The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has released new guidance on how it expects banks to interact with third-party vendors, and specifically points to banks’ relationships with financial technology companies.
The OCC clarified in its June 7 supplement to 2013 guidance on third-party relationships that if a fintech company performs services or delivers products on behalf of a bank or banks, it is considered a third-party vendor. Therefore, “the OCC would expect bank management to include the fintech company in the bank’s third-party risk management process,” the OCC stated in its latest guidance, which supports OCC Bulletin 2013-29, “Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management Guidance.”
