Key facts
- The OCC said banks are not expected to establish separate risk parameters for AI use, and examiners should not treat AI as a unique risk.
- Examiners should consider how a lender uses AI and the lender's size and complexity, the OCC said.
- The OCC said examiners should weigh the consequences of AI-driven mistakes rather than the sophistication of particular models.
- The document said a simple AI agent authorized to initiate transactions could be riskier than a sophisticated model used internally.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued guidance on November 4, 2026, telling its examiners how to assess the artificial intelligence that banks use, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters, which first reported it.
The OCC, which oversees large national banks, described the document as the first-ever guidance for examiners on probing banks' AI usage. Under the framework, banks are not expected to set separate risk parameters for AI, and examiners should not treat the technology as a unique risk.
Examiners should instead weigh how a lender is using AI along with the size and complexity of the lender, the document said. The OCC said examiners should focus on the consequences of potential AI-driven mistakes rather than the sophistication of the models involved.
A simple AI agent authorized to initiate transactions could be considered riskier than a sophisticated model used internally, the document said. Higher-risk uses may call for tighter limits on autonomy or more direct human oversight.
The guidance is not legally binding like a rule, though banks typically comply closely with such guidance. Reuters previously reported that US regulators have been asking banks about their use of advanced AI models, the limits placed on those systems and how they monitor them.