(The Center Square) - The Oklahoma State Banking Board's decision to trim assessment rates for state-chartered banks could mean good news for bank customers.
The board agreed to cut assessment rates by 50% for banks with assets less than $ 1 billion and 25% for banks above that threshold, according to an announcement from the board.
"The Oklahoma State Banking Department has reduced assessments for state-chartered banks several consecutive years," said Adrian Beverage, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, in an email to The Center Square. "Anytime assessments are reduced at an institution, it frees up resources that can then be used to provide services to both consumer and commercial customers."
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation raised the initial base deposit insurance assessment rate schedule for banks last month. The increase would reduce banks' income by an average 1.2% and have an "insignificant effect" on banks' capital levels, according to information from the FDIC. The board said they hoped the reduction in assessment rates would offset the increase from the FDIC.
"We are still gathering data on what the recent FDIC assessment will cost Oklahoma banks," Beverage said. "Only state-chartered banks in Oklahoma received the assessment reduction from the State Banking Department. A lot will go into the size of each bank and whether they are state or federally chartered. So to answer your question, the assessment reduction from the state will help to reduce the FDIC assessment for some banks, but won't do anything to help to offset the FDIC assessment for other banks."
Oklahoma state-chartered banks have saved over $20 million in assessments through discounts, according to the board.
via Oklahoma's Center Square News