WASHINGTON -- Regulators plan to give national banks and thrills more information about upcoming exams as part of the Clinton administration's campaign to make government work better.
Banks supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will receive notice of the changes next week, while thrifts under the Office of Thrift Supervision will be introduced to the new system region by region over the next few weeks.
A preliminary examination response kit will be mailed to thrifts four weeks before any OTS exam. The kit will include an approximate exam start date and a point of contact at the OTS.
The OTS also will give an estimate of the staffing levels and time required to conduct the exam four weeks before it takes place.
The agency will continue-to conduct safety and soundness and compliance exams concurrently, but will consider requests to examine thrifts at different times.
Thrifts will be contacted at least semiannually between exams and given the names and phone numbers of supervisory team members, the OTS said.
National banks can expect to get a heads-up call from their examiners, outlining the scope and objectives of the exam. The staffing and on-site time also will be explained.
Before the exam, the team will review information provided by the bank, previous exams, fair-lending complaint information, and the Community Reinvestment Act file, OCC said.
The lead examiner also will ask consumer and community groups to provide input. Starting in 1995, the OCC will publish a list of CRA exams scheduled for the upcoming quarter, at least 30 days before the beginning of each quarter.
After the exam, the bank management will meet with the lead examiner to decide which problem areas put the bank at the most risk.
The bank's chief executive will then be able to review the OCC's conclusions. The final exam report should be consistent with what the OCC told the bank during the exam.
These changes are part of a broader effort by the Clinton administration, which has been trying to "reinvent government."
The agencies are emphasizing that they exist to serve their customers: banks and thrifts. The agencies are even describing the coming changes as part of a "customer service plan."
John F. Downey, deputy director for regional operations at the OTS, said these plans are "a first step toward realizing our goal as a customer-driven regulator and relieving some of the on-site regulatory burden."
The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are independent agencies, so they are not a part of the Clinton administration's plan.
Under President Clinton's mandate that all federal agencies improve their effectiveness, the OTS evaluated 1,500 exam reports since last August and conducted 300 interviews with thrift executives.
The agency found that the lack of communication between bankers and examiners was a big problem. "We intend to remove any mystery or obstacles surrounding examinations, which are our primary supervisory and communication tool," said an OTS brochure explaining the process.
The OCC got its ideas for revamping exams from a yearlong task force made up of bankers and examiners.
"Bankers said they didn't know what we were looking for," said Leonora Cross, an OCC spokeswoman.
Other changes are possible. A plan for customer complaints is a long-term project at both agencies.
