On July 14, 2025, the OCC announced that it has removed references to supervising banks for disparate impact liability from the “Fair Lending” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook and has started removing references in other issuances. Concurrently, the OCC has instructed its examiners that they should no longer examine for disparate impact.
In April 2025, the President issued an Executive Order that directs agencies to eliminate the use of disparate impact liability in all contexts. In compliance, OCC examiners will no longer request, review, or conclude on or follow-up on:
matters related to a bank’s disparate impact risk,
internal disparate-impact risk analysis, or
disparate-impact risk assessment processes or procedures.
The OCC clarified that it expects banks to provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
Read the OCC’s bulletin here.
The updated Fair Lending booklet can be found here.