WASHINGTON - The Office of Thrift Supervision is turning the world around.
Oversight, evaluation, and criticism in the world of thrift regulation have traditionally moved in one direction - from regulators to savings and loans. Now, the OTS is shining the spotlight of scrutiny on itself.
As part of its periodic examinations of thrifts, the agency now asks them to fill out a survey form evaluating the examiners and the exam procedures.
"They love it, " said John Downey, OTS director of supervision. "We get a lot of suggestions."
The survey idea is spreading. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will begin handing a 12-item questionnaire to national banks this June. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. started a one-year evaluation program of its examiners in March.
"We just thought it was a good idea," said Stanley Poling, the FDIC's director of supervision.
(The Federal Reserve, however, has no plans to survey bankers about its examiners.)
The OTS survey is a part of a program that includes regular meetings between OTS leaders and thrift executives around the country. The OTS adopted the plan in response to President Clinton's executive order requiring federal agencies to develop customer service programs.
Thrifts have welcomed the opportunity to evaluate their evaluators. The response rate has been about 90% since the survey was introduced in September, with more than 300 institutions turning in reactions.
"I think it's a great idea, and they should do more of it," said Robert Morrison, president of Suburban Federal Savings Bank of Landover Hills, Md.
"I wish they had done this a few years ago," said Barry Zadworny, senior vice president of Roma Federal Savings Bank of Trenton, N.J. "There has been a significant improvement in the examination process."
The survey, included in compliance as well as safety-and-soundness exams, has helped the OTS measure its efforts to improve the examination process.
Mr. Downey said the agency's key objectives include:
*Giving thrifts more time to prepare for exams.
*Sharpening the exams' focus.
*Completing exams faster.
*Minimizing interference with thrift operations.
*Providing results sooner.
*Improving communication between examiners and thrift managers.
But no goal is more important than eliminating what Mr. Downey called "surprises."
A common thrift complaint over the years has been that examination reports sometimes criticize institutions for issues that were never raised by examiners during the exam. Survey results show that such sandbagging is largely a thing of the past, as 96% of respondents said examiners discussed with management all significant issues raised in exam reports, Mr. Downey said.
A sampling of completed survey forms shows that thrifts give examiners high marks for professionalism and efficiency, but still find some aspects of the process burdensome, particularly the Preliminary Examination Response Kit that thrifts must fill out prior to exams.
"The OTS staff was extremely professional, efficient, informative, and cooperative," wrote one thrift. "The Perk is somewhat onerous for a small institution. Is there a way to streamline the package for smaller banks?"
"The Perk package contains several repetitious questions," noted another thrift.
Mr. Downey acknowledged the complaints about Perk, which he said has been whittled down considerably in the past two years. The OTS will continue to refine the package and tailor it to the particular circumstances of each thrift, he said.
A designated official in each of the five regional OTS offices tabulates survey results and responds to complaints about particular examination teams or examiners. To allay fears of retribution, the identities of respondents are not revealed to examiners.
Mr. Cahill writes for the Medill News Service
