OCC Advances Community Bank Comeback, Reduces Exam Burden for Smallest Institutions — 2026-09-10

Asset threshold increased from $3 billion to $6 billion in total assets for qualifying banks eligible for less onerous 18-month exam cycle Approximately 50 additional OCC-regulated institutions eligible for longer exam cycle WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today published an interim final rule that raises the asset threshold for certain supervised institutions with less than $6 billion in total assets to qualify for an 18-month on-site examination cycle, pursuant to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Under the interim final rule, approximately 50 additional OCC-regulated institutions will be eligible to extend their exam cycles from once every 12 months to once every 18 months. The longer exam cycle will yield cost savings for these financial institutions and enable them to reallocate resources to other activities to better serve their customers.