OCC Publishes Bulletins Addressing Executive Order on Fair Banking

The OCC published two bulletins addressing Executive Order 14331, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans,” which required Federal banking regulators to remove the use of reputation risk and other considerations that could be used to engage in “politicized and unlawful debanking” as defined in the Order.

OCC Bulletin 2025-22 explains how the OCC considers “politicized or unlawful debanking” in licensing applications filed by banks and banks’ records of performance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).  In licensing applications, the OCC may consider a bank’s record of, and policies and procedures to avoid, engaging in such debanking. For CRA assessments, the OCC may consider whether a bank has engaged in such debanking in determining the bank’s CRA rating.

OCC Bulletin 2025-23 reminds banks of the legal obligation to protect customers’ financial records consistent with the Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA), even if that information is requested by government agencies.  The RFPA makes exceptions for records sought by supervisory agencies pursuant to their supervisory, regulatory, or monetary functions.

OCC Bulletin 2025-23 also notes that voluntary Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) should only be submitted for suspicious activity related to “the possible violation of any law or regulation,” and not “as a pretext to improperly disclose customers’ financial information or evade the RFPA.”