OCC opposes American Express resolution plan feedback, presses for planning reforms

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OCC opposes Amex resolution plan

Highlights

Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould publicly opposed the FDIC and Federal Reserve's joint resolution plan feedback to American Express, citing opacity and uncertainty in the process.
Gould criticized regulators for pressuring non-systemically important banks like American Express to restructure based on vague guidance without clear deficiencies or actionable details.
He urged a revision of joint resolution plan rules, proposing resolution planning should cease for companies with less than $250 billion in total consolidated assets.

Regulatory dispute over resolution planning

As reported by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould issued a statement explaining his vote against a joint resolution plan letter from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Board to American Express.

Gould said opacity and uncertainty still define the resolution planning process under Section 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act. He argued the agencies told a non-systemically important bank to address significant concerns with its resolution strategy without detailing those concerns or explaining the consequences if they are not resolved.

He also said the agencies retain broad discretion to impose more severe action in the next plan cycle, while the options most likely to shield the company from those outcomes are costly and inappropriate for the organization. Gould described the feedback as further evidence that the process remains unclear and unfair, despite years of criticism dating back to the early 2010s.

Implications for banks and rule changes

Gould said regulators have gone too far in pushing banks to structure themselves to fail, rather than focusing on their role in serving lending and other financial needs in their communities. He said even suggesting large-scale restructuring on the basis of high-level feedback that does not amount to a formal shortcoming or deficiency is unacceptable.

The comptroller reiterated that the agencies are required by statute to collect and review the company's resolution plan because of its asset size, but said they are not required to provide feedback unrelated to financial stability concerns. At a minimum, he called for the agencies to revise their joint resolution plan rule so that resolution planning no longer applies to companies below the current statutory threshold of $250 billion in total consolidated assets.

Our earlier coverage of the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s third-quarter 2026 review noted that U.S. regulators viewed the financial system as resilient while continuing to monitor market, banking, and household conditions. We also highlighted that agencies including the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve discussed ongoing efforts to simplify and modernize banking supervision and regulatory requirements—context that frames today’s debate over how resolution-planning expectations are communicated and applied.

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