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Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
 
 
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The Office of the Comptroller
Comptroller

A comptroller or controller is a person who supervises accounting and financial reporting within an organization. A controller is an accountant in a business who oversees accounting and the implementation and monitoring of internal controls....
 of the Currency (or OCC) is a US federal agency established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter
Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified....
, regulate
Regulate

Regulate may refer to:* Regulation* Regulate * Regulate...G Funk Era ...
, and supervise all national bank
National bank

The term national bank has several meanings:* especially in developing countries, a bank owned by the state* an ordinary private bank which operates nationally ...
s and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. Currently, the Comptroller of the Currency is John Dugan
John C. Dugan

John C. Dugan is the current and 29th Comptroller of the Currency for the United States Department of the Treasury.The Comptroller of the Currency is the administrator of national banks and chief officer of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ....
.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, it has four district offices located in New York City, Chicago, Dallas and Denver. It has an additional 48 field offices throughout the United States, and a London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 office to supervise the international activities of national banks.






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The Office of the Comptroller
Comptroller

A comptroller or controller is a person who supervises accounting and financial reporting within an organization. A controller is an accountant in a business who oversees accounting and the implementation and monitoring of internal controls....
 of the Currency (or OCC) is a US federal agency established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter
Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified....
, regulate
Regulate

Regulate may refer to:* Regulation* Regulate * Regulate...G Funk Era ...
, and supervise all national bank
National bank

The term national bank has several meanings:* especially in developing countries, a bank owned by the state* an ordinary private bank which operates nationally ...
s and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. Currently, the Comptroller of the Currency is John Dugan
John C. Dugan

John C. Dugan is the current and 29th Comptroller of the Currency for the United States Department of the Treasury.The Comptroller of the Currency is the administrator of national banks and chief officer of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ....
.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, it has four district offices located in New York City, Chicago, Dallas and Denver. It has an additional 48 field offices throughout the United States, and a London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 office to supervise the international activities of national banks. It is an independent bureau
Bureau

Bureau may refer to:*Office**Public office**Government agency**News bureau*Desk*Chest of drawers*The Bureau, English New Wave soul group...
 of the United States Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an United States federal executive departments and the treasury of the United States Federal government of the United States....
 and is headed by the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC fulfills a number of main objectives:

  • ensures the safety and soundness of the national banking system;
  • fosters competition
    Competition

    Competition is a rivalry between individuals, groups, nations, or animals, for territory, a niche, or allocation of resources. It arises whenever two or more parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared....
     by allowing banks to offer new products and services;
  • Improves the efficiency and effectiveness of OCC supervision especially to reduce the regulatory burden;
  • ensure fair and equal access to financial services to all Americans;
  • enforces anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism finance laws that apply to national banks and federally-licensed branches and agencies of international banks; and
  • is the agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting acts of misconduct committed by institution-affiliated parties of national banks, including officers, directors, employees, agents and independent contractors (including appraisers, attorneys and accountants).


The OCC participates in interagency activities in order to maintain the sanctity of the national banking system. By monitoring capital
Capital (economics)

In economics, capital or capital goods or real capital refers to factors of production used to create goods or services that are not themselves significantly consumed in the production process....
, asset quality
Asset quality

Bank management components are:# Asset management,# Liquidity management# Liability management# Capital adequacy management# Risk managementAsset management is related to the left hand side of the bank balance sheet....
, management
Management

Management in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leadership or directing, and Control an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal....
, earnings, liquidity, sensitivity to market risk
Market risk

Market risk is the risk that the value of an investment will decrease due to moves in market factors. The four standard market risk factors are:...
, information technology
Information technology

Information technology , as defined by the Information Technology Association of America , is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to data conv...
, consumer compliance, and community reinvestment, the OCC is able to determine whether or not the bank is operating safely and soundly, and meeting all regulatory requirements. The OCC was created by Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
 to fund the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 but was later transformed into a regulatory agency to instill confidence in the National Banking system and protect consumers from misleading business practices.

The OCC regulates and supervises more than 1,600 national banks and about 50 federal branches of foreign banks in the U.S., accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total assets of all U.S. commercial banks (as of September 30, 2008).

Other regulatory agencies like the OCC include: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a :Category:Government-owned companies in the United States created by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933....
 (of which the Comptroller serves as a director), the Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift Supervision
Office of Thrift Supervision

The Office of Thrift Supervision , an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, is the primary regulator of federal savings associations ....
, and the National Credit Union Administration
National Credit Union Administration

The National Credit Union Administration is the United States Independent agencies of the United States government federal agency that supervises and charters federal credit unions and deposit insurance in federal and most state-chartered credit unions across the country through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund , a federal fund...
. The OCC routinely interacts and cooperates with other government agencies, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of Foreign Asset Control, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Comptroller also serves as a director of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
NeighborWorks America

| |}The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, doing business as NeighborWorks America, is a US national public/private neighborhood redevelopment organization....
, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

In 2003, the OCC, under the Bush administration, employed a seldom-used clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions that hindered states in regulating and discouraging predatory lending practices.

In July 2007, the OCC launched HelpWithMyBank.gov to assist customers of national banks and provide answers to national banking questions.

See also

  • Bank regulation in the United States
    Bank regulation in the United States

    Bank regulation in the United States is highly fragmented compared to other Group of Ten countries where most countries have only one bank regulator....


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