A program overseeing service providers to banks does not have performance goals and metrics to measure overall effectiveness and efficiency, according to a report issued Wednesday by the inspector general for the federal bank deposit insurance agency.
According to the report issued by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the agency has taken steps to establish goals and metrics for the program (known as the Significant Service Provider (SSP) exam program). However, the OIG added, those measures “were not measurable or directly linked to program success factors.”
“As a result, we were unable to conclude on the program’s effectiveness in evaluating the risk exposure and risk management performance of SSPs and determining the degree of supervisory attention needed to ensure weaknesses are addressed and risks are properly managed,” the OIG stated.
“However, we identified an opportunity to enhance the FDIC’s SSP Examination Program by more clearly defining its program-level goals,” the report adds.
The audit of the SSP was conducted between August 2024 and May 2025, the OIG said.
Under the SSP, the FDIC evaluates the overall risk exposure and risk management performance and determine the degree of supervisory attention needed to ensure weaknesses are addressed and risks are properly managed by financial institutions using service providers, the OIG said. The FDIC typically performs SSP examinations jointly with federal banking regulators the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
The report recommends the FDIC should “complete efforts to develop and implement program-level goals and metrics” for the SSP exam program. “This should include finalizing and implementing the Inherent Risk Methodology Analysis,” the OIG stated.
The OIG added that without clear programmatic goals and metrics, the FDIC “has limited assurance that the SSP Examination Program is achieving its intended purpose. Developing program-level goals and metrics will allow the FDIC to define programmatic success, measure the effectiveness of the SSP Examination Program, and support the FDIC’s efforts to achieve its strategic objectives related to risk management for third-party service providers.”
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