OCC Hikes Assessment Rates for Large Banks

America’s banking regulator says that it’s costing more to supervise the country’s largest financial institutions.

As such, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced Wednesday (Nov. 27) that it was hiking its assessment rates for 2025. The increases are chiefly for larger banks and other institutions requiring more supervision, the OCC said in a news release.

“The OCC increased the rates in the general assessment fee schedule for assets above $40 billion by 16 percent to reflect the increased cost of supervising the largest institutions,” the release said. “The OCC increased all other rates in the general assessment fee schedule by 2.65 percent to account for inflation.”

The assessment schedule will still include a surcharge for banks that need increased supervisory resources, the OCC added.

Banks subject to the surcharge calculate this fee by multiplying the sum of the general assessment — based on the bank’s book assets up to $40 billion — and bank credit union association assessments by 50% for 3-rated banks and 100% for 4- and 5-rated banks.

For next year, the OCC is hiking the asset cap from $40 billion to $250 billion, reflecting growth in the banking sector since the asset cap was last raised in 2014.

“The 2025 assessment rates will provide the OCC with sufficient resources to recruit, train, and retain the talent and to update the agency’s technology systems as necessary to perform its important mission to maintain the safety, soundness, and fairness of the federal banking system,” the release said.

The new assessment rates will go into effect Jan. 1, and will be reflected in assessments paid on March 31 and Sept. 30 of next year.

In other OCC news, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu said last week he supports “federal payments regulation and a chartering regime for nonbanks.”

Testifying the House Financial Services Committee, Hsu said that if FinTechs remain licensed and regulated at the state level only, some will likely exploit regulatory gaps.

“I support the Treasury Department’s call for federal payments regulation and a chartering regime for nonbanks,” Hsu said in the statement. “If well designed, such a system — which could be modeled on the dual banking system with distinct roles for federal versus state authorities — would provide the guardrails necessary to close regulatory gaps, protect consumers and promote more responsible innovation and competition.”