US Comptroller of the Currency

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) charters, regulates and supervises banks in the United States. It also supervises the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was established in 1863 as a bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Its staff of examiners conducts on-site reviews of national banks and provides sustained supervision of bank operations. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issues rules, legal interpretations and corporate decisions concerning banking and bank investments, community development activities and other aspects of bank operations. It is headed by a comptroller who also serves as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.