On Monday, September 16, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC” or the “Commission”) announced that it has approved final regulations (the “final rule”) that will streamline and clarify the Volcker Rule – a statutory provision that generally prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading, or from taking an ownership interest in, sponsoring, or … Continue Reading
On September 5, 2019, the Treasury Department (“Treasury”) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) released complementary proposals that, if implemented, would result in extensive changes to federal regulation of housing finance. The plans respond to a Presidential Memorandum of March 27, 2019, directing Treasury and HUD to develop housing reform proposals consistent … Continue Reading
As we turn the page on the summer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is poised to be active – and actively overseen – in the months ahead. Here’s an overview of some of the issues and events ahead. … Continue Reading
In the past few weeks, both Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) Chairman Jelena McWilliams and Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting have spoken publicly about ongoing efforts by their agencies, and by the Federal Reserve Board, to reform regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”). The federal bank regulatory agencies have been working on reforms … Continue Reading
On July 9, 2019, the federal banking agencies released a final rule to simplify aspects of the regulatory capital rules for banking organizations that are not “advanced approaches” banking organizations, i.e., those with less than $250 billion in total consolidated assets and less than $10 billion in total foreign exposure. Initially proposed in September 2017 … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, June 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) convened the first in a new series of symposia on consumer protection topics. The symposium series was announced in Director Kathleen Kraninger’s first major speech as the Bureau’s Director on April 17, 2019. The intent of the series is to initiate dialogue with stakeholders … Continue Reading
On June 14, 2019, the Federal Reserve Board (“Federal Reserve”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPR”) requesting public comment on updates to its regulations governing the disclosure of confidential supervisory information (“CSI”) and its Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) procedures. Although the Federal Reserve classified many of the proposed revisions as “clarifications” or “technical … Continue Reading
On May 7, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) released its long-anticipated proposed rule on debt collection. The proposed rule would amend Regulation F, which implements the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), and would govern the activities of debt collectors, as defined in the FDCPA. Certain provisions also rely on … Continue Reading
On April 16, 2019, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) announced its approval of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPR”) inviting comment on ways to improve its rule requiring insured depository institutions with $50 billion or more in total assets (“Covered Insured Depository Institutions” or “CIDIs”) to submit periodic resolution plans to the FDIC … Continue Reading
On April 11, 2019, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (the “OMB”) Russell T. Vought sent a memorandum to executive department and federal regulatory agency heads regarding compliance with the Congressional Review Act (the “CRA”). The memorandum clarifies that the CRA applies to “a wide range of other regulatory actions” beyond notice-and-comment … Continue Reading
On March 29, 2019, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) proposed changes to its Part 370 rule that would significantly reduce the compliance burdens on large insured depository institutions subject to that rule. The Part 370 rule, entitled Recordkeeping for Timely Deposit Insurance Determination, imposes new requirements on certain large insured depository institutions to … Continue Reading
On April 2, 2019, the federal banking agencies proposed a rule that would require large banking organizations to deduct from their regulatory capital certain investments in total loss-absorbing capacity (“TLAC”) debt issued by global systemically important banking organizations (“G-SIBs”) rather than to risk-weight such investments as is currently done. The rule is intended to reduce … Continue Reading
On March 29, 2019, the board of the FDIC approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that would revise the supplementary leverage ratio (“SLR”) to exclude certain deposits placed at central banks from custodial banks’ SLR denominators, implementing section 402 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA”). The OCC and Federal Reserve … Continue Reading
On March 27, 2019, the White House released a memorandum on federal housing finance that instructed the Treasury Secretary to develop (i) a “Treasury Housing Reform Plan” that addresses the roles of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – and (ii) a “HUD Reform Plan” for certain programs of the Department … Continue Reading
On March 6, 2019, the Federal Reserve issued a final rule to exempt from the qualitative component of the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (“CCAR”) exercise large firms that have participated in CCAR for four consecutive years and have passed the final year’s qualitative component without objection. The final rule serves to provide an immediate … Continue Reading
On February 6, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) released its much-anticipated proposed amendments to the payday lending rule. The proposed revision is Kathy Kraninger’s first major regulatory initiative since becoming the director of the CFPB. The Bureau issued two notices of proposed rulemaking that would (i) repeal the mandatory underwriting provisions … Continue Reading
On December 21, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “Bureau”) announced its issuance of final policy guidance describing its intentions for modification and disclosure to the public of certain loan-level data that financial institutions report under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”) and Regulation C. The guidance applies to HMDA data compiled by financial … Continue Reading
On December 6, 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) released a series of documents relating to the process for chartering a de novo FDIC-insured depository institution. A request for information (“RFI”) on all aspects of the FDIC’s deposit insurance application process. The RFI seeks comments on the transparency and efficiency of the application process, … Continue Reading
On December 4, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it is accepting public comments regarding its Identity Theft Detection Rules, 16 C.F.R. Part 681 (the “Rules”), as part of a systematic review of the Commission’s regulations and guidelines. The review of the Rules is particularly noteworthy because identity theft is among the top … Continue Reading
On November 28, 2018, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) Chairman Jelena McWilliams delivered keynote remarks regarding resolution planning requirements at the 2018 Annual Conference of The Clearing House and Bank Policy Institute. Chairman McWilliams repeatedly emphasized that the failure of a financial institution should be dealt with through bankruptcy. She stated that she strongly supports … Continue Reading
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
On October 31, 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board”) released two draft notices of proposed rulemaking (“NPRs”) to tailor its enhanced prudential standards (“EPS”) in accordance with Section 401 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA”). One NPR, issued by only the Board, would tailor the … Continue Reading
On October 24, 2018, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“BCFP” or the “Bureau”) announced that it had reached a settlement with Tennessee-based small-dollar lender and check casher, Cash Express LLC, which agreed to resolve the Bureau’s claims by paying a $200,000 fine and approximately $32,000 in restitution to affected consumers. The consent order includes … 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
