NR 98-106
October 21, 1998


                                
   OCC Advises Banks of Basle Committee's Request for Comment
                                
The Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is advising national banks
that the Basle Committee has requested comment on a new policy
paper regarding sound practices for loan accounting and
disclosures.

The paper, "Sound Practices for Loan Accounting, Credit Risk
Disclosure and Related Matters,"   was developed by the Basle
Committee's Task Force on Accounting Issues.  The document,
issued October 14, forms part of the Basle Committee's ongoing
work to promote effective banking supervision and safe and sound
banking systems.

The paper provides guidance to banks, bank supervisors, and
agencies that set accounting standards on key loan accounting
issues, including the initial recognition and measurement of
loans, measurement of impaired loans, the establishment of loan
loss allowances, income recognition, and troubled debt
restructurings.  It also presents sound disclosure practices for
loan portfolios, troubled loans, loan loss allowances, and
related risk management practices.

Comments on the paper are requested by the Basle Committee on
Banking Supervision by March 15, 1999.

The Basle Committee consists of senior representatives of bank
supervisory authorities and central banks from Belgium, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 
The Committee usually meets at the Bank of International
Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, where its permanent
Secretariat is located.  The OCC is a member of the Basle
Committee.

The "Sound Practices for Loan Accounting, Credit Risk Disclosure
and Related Matters" paper can be obtained from the BIS Web site
at http://www.bis.org. A copy of the paper may also be requested
from the OCC's Communication Department (Fax 202-874-4448). 

                              # # #
The OCC charters, regulates and examines approximately 2,600 national banks
and 66 federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States,
accounting for 58 percent of the nation's banking assets.  Its mission is to
ensure a safe, sound and competitive national banking system that supports the
citizens, communities and economy of the United States.