Evaluating banks’ use of Super Intelligence (SI, more commonly known as “artificial intelligence” (AI)) in “normal-course business activities” by examiners is the aim of a supervisory framework issued Wednesday by the national bank regulator.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said its framework will affect (among other things) credit decisioning, payments, fraud detection, customer service, operations, risk management and market activities.
In a release, the OCC said that while the framework may be used to identify AI-specific considerations, it that examiners should not treat AI as a separate and distinct risk category, and that banks should not be required to define a separate AI risk appetite.
The agency asserted that AI can facilitate banks serving customers faster and more consistently. It said the technology may “defend against cyber threats, improve the detection of fraud and financial crimes, and automate manual operations allowing skilled staff to focus on higher value tasks.”
Used with adequate controls, the agency contended, AI and “agentic AI” can strengthen risk management, lower costs, and expand access to financial services.
The OCC said examiners may use the framework to identify AI-specific considerations that supplement existing model risk management, governance, technology, compliance, and operational-risk practices. It said it may be used to tailor supervisory work to the nature and potential consequences of a bank’s AI use cases.
It added that examiners should not treat AI as a separate and distinct risk category, and banks are not required to define a separate AI risk appetite.
The agency said it intends to update the framework “regularly.”
OCC Issues Supervisory Framework on Bank Use of Super Intelligence (press release)
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