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OCC Bulletin 2025-13 | June 23, 2025
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Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks, Federal Savings Associations, and Federal Branches and Agencies; Department and Division Heads; All Examining Personnel; and Other Interested Parties
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is issuing guidance describing its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses in accordance with Executive Order 14294, “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.”
The OCC’s plan concerning criminally liable regulatory offenses applies to community banks.
On May 9, 2025, the President issued Executive Order (EO) 14294, “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.”1 Section 7 of EO 14294 provides that within 45 days of the order, and in consultation with the Attorney General, the OCC should publish guidance in the Federal Register describing its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses. Consistent with that requirement, the OCC advises the public that by May 9, 2026, the OCC, in consultation with the Attorney General, will provide to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a report containing: (1) a list of all criminal regulatory offenses2 enforceable by the OCC or the Department of Justice (DOJ) and (2) for each such criminal regulatory offense, the range of potential criminal penalties for a violation and the applicable mens rea standard3 for the criminal regulatory offense. The Federal Register notice also announces a general policy, subject to appropriate exceptions and to the extent consistent with law, that the OCC will consider certain enumerated factors when deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory offenses to the DOJ.
Please contact the Chief Counsel’s Office at 202-649-5490.
Stuart Feldstein Acting Principal Deputy Chief Counsel
1 See 90 Fed. Reg. 20363 (published May 14, 2025).
2 “Criminal regulatory offense” means a federal regulation that is enforceable by a criminal penalty. EO 14294, sec. 3(b).
3 “Mens rea” means the state of mind that by law must be proven to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime. EO 14294, sec. 3(c).
