“OCC Aims to Cut Community Bank Burden”
The OCC issued new guidance tailoring community-bank exams to material risks, clarified that annual model validations aren’t required for all banks, and proposed broader eligibility for expedited licensing. It also proposed eliminating a fair-housing data rule and noted its new supervision group for community banks focuses on institutions with up to $30 billion in assets.
“FDIC Moves to Limit Penalty-Bearing Actions”
The FDIC proposed instructing examiners to issue warnings or penalties only for issues that materially affect failure risk or the agency’s Deposit Insurance Fund, and it formally voted on a proposal to stop using “reputational risk” as a reason to criticize or penalize banks during exams or supervision.
“The Era of Ever-Growing Bank Deposits Is Over. Now What?”
Domestic deposits still haven’t surpassed their 2021 peak as savers migrate to higher-yield investments, including Treasuries. Banks can’t assume natural inflows will resume, and they should redesign deposit products and instill pricing discipline to remain competitive, The Financial Brand argues.
“Inside the Bank Where Almost Every Employee Is a Gig Worker”
Standard Chartered’s in-house “talent marketplace” enables employees to take on short-term internal projects outside their core roles; 60% of staff already do. The initiative, which the bank launched to prepare its workforce for the AI era, has unlocked more than $8.5 million in productivity gains, helped increase internal hiring, and reduced reliance on external recruitment.
“Regional Lenders Are Merging to Answer the Challenge From Megabanks”
Regionals are pursuing scale and stickier retail deposits through mergers like Fifth Third-Comerica (a $10.9 billion deal) and PNC-FirstBank (a $4.1 billion deal). Such moves aim to counter mega-bank share gains and the kind of funding volatility regionals experienced in 2023, the WSJ wrote.
“Checking In on CECL: What Matters in 2025”
Examiners are focusing on whether CECL models are documented, data inputs are reliable, and qualitative adjustments follow clear limits. Bank Director advises institutions to back-test results and review governance now to prevent exam surprises in 2025.
“How Bank Leaders Can Prepare for Agentic Commerce Disputes”
As AI “agents” start making purchases on behalf of customers, banks should expect more payment and credit disputes. Bank Director says the solution is faster, automated dispute handling—using AI to sort routine claims and resolve issues quickly to maintain trust.
In Other News
Unofficial indicators suggest a softening U.S. jobs market, a suspect was arrested in California’s deadly Palisades Fire, and why deep faking the deceased—despite the lack of libel exposure—is a bad idea.