Regional Bank Auditors to Face Greater Oversight Board Scrutiny

Auditors of regional banks will face closer examination when the US audit regulator does its next round of inspections in the coming months.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will check how auditors responded to shifting interest rates and their clients’ classification of held-to-maturity assets, among others risks that could alter a financial institution’s access to capital, according to the audit regulator’s inspection priorities released on Wednesday. Inspections serve as the board’s primary oversight tool allowing staff to routinely check if auditors meet basic standards.

PCAOB staff similarly scrutinized bank audits during its most recent inspections, which followed ...