important role that minority-owned banks and savings associations play in providing financial services in the communities they serve, the OCC is committed to encouraging the success of these financial institutions.

Deposits Insured by the FDIC

The Federal deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC, insures all types of deposits—CD's, checking, savings, money market, and NOW accounts—held in all FDIC-insured depository institutions, including national banks and federal savings associations. The permanent standard insurance amount is $250,000, per depositor, per insured depository institution for each account ownership category. For more information about deposit insurance, visit the FDIC's Web site. Bankers and consumers can also call the FDIC at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

Building and General Correspondence Address

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218
Washington, D.C. 20219.

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