NR 95-132
  December 1, 1995
  
     1996 National Bank Assessments Reduced by $18 Million 
  
  For the second year in a row, national bank assessments paid to
  the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have been
  reduced.  OCC today announced it will cut assessments by 3
  percent and eliminate a potential 2 percent increase for
  inflation in l996.  As a result of the assessment reduction and
  the elimination of the inflation adjustment, national banks
  will pay $18 million less in l996.
  
  "The reductions made for 1996 added to the reductions in
  assessments and fees made in 1995 will provide national banks
  with nearly $58 million in annual savings for the past two
  years," said Comptroller of the Currency Eugene A. Ludwig.
  "Through continual efforts to improve the quality and
  efficiency of our supervision, I am optimistic we will continue
  to generate savings we can pass on to national banks," the
  Comptroller said.
  
  The Comptroller also announced that the OCC is anticipating a
  restructuring of the assessment schedule to differentiate
  assessment rates based on the condition of individual national
  banks.
  
                             # # #
  
  The OCC charters, regulates and examines America's approximately 3,000
  national banks which hold more than half of the nation's bank assets.  Its
  mission is to ensure the safety and soundness of the national banking
  system.