OCC Opens New Public Reference Room

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced the opening of a public reference room to handle requests for public documents.

"This new addition greatly enhances the ability of the OCC to distribute public information to the general public, the banking community and others in a more timely manner," said Comptroller Eugene A. Ludwig. "We fully expect this facility to be an integral part of our public information program."

In addition to news releases, speeches, testimonies, enforcement actions, legal interpretations, corporate decisions, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations, OCC issuances, bank securities filings and other items of significant interest, corporate applications filed by multinational banks will be available so that they may be reviewed during the public comment period. Handbooks and other OCC publications are also available for sale. Normal turnaround time for telephone and fax requests is within 24 hours, and walk-in requests can usually be filled immediately. Checks, money orders, VISA and Mastercard are accepted for payment.

The public reference room also offers computer terminals with access to the OCC's homepage and the OCC's electronic databases that track Freedom of Information Act requests, CRA performance evaluations and public enforcement actions taken against bankers and national banks. The various information collections located within the public reference room will be continually updated to provide the most current information available.

The facility is temporarily located on the third floor of the OCC headquarters building at 250 E Street, S.W. in Washington, D.C., and is open to the general public from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily. Requests for documents can be sent to the facsimile number (202) 874-4448 or may be submitted via telephone at (202) 874-5043.

The reference room will be moving to its permanent location on the lobby level at year-end.