Bank examiner guidance on ag, oil and gas, trade finance updated

Revised supervisory guidance booklets for examiners of national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations that are engaged in agricultural lending, oil and gas exploration and production lending, and trade finance and services were issued Tuesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The booklets, part of the Comptroller’s Handbook, are updated from their last issuance in 2017 and, for the trade booklet, in 2015. They’re titled “Agricultural Lending,” “Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Lending,” and “Trade Finance and Services.” The OCC is also rescinding its Bulletins 2014-24, 2016-9, and 2015-26, which transmitted publication of previous versions of each booklet.

The updated booklets, announced in OCC Bulletin 2018-38, do the following:

  • incorporate references to relevant OCC issuances published since the booklets were last issued;
  • reflect the integration of federal savings associations into certain regulations;
  • include clarifying edits regarding supervisory guidance, sound risk management practices, legal language, or the roles of the bank’s board or management;
  • revise certain content for general clarity.

OCC Bulletin 2018-38