US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Issue Final Rule to Shorten Settlement Cycle

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a final rule shortening the settlement cycle for securities purchased and sold by OCC- and FDIC-supervised financial institutions.  This final rule follows the transition from a T+3 settlement cycle to a T+2 settlement cycle that occurred in the securities industry on September 5, 2017.  The final rule codifies existing OCC and FDIC guidance published in June and July of 2017, respectively, which notified institutions that they should be in compliance with the T+2 settlement cycle by September 5, 2017.  The final rule follows a September 2017 notice of proposed rulemaking published by the OCC and FDIC suggesting two alternatives to the wording of the final rule; one that made specific reference to the T+2 settlement cycle and one that made reference to the “standard settlement cycle followed by registered broker dealers in the United States.” The OCC and FDIC settled on the latter of these two options in order to maintain better alignment with the settlement cycle followed by the securities industry going forward. The final rule takes effect 30 days from the date of its publication in the Federal Register.

View full text of the final rule.