Comments due June 21 on restoration of SARC under revised supervisory appeal guidelines

Revised guidelines that restore the federal bank deposit insurer’s independent, intra-agency appeals process to review material supervisory determinations regarding supervised banks are out for public comment until June 21, according to a Federal Register notice Friday.

The notice for comment was released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Board May 17. The revised FDIC Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations restore the agency’s Supervision Appeals Review Committee (SARC), which was mandated under the 1994 Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act.

In a financial institution letter (FIL-22-2021), the agency said the SARC generally replaces the Office of Supervisory Appeals as the final level of review in the FDIC’s supervisory appeals process. It said that consistent with the 2021 composition of the SARC, it will include: one inside member of the FDIC’s board of directors (serving as chairperson); a deputy or special assistant to each of the other “inside” board members (that is, those appointed specifically to the FDIC Board, and not members by way of their positions as leaders at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB] and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency [OCC]); and the general counsel as a non-voting member.

Except for restoring SARC, most aspects of the agency’s supervisory appeals process remain the same.

Reg lookup: Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations