OCC Ends Restrictions on 4 Banks

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) terminated enforcement actions against four banks in March.

In each case, the OCC said it believes “the safety and soundness of the Bank and its compliance with laws and regulations does not require the continued existence” of the consent order or formal agreement.

The regulator issued an order terminating an April 2024 consent order against Heritage Bank of Spicer, Minnesota. The consent order aimed to remedy unsafe or unsound practices relating to capital adequacy, capital and strategic planning, credit review, ongoing monitoring of the credit portfolio, liquidity and liquidity management practices, and the allowance methodology.

The OCC also issued an order terminating a July 2024 formal agreement with 1st National Bank of Lebanon, Ohio. The agreement involved the OCC’s findings at the time that the bank had unsafe or unsound practices relating to strategic planning, capital planning, liquidity risk management and interest rate risk management.

In a third case, the regulator issued an order terminating a July 2024 formal agreement with Slovenian S&LA of Franklin-Conemaugh, Conemaugh, Pennsylvania. The agreement involved OCC’s finding that the bank had unsafe or unsound practices relating to strategic planning, succession planning, balance sheet management, internal audit and Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering internal controls, audit and training, as well as violations of law, rule or regulation.

In the fourth enforcement action terminated Wednesday, the OCC issued an order terminating an April 2024 formal agreement with Touchmark National Bank of Alpharetta, Georgia. The agreement had to do with OCC’s finding that the bank had unsafe or unsound practices relating to the strategic plan, board and management oversight, liquidity risk management, interest risk management, credit risk management, audit and information technology.

The holding company for Touchmark National Bank, Touchmark Bancshares, announced in a Feb. 18 press release that its formal agreement with the OCC had been terminated effective Feb. 17.

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the OCC for helping Touchmark become the best possible community bank,” Touchmark National Bank President and CEO Bobby Krimmel said in the release. “I look forward to the next chapter of Touchmark with a focus on full relationship banking for entrepreneurs, small and medium sized businesses with revenue up to $50 million.”

The OCC said in its release, speaking of all the banks: “The OCC terminates enforcement actions when a bank has demonstrated compliance with all the articles of an enforcement action; or when the OCC determines that articles deemed ‘not in compliance’ have become outdated or irrelevant to the bank’s current circumstances; or when the OCC incorporates the articles deemed ‘not in compliance’ into a new action.”