A plan to consider criminally liable regulatory offenses, in compliance with an executive order issued in May addressing “overcriminalization in federal regulations,” will be published by May 2026, the national bank regulator said Monday.
In a release, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said it plans to comply with the executive order (EO) 14294 issued May 9. The agency noted that section 7 of the order provides that, within 45 days of its issuance, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney General, “the OCC should publish guidance in the Federal Register describing its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses.”
The agency is required, it said, to provide to the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by the deadline “(1) a list of all criminal regulatory offenses enforceable by the OCC or the Department of Justice (DOJ) and (2) for each such criminal regulatory offense, the range of potential criminal penalties for a violation and the applicable mens rea standard for the criminal regulatory offense.”
The OCC said its Register notice also announces a general policy, “subject to appropriate exceptions and to the extent consistent with law,” that the agency will consider certain enumerated factors when deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory offenses to the DOJ.
OCC Bulletin 2025-13: Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement: Notice
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