Big Banks With ‘Persistent Weaknesses’ Targeted for Breakup

The Office of the Comptroller Currency announced plans to restrict large banks’ growth and even force asset sales if those institutions fail to fix “persistent weaknesses.”

A Thursday update in the agency’s enforcement manual puts into policy concerns raised by acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu that some banks are becoming “too big to manage.”

To address those concerns, the OCC said it will deploy several tools against banks that receive poor management grades from examiners, fail to fix problems cited in formal enforcement actions in a timely manner, or face multiple enforcement actions over three years.

Those banks ...