On December 15, 2017, the US Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the US National Credit Union Administration released interagency examiner guidance regarding financial institutions affected by major disasters. In accordance with the guidance, examiners will continue to assign component and composite ratings for these affected financial institutions, taking into account how the disaster has affected certain of the ratings factors, such as capital adequacy and asset quality. The guidance also notes that examiners should evaluate management capability, but should distinguish between problems intrinsic to the management of the institution, and those problems caused by the major disaster. The guidance notes that a major disaster may result in a lower component or composite rating for an affected institution, but that formal or informal action that would typically be considered for lower-ranked institutions may not be required, taking into account the institution's disaster recovery plan and policies, which should also be evaluated for reasonableness, among other factors. If action is required, the guidance instructs examiners to appropriately tailor the response to the specific circumstances affecting the institution.

The interagency supervisory guidance is available at: https://www.occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2017/nr-occ-2017-149a.pdf .

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