OCC Expands FFIEC Statement, Provides Guidance to Banks on Managing LIBOR Transition

In OCC Bulletin 2020-68, dated July 1, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) expands on the contemporaneous FFIEC Statement on Managing the LIBOR Transition¹ by providing additional guidance on identifying applicable risks related to, planning for, and successfully transitioning to replacement rates.

Interestingly, the OCC Bulletin states that “[t]he OCC does not endorse a specific Libor replacement rate” and adds a “Risk Management” section that includes important new guidance for regulated banks. The bulletin also includes other sections—“Fallback Language,” “Choice of Replacement Rate,” “Assessing and Controlling Risk to Earnings Related to Libor Transition” and “Implications for Asset Liability Management or Hedged Products”—that provide more detail (and presumably areas for supervisory examination and diligence) regarding recommended actions for banks to properly manage the LIBOR transition.

¹ Discussed in our related Perspective “US FFIEC Issues Joint Statement on Managing the LIBOR Transition” available at: https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2020/07/us-ffiec-issues-joint-statement-on-managing-the-libor-transition.