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The OCC has issued Interpretive Letter 1183 to rescind OCC Interpretive Letter 1179 (11/18/2021). [Interpretive Letter 1179 outlined a supervisory nonobjection process for banks that seek to engage in the activities addressed in Interpretive Letters 1170, 1172, or 1174.] In a related Press Release, the OCC said its actions are intended to "reaffirm that a range of cryptocurrency activities are permissible in the federal banking system. "

The OCC also withdrew from two interagency statements as they apply to national banks and federal savings associations—the “Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking Organizations” (1/3/2023), and the “Joint Statement on Liquidity Risks to Banking Organizations Resulting from Crypto-Asset Market Vulnerabilities” (2/23/2023) (together, the interagency statements).

These actions are intended to reduce burden, encourage responsible innovation, and enhance transparency. The OCC will examine the activities described in IL 1170 (addressing crypto-asset custody services), 1172 (addressing holding deposits that serve as reserves backing stablecoins), and 1174 (addressing the use of stablecoins and distributed ledger technology to facilitate payments) as part of its ongoing supervisory process.

As with all activities, banks must conduct crypto-asset activities in a safe, sound, and fair manner and in compliance with applicable law. New activities should be developed and implemented consistent with sound risk management practices and align with banks’ overall business plans and strategies.

The U.S. Senate has passed S.J.Res. 28, a resolution under the Congressional Review Act disapproving the rule [89 FR 99582, 12/10/2024] submitted by the CFPB relating to “Defining Larger Participants of a Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications.”

The House of Representatives has introduced a related bill, H.J.Res. 64, which has been referred to committee. If the House resolution is passed and the president approves the joint resolution, the CFPB rule will be nullified and the Bureau will not be able to issue a substantially similar rule in the future.

The rule in question established the CFPB's supervisory authority over nonbank covered persons that are larger participants in a market for “general-use digital consumer payment applications.” Included are providers of funds transfer and payment wallet functionalities through digital payment applications for consumers' general use in making payments to other persons for personal, family, or household purposes. Examples include consumer financial products and services that are commonly described as “digital wallets,” “payment apps,” “funds transfer apps,” “peer-to-peer payment apps,” “person-to-person payment apps,” “P2P apps,” and the like.

The U.S. Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has taken action against seven high-ranking members of Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis. These individuals have smuggled military-grade items and weapon systems into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and also negotiated Houthi weapons procurements from Russia. OFAC is also designating one Houthi-affiliated operative and his company that have recruited Yemeni civilians to fight on behalf of Russia in Ukraine and generated revenue to support the Houthis’ militant operations.

Treasury also reported that OFAC has designated Zhou Shuai, a Shanghai-based malicious cyber actor and data broker, and his company, Shanghai Heiying Information Technology Company, Limited. In collaboration with another malicious cyber actor, U.S.-sanctioned Yin Kecheng, Zhou Shuai illegally acquired, brokered, and sold data from highly sensitive U.S. critical infrastructure networks.

For a link to identification information on the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Social Security Administration reported yesterday it had paid 1,127,723 people more than $7.5 billion in retroactive payments that resulted from the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), back-dated to January 1, 2024. The average retroactive payment so far is $6,710.

The WEP and GPO provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a "non-covered pension") because they did not pay Social Security taxes.

The SSA said it continues to pay remaining retroactive payments and is ready to begin paying higher monthly benefit payments beginning in April for individuals' March benefit.

Because over 95% of Social Security payments are made by direct deposit, most of the retroactive payments have been sent electronically to recipients' accounts.

Yesterday, OFAC reported it has issued Venezuela General License 41A, "Authorizing the Wind Down of Certain Transactions Related to Chevron Corporation's Joint Ventures in Venezuela."

Additionally, OFAC has updated its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, designating an Iranian national under its Counter-narcotics sanctions program.

For a link to the Venezuela General License and to information on the Iranian national, see this BankersOnline OFAC update.

The NCUA has announced that it will no longer publish overdraft and non-sufficient fund fee income for individual credit unions. The NCUA will collect the data during supervisory examinations.

Under the previous data collection policy, the NCUA required federally insured credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets to disclose, separately, income from overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees. This data was available to the public on an individual basis and in the aggregate. Under the new policy, which goes into effect with the March 31, 2025, Call Report cycle, the NCUA will collect overdraft and NSF fee data as part of the examination process. The agency will continue to publish overdraft and NSF fee income data in the aggregate once updates to its examination system are complete.

The Treasury Department has announced that, with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act, not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either. The Treasury Department will further be issuing a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only.

The FDIC has issued FIL-6-2025 to announce it is withdrawing three proposed rules relating to brokered deposits, corporate governance, and the Change in Bank Control Act (CBCA). The FDIC is also withdrawing the authority previously approved by the FDIC Board of Directors to publish a proposed rule on incentive-based compensation arrangements.

The FDIC is withdrawing these Notices of Proposed Rulemaking because it no longer intends to issue final rules with respect to these proposals. If the FDIC pursues regulatory action on these matters in the future, it will do so by publishing new proposed rules or other issuances consistent with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The FDIC has issued FIN-4-2025 to announce that is issuing a proposal to rescind the Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions published in 2024 and reinstate its prior Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions, which was in effect prior to the 2024 Statement.

The FDIC is taking this action due to concerns that implementation of the 2024 Statement has added considerable uncertainty to the merger application process. The proposed reinstatement of the earlier Statement would be an interim measure while the FDIC conducts a broader reevaluation of its bank merger review process.

• Draft Federal Register Notice
• Applications Procedures Manual, Section 4, Mergers
• Bank Application Resources - Mergers

The NCUA has reported that it issued a Consent Order of Prohibition in February 2025 to Kelly Jo Muzzana, a former employee of Altana Federal Credit Union, Billings, Montana, after a finding that she engaged in a prolonged scheme to defraud Altana’s member funds, causing Altana significant financial loss.