Federal Reserve Removes References to Reputation and Reputational Risk in Its Supervisory Materials

On June 23, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) announced that it is removing references to reputation and reputational risk from its supervisory materials, as it will no longer be a component in its examination programs in its supervision of banks. References to reputation and reputational risk are being replaced with more specific discussions of financial risks. The Federal Reserve will be training examiners to help ensure that the change is implemented consistently and will be working with federal bank regulatory agencies to promote consistent practices. The change does not alter the Federal Reserve’s expectation that banks maintain strong risk management, nor does it intend for the change to impact how banks supervised by the Federal Reserve use the concept of reputational risk in the banks’ own risk management practices.

On June 16, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses, as required by Executive Order 14294, Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations. Similarly, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a policy statement outlining its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses, scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on June 27.

By May 9, 2026, both the OCC and CFPB plan to provide the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Attorney General, (i) a list of all criminal regulatory offenses enforceable by the OCC, CFPB, or the Department of Justice (DOJ) and (ii) the applicable penalties and mens rea standard for all listed criminal regulatory offenses.

The OCC and CFPB’s plans also include considering certain enumerated factors prior to deciding whether to refer alleged criminal regulatory offenses to the DOJ, including the harm or risk of harm caused by the offense, the potential gain to the defendant arising from the offense, whether the defendant held specialized knowledge, expertise, or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or regulation at issue, and any evidence of the defendant’s awareness or lack thereof of the law or the unlawfulness of his conduct.

The CFPB, additionally, plans to include in all future notices of proposed rulemaking and final rules published in the Federal Register, a disclosure, as applicable, that the violation of a rule or proposed rule is a criminal regulatory offense and the authorizing statute and mens rea requirement for each element of the offense, accompanied by citations to the relevant provisions of the authorizing statute.

On June 18, the CFPB issued a final procedural rule (2025 Rule) rescinding the final rule it issued previously on December 28, 2012 (2012 Rule) concerning when a CFPB rule is considered issued. The 2025 Rule makes clear that to ensure that regulated entities receive proper notice of applicable rules, CFPB rules will be deemed issued upon publication in the Federal Register.

Previously, under the 2012 Rule, CFPB rules were deemed issued upon the earlier of (1) when the rule was posted on the CFPB’s website or (2) when the rule was published in the Federal Register. This 2012 Rule was intended to account for certain rulemaking deadlines contained in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act at a time when certain authorities were being transferred to the CFPB and the potential delay of a few days between when a rule is posted on the CFPB’s website and when the rule is published in the Federal Register. Because this transition of authorities has been completed, the CFPB views the 2012 Rule as no longer necessary.

On June 18, the CFPB issued a proposed rule to rescind all references to allocating funds for consumer education and financial literacy programs under its 2013 rule related to allocations from the Consumer Financial Civil Penalty Fund (Civil Penalty Fund). The Civil Penalty Fund was established under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to hold civil penalties collected by the CFPB to compensate harmed consumers or, when such compensation is not practicable, to fund education initiatives. The current CFPB takes the position that its existing 2013 rule provides insufficient transparency and oversight regarding use of funds for consumer education and financial literacy programs, noting that only one such program has been funded since 2013. The proposed rule signals a shift toward using the Civil Penalty Fund exclusively for payments to victims. Public comment on the proposed rule must be received on or before July 18.

On June 18, the CFPB published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to extend the compliance dates set forth in the small business lending rule in Regulation B, implementing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Compliance requirements under the small business lending rule require that financial institutions collect and report certain data regarding credit applications for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. Responding to three instances of courts staying previously set compliance dates for select parties, the CFPB has extended all compliance dates by approximately one year to “facilitate consistent compliance across all covered financial institutions.” The new compliance deadlines set by the CFPB are July 1, 2026, for highest volume lenders, January 1, 2027, for moderate volume lenders, and October 1, 2027, for smallest volume lenders, with new first filing deadlines pushed to June 1, 2027, for highest volume lenders and June 1, 2028 for moderate and smallest volume lenders. Public comment must be received on or before July 18.

On June 16, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), OCC, and the Federal Reserve requested comment on potential actions to help consumers, businesses, and financial institutions mitigate payments fraud risk, with a particular focus on check fraud. For purposes of the request for comment, payments fraud generally refers to the use of illegal means to make or receive payments for personal gain, including scams. Input is requested on five potential areas for improvement and collaboration:

1. External collaboration among the agencies, Federal Reserve Banks, and industry stakeholders;
2. Consumer, business, and industry education by the agencies and Federal Reserve Banks to educate about payments fraud;
3. Regulation and supervision to mitigate payments fraud;
4. Payments fraud data collection and information sharing; and
5. Federal Reserve Banks’ operator tools and services to reduce payments fraud.

In addition to seeking public input, the agencies will continue seeking additional opportunities to effectively collaborate across other state and federal agencies given the importance of interagency coordination to help mitigate payments fraud. Comments must be received by September 18, 2025.