Bank regulator issues a guide for checking how banks use AI

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a federal bank regulator, has released a guide to help its examiners review how banks use artificial intelligence. It came out Wednesday, Nov. 4. The guide does not add new rules for banks.

What the guide does

Examiners are the staff who review banks. The OCC says they may use the framework to spot AI-specific issues that add to checks already in place, such as model risk management, governance, technology, compliance and operational risk. They can also shape their work to how a bank uses AI and what could go wrong. The guide covers AI and agentic AI, which refers to AI agents that carry out tasks.

The OCC's title uses the phrase "Super Intelligence." That is the term the executive branch uses in place of "artificial intelligence," under a Sept. 29 executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

What it does not do

• It sets no supervisory expectations for banks.
• It has no enforceable standards or prescriptive requirements.
• Banks are not meant to use it to assess their own AI use.
• AI is not a separate risk category, and banks need no separate AI risk appetite.

The OCC says it takes a technology-neutral approach. It expects banks to operate safely and soundly whether they use traditional methods or new technology. The material does not say how examiners will apply the guide in individual bank reviews.