The three most powerful banking regulators in the US are rethinking the rules around one of finance’s best-kept secrets: confidential supervisory information, the sensitive data generated when regulators examine banks. The Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC have been actively coordinating on how banks handle sensitive materials tied to examinations and oversight. The latest concrete development: the FDIC proposed a rule on June 25, 2026, that would significantly loosen the restrictions on sharing confidential supervisory information, or CSI, among insured depository institutions.
What confidential supervisory information actually is
CSI includes examination reports, risk ratings, internal supervisory correspondence, and the granular data regulators collect when they assess whether a bank is healthy or heading toward trouble. Since 2005, historical guidelines have required that these materials be tightly guarded, with most disclosures requiring explicit agency approval before a bank could share them with anyone.
The FDIC’s proposed rule would change this dynamic by permitting certain disclosures without prior approval under specific conditions. The comment period runs until August 31, 2026, giving industry participants a window to weigh in on how these changes should be structured.
