Comments due on FDIC proposal to amend appeals guidelines

The FDIC has announced it is seeking comments on proposed amendments to its Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations (Guidelines). The proposed amendments are intended to enhance the independence of appeals decisions and to clarify the procedures and timeframes that apply to appeals when the FDIC is taking a formal enforcement action. Comments on the proposed amendments to the Guidelines will be accepted until October 20, 2020.

The proposal would replace the Supervision Appeals Review Committee (SARC) with an independent, standalone office within the FDIC, known as the Office of Supervisory Appeals. The Office would be independent of the Divisions that have authority to issue material supervisory determinations, while still operating within the FDIC. To promote the independence of the Office, the FDIC anticipates recruiting externally and employing reviewing officials on a part-time or intermittent, time-limited basis. Reviewing officials may serve on term appointments. The proposal also would modify the procedures and timeframes for when determinations underlying formal enforcement-related actions may be appealed.

Changes to the supervisory appeals process are being proposed, in part, based on outreach sessions the FDIC's Ombudsman held with bankers and other interested parties in the fall of 2019. The FDIC believes that the creation of the proposed Office would promote independence and help alleviate perceived conflicts of interest, among other important goals.

Currently, the SARC is comprised of three voting members—an inside FDIC Board member who serves as the Committee's chairman and a deputy or special assistant to each of the other two inside FDIC Board members who are not designated as the SARC Chairman.

Comments on the proposed amendments to the Guidelines will be accepted until October 20, 2020.