OCC issues revised homeownership counseling handbook booklet for bank examiners

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OCC homeownership counseling update

Highlights

The OCC released version 1.0 of the 'Homeownership Counseling' booklet, updating counseling requirements for examiners under section 106(c)(5) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968.
The new booklet replaces the June 2011 version and incorporates interagency procedures, applying only to banks that hold or service home loans as defined in 12 USC 1701x(c)(6)(C).
The OCC aims to ensure supervisory consistency and public transparency by making the examiner guidance publicly available, supporting risk management across OCC-supervised institutions.

Updated guidance for mortgage servicing oversight

As announced by Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, version 1.0 of the “Homeownership Counseling” booklet sets out information for examiners on counseling requirements under section 106(c)(5) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968.

The booklet replaces the “Homeownership Counseling Examination Procedures” booklet dated June 2011. It also incorporates existing interagency examination procedures and is aimed at informing and educating examiners about the rules that apply to delinquent borrowers.

The OCC said the booklet does not apply to supervision of banks that do not hold or service home loans as defined in 12 USC 1701x(c)(6)(C). Examiners are expected to determine which examination procedures to use, if any, based on risk.

Supervisory consistency and public transparency

The Comptroller’s Handbook is used to guide examiners in conducting consistent bank supervision across OCC-supervised institutions, including identifying risks, planning examinations and following up on concerns. The agency said the handbook is designed to support high-quality supervisory work and appropriate risk management practices.

The booklet is intended for examiner use but is also being made public to provide transparency into the OCC’s supervisory process. The agency directed readers seeking more information on the broader handbook framework to the “Foreword” booklet and said further inquiries can be addressed to its Compliance and Operational Risk Division.

In our earlier article on Pakistan’s push to expand housing, farm, and SME lending, we covered the government’s targets to raise credit volumes and speed up mortgage application processing, while linking banks’ performance to access to incentives. The piece also described planned regulatory reforms, risk-sharing measures, and public-private partnerships aimed at easing structural barriers and widening access to formal financing in priority sectors.

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