Comptroller Of Currency Hsu: Steps Have Been Taken To Reduce Risk

Acting Comptroller of Currency, Michael Hsu, will tell the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow that steps have been taken to reduce risk following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the OCC will be "open minded" when considering future merger proposals. The committee will also hear testimony from Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Michael Barr and FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg at 10:00 ET 15:00 BST tomorrow. Hearing Entitled: Oversight of Prudential Regulators (LINK)

• According to his prepared testimony, Hsu will say, "After the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, we carefully reviewed the condition of the federal banking system, including banks with significant levels of uninsured deposits to ensure that their cash holdings and borrowing capacity can easily meet potential depositor withdrawals. In addition, many have taken steps to reduce risk in light of market conditions."
• Hsu: "The OCC has been working on updating the analytical frameworks related to the bank merger guidelines... The OCC is committed to being open-minded when considering merger proposals and to acting in a timely manner on applications, consistent with the requirements of the Bank Merger Act."