In a November 9, 2018 speech, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal K. Quarles outlined potential adjustments to the revisions to the capital planning regime that the Federal Reserve proposed in April 2018. Governor Quarles also said he will ask the Federal Reserve to exempt banks with less than $250 billion in assets from … Continue Reading
Today, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection issued a public statement of its intent to issue proposed rules in January 2019 to reconsider its final rule regarding payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans, commonly referred to as the “payday loan rule,” and to address the rule’s compliance date. The Bureau is currently planning … Continue Reading
On October 25, 2018, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to stop the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) from issuing special purpose national bank charters to fintech companies. The lawsuit follows a similar suit against the OCC by … Continue Reading
On September 10, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) released a proposed rule to implement section 206 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, codified in section 5A of the Home Owners’ Loan Act (“HOLA”). Section 5A permits a federal savings association with total consolidated assets of $20 … Continue Reading
On September 11, 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the “Bureau”, and, collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a statement “clarifying the role of supervisory guidance.” The release … Continue Reading
On July 16, 2018, Republican and Democratic leadership of the House Financial Services Committee announced that they have reached agreement to advance a package of financial services reforms known as the “JOBS Act 3.0,” consisting of 32 pieces of legislation that have passed the Committee or the full House with bipartisan support. While much of … Continue Reading
On July 16, 2018, the Financial Stability Board (“FSB”) issued a report to the G20 Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors summarizing the work that the FSB and other international standard-setting bodies have undertaken regarding crypto-assets. The FSB notably reported that it has developed a framework for monitoring financial stability risks related to crypto-assets, … Continue Reading
A recent United States Supreme Court case and new executive order will change the way federal agencies hire administrative law judges (“ALJs”), and together are expected to increase ALJs’ accountability to the heads of their agencies. On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court held in Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission that the … Continue Reading
On June 1, 2018, the OCC and FDIC issued a final rule shortening the settlement cycle for securities transactions effected by OCC- and FDIC-regulated institutions. Under the final rule, all such banks will be required to adhere to the standard industry settlement cycle, which currently requires trades to be settled no later than the second … Continue Reading
On May 30, 2018, the Federal Reserve Board approved a notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at simplifying regulations implementing section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1851), also known as the “Volcker Rule” (or the “Rule”). Enacted as part of the Dodd-Frank Act following the financial crisis of 2008, the Volcker Rule … Continue Reading
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”) has announced that on Thursday, April 12, 2018, it will consider a “potential application” from a bank holding company or its successor to be de-designated as a systemically important financial institution under section 117 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Sometimes known as the “Hotel California” provision,[1] section 117 of Dodd-Frank … Continue Reading
Today the Federal Reserve issued its semiannual regulatory flexibility agenda for fall 2017, which lists regulatory matters the agency anticipates having under consideration during the period from November 1, 2017 through April 30, 2018. The agenda is notable in two respects. First, the Federal Reserve anticipates issuing, together with the Office of the Comptroller of … Continue Reading
On December 7, 2017, the Federal Reserve announced that it will eliminate the use of the Strength of Support Assessment (or “SOSA” rating) as a supervisory tool. The SOSA rating measures the extent to which a foreign banking organization (“FBO”) is in a position to provide support to its U.S. branches, agencies, and subsidiary banks, … Continue Reading
On December 7, 2017, the Federal Reserve released three proposals that would increase the transparency of its stress test exercises, including the Dodd-Frank Act Stress Tests (“DFAST”) and Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (“CCAR”). The proposals are comprised of: (1) enhancements to the Federal Reserve’s disclosures regarding its stress test models, (2) amendments to the … Continue Reading
On October 12, 2017, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a Policies and Procedures Manual (“PPM”) outlining the framework to be used by examiners to determine whether an OCC-regulated bank should receive a downgrade of its Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) performance rating based on evidence of discriminatory or other illegal credit … Continue Reading
On September 14, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or the “Bureau”) issued a no-action letter for the first time, after having finalized its no-action letter policy in February 2016. The Bureau’s letter grants a request by Upstart Network, Inc. (“Upstart”), an online lender that uses both traditional and non-traditional credit scoring data, … Continue Reading
On August 21, 2017, the OCC issued guidance permitting national banks and federal savings associations to establish programs to offer mortgages with loan-to-value (“LTV”) ratios exceeding 100 percent in communities that have been officially targeted for revitalization by a federal, state, or municipal governmental entity or agency, or by a government-designated entity. Under existing supervisory … Continue Reading
On August 3, 2017, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”) released a proposal regarding its supervisory expectations for the boards of directors of bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, state member banks, U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, and non-bank systemically important financial institutions supervised by the … Continue Reading
This morning, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) released a Request for Information (“RFI”) to determine how regulations implementing the Volcker Rule should be revised to better accomplish the purposes of the statute. The OCC’s release notes that the information the agency is soliciting could support revisions to the regulation that are consistent … Continue Reading
On June 29, 2017, the Division of Corporate Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it will permit all companies to submit drafts of certain registration statements to the Division on a confidential basis, expanding a popular privilege that was made available to emerging growth companies under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (known … Continue Reading
On June 27, 2017, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the “Agencies”) proposed revisions to their Call Report forms for insured depository institutions. The proposed changes are intended to align Call Reports with a recent accounting change and … Continue Reading
On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the first of a series of reports recommending regulatory reforms to the financial system consistent with President Trump’s Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System. Treasury’s first report focuses on the regulatory framework governing the depository system. Notably, a substantial portion of … Continue Reading
See our article in BAI Banking Strategies, On the Road to Recovery: Phasing in Your Bank’s Recovery Plan, regarding compliance with the OCC’s recovery planning guidance.… Continue Reading
Federal financial agencies are taking steps to reevaluate the Volcker Rule as part of the Trump Administration’s review of financial regulations. In a May 8, 2017 meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reportedly directed the five agencies responsible for the Volcker Rule – the Board of Governors of the Federal … Continue Reading
