On Jan. 21, the FDIC board approved a joint interim final rule that raised the asset size of banks eligible for 18-month exam cycles to $1 billion. The previous threshold for 1-rated banks was $500 million.

According to a statement from FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg, recent statutory changes permitted three federal banking agencies – the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currently and the FDIC – to expand the availability of longer exam cycles. The statute also authorized the agencies to extend the change to 2-rated institutions that have assets between $200 million and $1 billion and meet other qualifying criteria, if they determine the higher threshold would be consistent with safety and soundness.

"The banking agencies supported these changes to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act as a reasonable step to take as part of regulatory burden relief efforts," Gruenberg said. "I am pleased Congress acted swiftly to adopt the changes and that the agencies have been able to move expeditiously to implement them through this interim final rule. I would like to thank staff at all the agencies for their work to bring this case forward."