On February 27, the OCC announced that it has finalized its rule amending 12 CFR 5.20 to replace references to “fiduciary activities” with “operations of a trust company and activities related thereto,” aligning the regulation’s language with statutory terms in 12 U.S.C. 27(a). As previously covered by InfoBytes, the NPRM provided that national trust banks may conduct both fiduciary and non-fiduciary functions, such as custody and safekeeping, and stressed that the change neither expands nor contracts the OCC’s chartering authority. The OCC adopted the amendments exactly as proposed, making no substantive revisions in response to public comments, and declined suggestions for further changes, finding issues raised to be outside the rule’s scope. The agency reiterated its view that earlier 2003 regulatory language was never intended to restrict national trust bank operations and confirmed that the revised text is purely a clarification to avoid misinterpretation. The rule is effective April 1.