On Tuesday October 2, leaders of the federal prudential regulators testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (“Banking Committee”) on their agencies’ efforts to implement the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA” or the “Act”). All of the regulators expressed support for the goals of EGRRCPA, particularly with … 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On July 5, 2018, Square, Inc. (“Square”) announced (paywall) that it had temporarily withdrawn a pending application with the FDIC to obtain deposit insurance for a proposed industrial loan company (“ILC”), in order to strengthen the application before reapplying. The company stated that a parallel application with the Utah Department of Financial Institutions for 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
On Wednesday, February 21, the Treasury Department issued a report regarding the Orderly Liquidation Authority (“OLA”) established by Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act under which the FDIC may be appointed as receiver of a severely distressed and systemically important financial company. This report was prepared in response to the President’s April 21, 2017 memorandum … Continue Reading
On August 21, 2017, Keith Noreika, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, sent a letter to Jeb Hensarling, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, stating that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) is not, and never was, a part of Operation Chokepoint, and that Operation Chokepoint is not the policy … 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 July 10, 2017, the FDIC published for comment a handbook on deposit insurance applications, Deposit Insurance Applications: Procedures Manual. The manual covers each step in the application process: pre-filing activities, application receipt, review and acceptance, application processing, pre-opening activities and post-opening considerations. The FDIC has two audiences and purposes in issuing the manual. For potential bank organizers, the manual provides greater clarity of … 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
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) will hold an open meeting on June 12, 2017, to hear concerns from financial institutions regarding FASB’s recently finalized Accounting Standards Update for measuring credit losses on financial instruments (the Current Expected Credit Loss standard, or “CECL”) under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). FASB issued the new CECL standard … 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
On May 11, 2017, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) announced settlements with Bank of Lake Mills and two of its institution-affiliated parties, Freedom Stores, Inc. and Military Credit Services, LLC. The settlements require the companies to pay restitution totaling $3 million to past and present borrowers who were harmed, impose civil monetary penalties totaling … Continue Reading
On Friday, April 21, President Donald Trump signed two presidential memoranda, directing the Secretary of the Treasury (the “Secretary”), Steve Mnuchin, to review two major provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act: orderly liquidation authority (“OLA”) for financial companies under Title II, and the decision-making processes of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”). Consistent with the Trump … Continue Reading
As has been widely reported, FDIC Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig put forward in remarks to the Institute of International Bankers on Monday, March 13, a “Market-Based Proposal for Regulatory Relief and Accountability” (the “Hoenig Proposal” or the “Proposal”). If adopted, the Hoenig Proposal would substantially change the regulation of large and complex banking organizations doing … Continue Reading
Last Thursday, the FDIC issued a draft handbook for organizers of de novo insured depository institutions. The handbook provides an explanation of the process for submitting an application to the FDIC in order to offer FDIC-insured deposit products. The handbook is relevant for any person or company that is interested in a bank charter and proposing to accept … Continue Reading
On December 20, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) released a final rule addressing the receivership of national banks that are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and therefore are not subject to receivership by the FDIC under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (“FDIA”). While all 52 existing … Continue Reading
On December 14, 2016, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows released a special report (the “Report”) detailing over 200 rules, regulations, and executive orders the Caucus recommends that President-Elect Donald Trump should examine, revoke, or issue in his first 100 days in office. The report targets for repeal a diverse set of regulations finalized or … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Federal banking agencies issued final rules that permanently extend the examination cycle, from 12 months to 18 months, for well-capitalized and well-managed banks, savings associations, and Federal agencies and branches of foreign banks with less than $1.0 billion in total assets. The final rules, which implement a Congressional mandate under a 2015 statute, … Continue Reading
The election of Donald J. Trump as President, along with continued Republican control of the Senate and House of Representatives, promises to bring change to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). The transition at the FDIC should be gradual due to the structure of the agency’s board of directors. The five-person board consists of three … Continue Reading
On October 19, 2016, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation released a joint Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) requesting public comment on enhanced cybersecurity standards that would apply to certain large, interconnected financial entities as well as the third … Continue Reading
