WASHINGTON–The Office of the Comptroller (OCC) says it is now holding off on its previously announced "fair access" rule, which would have limited larger banks' ability to cut ties with gun makers, fossil fuel producers and other politically charged businesses.
The earlier proposal had come under the Trump administration but is now being paused under the Biden administration.
The OCC noted it proposed the rule in November 2020 to codify more than a decade of guidance stating that banks should conduct risk assessments of individual customers, rather than make broad-based decisions affecting whole categories or classes of customers, when providing access to services, capital, and credit.
Pausing publication of the rule in the Federal Register will allow the next confirmed Comptroller of the Currency to review the final rule and the public comments the OCC received, as part of an orderly transition, the agency said.
The OCC said its long-standing supervisory guidance stating banks should avoid termination of broad categories of customers without assessing individual customer risk remains in effect.