New and Proposed Regulations
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New Regulations: Prohibitions and Restrictions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Interests in, and Relationships With, Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds-Effective Date: The effective date for amendatory instructions 1 through 14 (OCC), 16 through 29 (Board), 31 through 44 (FDIC), and 46 through 58 (CFTC) is January 1, 2020; the effective date for amendatory instructions 60 through 73 (SEC) is January 13, 2020; and the effective date for the addition of appendices Z at amendatory instructions 15 (OCC), 30 (Board), and 45 (FDIC) is January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020, except for amendatory instruction 74 (SEC), which is effective January 13, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Compliance date: Banking entities must comply with the final amendments by January 1, 2021. Until the compliance date, banking entities must continue to comply with the 2013 rule (as set forth in appendices Z to 12 CFR parts 44, 248, and 351 and 17 CFR parts 75 and 255). Alternatively, a banking entity may voluntarily comply, in whole or in part, with the amendments adopted in this release prior to the compliance date, subject to the agencies’ completion of necessary technological changes. SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, SEC, and CFTC are adopting amendments to the regulations implementing section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act. Section 13 contains certain restrictions on the ability of a banking entity and nonbank financial company supervised by the Board to engage in proprietary trading and have certain interests in, or relationships with, a hedge fund or private equity fund. These final amendments are intended to provide banking entities with clarity about what activities are prohibited and to improve supervision and implementation of section 13. (Federal Register Notice) Community Reinvestment Act Regulations-DATES: This rule is effective on October 1, 2020. Banks must comply with the final amendments by October 1, 2020, January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, as applicable, except that appendix C to part 25 expires January 1, 2024. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for compliance details. SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is adopting a final rule to strengthen and modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by clarifying and expanding the activities that qualify for CRA credit; updating where activities count for CRA credit; creating a more consistent and objective method for evaluating CRA performance; and providing for more timely and transparent CRA-related data collection, recordkeeping, and reporting. (Federal Register Notice) Temporary Actions To Support the Flow of Credit to Households and Businesses by Encouraging Use of Intraday Credit-DATES: These temporary actions are effective on April 24, 2020, and will expire on September 30, 2020. SUMMARY: Due to the extraordinary disruptions from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is announcing temporary actions aimed at encouraging healthy depository institutions to utilize intraday credit extended by Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks). The Board recognizes that the Federal Reserve has an important role in providing intraday balances and credit to foster the smooth operation of the payment system. These temporary actions are intended to support the provision of liquidity to households and businesses and the general smooth functioning of payment systems. (Federal Register Notice) Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities - Effective Date: The final rule is effective August 31, 2020. SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, FCA, and FHFA (each, an agency, and collectively, the agencies) are adopting a final rule that amends the agencies' regulations requiring swap dealers and security-based swap dealers under the agencies' respective jurisdictions to exchange margin with their counterparties for swaps that are not centrally cleared (Swap Margin Rule). The Swap Margin Rule as adopted in 2015 takes effect under a phased compliance schedule spanning from 2016 through 2020, and the entities covered by the rule continue to hold swaps in their portfolios that were entered into before the effective dates of the rule. Such swaps are grandfathered from the Swap Margin Rule's requirements until they expire according to their terms. The final rule permits swaps entered into prior to an applicable compliance date (legacy swaps) to retain their legacy status in the event that they are amended to replace an interbank offered rate (IBOR) or other discontinued rate, modifies initial margin requirements for non-cleared swaps between affiliates, introduces an additional compliance date for initial margin requirements, clarifies the point in time at which trading documentation must be in place, permits legacy swaps to retain their legacy status in the event that they are amended due to technical amendments, notional reductions, or portfolio compression exercises, and makes technical changes to relocate the provision addressing amendments to legacy swaps that are made to comply with the Qualified Financial Contract Rules, as defined in the Supplementary Information section. In addition, the final rule addresses comments received in response to the agencies' publication of the interim final rule that would preserve the status of legacy swaps meeting certain criteria if the United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union (hereafter ``Brexit) without a negotiated settlement agreement. (Federal Register Notice) Permissible Interest on Loans That Are Sold, Assigned, or Otherwise Transferred - Effective Date: The final rule is effective on August 3, 2020. SUMMARY: Federal law establishes that national banks and savings associations (banks) may charge interest on loans at the maximum rate permitted to any state-chartered or licensed lending institution in the state where the bank is located. In addition, banks are generally authorized to sell, assign, or otherwise transfer (transfer) loans and to enter into and assign loan contracts. Despite these authorities, recent developments have created legal uncertainty about the ongoing permissibility of the interest term after a bank transfers a loan. This rule clarifies that when a bank transfers a loan, the interest permissible before the transfer continues to be permissible after the transfer. (Federal Register Notice) Remittance Transfers Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) - Effective Date: This final rule is effective on July 21, 2020. SUMMARY: The Electronic Fund Transfer Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, establishes certain protections for consumers sending international money transfers, or remittance transfers. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection's (Bureau) remittance rule in Regulation E (Remittance Rule or Rule) implements these protections. The Bureau is amending Regulation E and the official interpretations of Regulation E to provide tailored exceptions to address compliance challenges that insured institutions may face in certain circumstances upon the expiration of a statutory exception that allows insured institutions to disclose estimates instead of exact amounts to consumers. That exception expires on July 21, 2020. In addition, the Bureau is increasing a safe harbor threshold in the Rule related to whether a person makes remittance transfers in the normal course of its business. (Federal Register Notice) Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C)- DATES: This final rule is effective on July 1, 2020, except for the amendments to Sec. 1003.2 in amendatory instruction 5, the amendments to Sec. 1003.3 in amendatory instruction 6, and the amendments to supplement I to part 1003 in amendatory instruction 7, which are effective on January 1, 2022. See part VI for more information. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is amending Regulation C to increase the threshold for reporting data about closed-end mortgage loans, so that institutions originating fewer than 100 closed-end mortgage loans in either of the two preceding calendar years will not have to report such data effective July 1, 2020. The Bureau is also setting the threshold for reporting data about open-end lines of credit at 200 open-end lines of credit effective January 1, 2022, upon the expiration of the current temporary threshold of 500 open-end lines of credit. (Federal Register Notice) Assessments, Mitigating the Deposit Insurance Assessment Effect of Participation in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the PPP Liquidity Facility, and the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility - DATES: The final rule is effective June 26, 2020, and will apply as of April 1, 2020. SUMMARY: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is adopting a final rule that mitigates the deposit insurance assessment effects of participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) established by the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF) and Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF) established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The final rule removes the effect of participation in the PPP and borrowings under the PPPLF on various risk measures used to calculate an insured depository institution's assessment rate, removes the effect of participation in the PPP and MMLF program on certain adjustments to an insured depository institution's assessment rate; provides an offset to an insured depository institution's assessment for the increase to its assessment base attributable to participation in the PPP and MMLF; and removes the effect of participation in the PPP and MMLF when classifying insured depository institutions as small, large, or highly complex for assessment purposes. (Federal Register Notice) Truth in Lending (Regulation Z); Determining ``Underserved'' Areas Using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data - DATES: This interpretive rule is effective on June 26, 2020. SUMMARY: This interpretive rule construes the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection's (Bureau's) Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The Bureau produces annually a list of rural and underserved counties and areas that is used in applying various Regulation Z provisions, such as the exemption from the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan and the ability to originate balloon-payment qualified mortgages. Regulation Z states that an area is ``underserved'' during a calendar year if, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for the preceding calendar year, it is a county in which no more than two creditors extended covered transactions, as defined in Regulation Z, secured by first liens on properties in the county five or more times. The official commentary provides an interpretation relating to this standard that refers to certain data elements from the previous version of the Bureau's Regulation C, which implements HMDA, that were modified or eliminated in the 2015 amendments to Regulation C. The Bureau is issuing this interpretive rule to supersede that now outdated interpretation, specifically by describing below the HMDA data that will instead be used in determining that an area is ``underserved.'' (Federal Register Notice) Advisory Opinions Pilot - DATES: This procedural rule is applicable on June 22, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) announces the establishment of a new pilot advisory opinion program (Pilot AO Program). (Federal Register Notice) Securitization Safe Harbor Rule-DATE: May 4, 2020 SUMMARY: The FDIC is amending its securitization safe harbor rule, which relates to the treatment of financial assets transferred in connection with a securitization transaction, in order to eliminate a requirement that the securitization documents require compliance with Regulation AB of the Securities and Exchange Commission in circumstances where Regulation AB by its terms would not apply to the issuance of obligations backed by such financial assets. (Federal Register Notice) Application of Certain Provisions in the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule and Regulation Z Right of Rescission Rules in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic- DATE: This interpretive rule is effective on May 4, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this interpretive rule to provide guidance to creditors and other covered persons involved in the mortgage origination process. The Bureau understands that the COVID-19 pandemic could pose temporary business disruptions and challenges for covered persons that are involved in the mortgage origination process, including creditors, loan originators, settlement agents, and other parties such as real estate appraisers. The Bureau recognizes, furthermore, that consumers may have acute needs for proceeds from mortgage transactions as well as uncertainty and confusion about the origination process. In recent weeks, the Bureau has received a number of questions and requests for clarification from stakeholders, including creditors, industry representatives, and State regulators, about the application of certain provisions in the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule and Regulation Z's right of rescission rules (Regulation Z Rescission Rules) in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau concludes in this interpretive rule that if a consumer determines that his or her need to obtain funds due to the COVID-19 pandemic (1) necessitates consummating the credit transaction before the end of the TRID Rule waiting periods or (2) must be met before the end of the Regulation Z Rescission Rules waiting period, then the consumer has a bona fide personal financial emergency that would permit the consumer to utilize the modification and waiver provisions, subject to the applicable procedures set forth in the TRID Rule and Regulation Z Rescission Rules. The Bureau also concludes in this interpretive rule that the COVID-19 pandemic is a ``changed circumstance'' for purposes of certain TRID Rule provisions, allowing creditors to use revised estimates reflecting changes in settlement charges for purposes of determining good faith. This interpretive rule will help expedite consumers' access to credit under the TRID Rule and Regulation Z Rescission Rules. (Federal Register Notice) Treatment of Pandemic Relief Payments Under Regulation E and Application of the Compulsory Use Prohibition - Effective Date: This interpretive rule is effective on April 27, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this interpretive rule to provide guidance to government agencies distributing aid to consumers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau concludes in this interpretive rule that certain pandemic-relief payments are not ``government benefits'' for purposes of Regulation E and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and are therefore not subject to the compulsory use prohibition in EFTA, if certain conditions are met. Specifically, government benefits do not include payments from Federal, State, or local governments if those payments: Are made to provide assistance to consumers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or its economic impacts; are not part of an already-established government benefit program; are made on a one-time or otherwise limited basis; and are distributed without a general requirement that consumers apply to the agency to receive funds. (Federal Register Notice) Control and Divestiture Proceedings-Effective Date: The effective date for the final rule published March 2, 2020, at 85 FR 12398, is delayed from April 1, 2020, until September 30, 2020. SUMMARY: The Board is delaying the effective date of its final rule that revises the Board's framework for determining whether a company controls another company for purposes of the Bank Holding Company Act or the Home Owners' Loan Act, as published on March 2, 2020. (Federal Register Notice) Proposed Regulations: Advisory Opinions Proposal - DATES: Written comments on the Proposed AO Program are encouraged and must be received on or before August 21, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) invites the public to comment on a new advisory opinion program (Proposed AO Program), and a proposed information collection associated with requests submitted by persons requesting advisory opinions under the Proposed AO Program, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. (Federal Register Notice) Facilitating the LIBOR Transition (Regulation Z) - DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 4, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is proposing to amend Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), generally to address the sunset of LIBOR, which is expected to be discontinued after 2021. Some creditors currently use LIBOR as an index for calculating rates for open-end and closed-end products. The Bureau is proposing changes to open-end and closed-end provisions to provide examples of replacement indices for LIBOR indices that meet certain Regulation Z standards. The Bureau also is proposing to permit creditors for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and card issuers for credit card accounts to transition existing accounts that use a LIBOR index to a replacement index on or after March 15, 2021, if certain conditions are met. The proposal also addresses change-in-terms notice provisions for HELOCs and credit card accounts and how they apply to accounts transitioning away from using a LIBOR index. Lastly, the Bureau is proposing to address how the rate reevaluation provisions applicable to credit card accounts apply to the transition from using a LIBOR index to a replacement index. (Federal Register Notice) Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F); Extension of Comment Period - DATES: The comment period for the debt collection SNPRM published March 3, 2020, at 85 FR 12672, is extended. Responses to the SNPRM must now be received on or before August 4, 2020. SUMMARY: On March 3, 2020, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) published in the Federal Register a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) requesting comment on the Bureau's proposal to amend Regulation F, which implements the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), to require debt collectors to make certain disclosures when collecting time-barred debts. The SNPRM provided a 60-day comment period that was set to close on May 4, 2020. In a document published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2020, the Bureau extended the comment period until June 5, 2020. To allow interested persons more time to consider and submit their comments, the Bureau has determined that a further extension of the comment period until August 4, 2020, is appropriate. (Federal Register Notice) Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program--Revisions to Loan Forgiveness and Loan Review Procedures Interim Final Rules - DATES: Effective Date: This interim final rule is effective March 27, 2020, except for the provision relating to the maturity date of PPP loans, which is effective June 5, 2020, and the provision relating to the cap on the amount of loan forgiveness for owner-employees and self-employed individuals, which is effective on June 24, 2020. Comment Date: Comments must be received on or before July 27, 2020. SUMMARY: On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) posted on its website an interim final rule relating to the implementation of sections 1102 and 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act or the Act) (published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2020). Section 1102 of the Act temporarily adds a new product, titled the ``Paycheck Protection Program,'' to the SBA's 7(a) Loan Program. Subsequently, SBA and Treasury issued additional interim final rules implementing the Paycheck Protection Program. On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (Flexibility Act) was signed into law, amending the CARES Act. This interim final rule revises interim final rules posted on SBA's and the Department of the Treasury's websites on May 22, 2020 (published on June 1, 2020, in the Federal Register), by changing key provisions to conform to the Flexibility Act. Several of these amendments are retroactive to the date of enactment of the CARES Act, as required by section 3(d) of the Flexibility Act. (Federal Register Notice) Assessment of Fees - DATES: The interim final rule is effective from June 24, 2020 through October 15, 2020. Comments on the interim final rule must be received no later than July 24, 2020. SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is adopting an interim final rule to reduce assessments in response to the national emergency declared in connection with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Under the interim final rule, assessments due on September 30, 2020, for national banks, Federal savings associations, and Federal branches and agencies of foreign banks (collectively, banks under the jurisdiction of the OCC) will be calculated using the December 31, 2019, ``Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income'' (Call Report) for each institution, rather than the June 30, 2020 Call Report. This will result in lower assessments for most banks under the jurisdiction of the OCC. In the event a bank's assets as reported on the June 30, 2020, Call Report are lower than on the December 31, 2019, Call Report, the OCC will calculate the assessment due on September 30, 2020, for the institution using the June 30, 2020, Call Report. (Federal Register Notice) Regulatory Capital Rule: Temporary Exclusion of U.S. Treasury Securities and Deposits at Federal Reserve Banks From the Supplementary Leverage Ratio for Depository Institutions - DATES: Effective date: This rule is effective on June 1, 2020. Comment date: Comments on the interim final rule must be received no later than July 16, 2020. SUMMARY: In light of recent disruptions in economic conditions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 and strains in U.S. financial markets, the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (together, the agencies) are issuing an interim final rule that temporarily revises the supplementary leverage ratio calculation for depository institutions. Under the interim final rule, any depository institution subsidiary of a U.S. global systemically important bank holding company or any depository institution subject to Category II or Category III capital standards may elect to exclude temporarily U.S. Treasury securities and deposits at Federal Reserve Banks from the supplementary leverage ratio denominator. Additionally, under this interim final rule, any depository institution making this election must request approval from its primary Federal banking regulator prior to making certain capital distributions so long as the exclusion is in effect. The interim final rule is effective as of the date of Federal Register publication and will remain in effect through March 31, 2021. The agencies are adopting this interim final rule to allow depository institutions that elect to opt into this treatment additional flexibility to act as financial intermediaries during this period of financial disruption. The tier 1 leverage ratio is not affected by this interim final rule. (Federal Register Notice) Parent Companies of Industrial Banks and Industrial Loan Companies; Extension of Comment Period - DATES: The comment period for the NPR on parent companies of industrial banks and industrial loan companies published on March 31, 2020 (85 FR 17771), is extended from June 1, 2020, to July 1, 2020. SUMMARY: On March 31, 2020, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) entitled ``Parent Companies of Industrial Banks and Industrial Loan Companies'' proposing a rule that would require certain conditions and commitments for each deposit insurance application approval, non-objection to a change in control notice, and merger application approval that would result in an insured industrial bank or industrial loan company becoming, after the effective date of any final rule, a subsidiary of a company that is not subject to consolidated supervision by the Federal Reserve Board. The proposed rule also would require that before any industrial bank or industrial loan company may become a subsidiary of a company that is not subject to consolidated supervision by the Federal Reserve Board, such company and the industrial bank or industrial loan company must enter into one or more written agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The NPR provided for a 60-day comment period, which would have closed on June 1, 2020. The FDIC has determined that an extension of the comment period until July 1, 2020, is appropriate. This action will allow interested parties additional time to analyze the proposal and prepare comments. (Federal Register Notice) Regulation D: Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions - DATES: Effective date: This rule is effective on April 24, 2020. Comment date: Comments must be received on or before June 29, 2020. Applicability date: The changes to the numeric limits on certain kinds of transfers and withdrawals that may be made each month from accounts characterized as ``savings deposits'' were applicable on April 23, 2020. SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (``Board'') is amending its Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) to delete the numeric limits on certain kinds of transfers and withdrawals that may be made each month from ``savings deposits.'' The amendments are intended to allow depository institution customers more convenient access to their funds and to simplify account administration for depository institutions. There are no mandatory changes to deposit reporting associated with the amendments. (Federal Register Notice) For More Information Contact:
Jennifer Heaton, Vice President of Government & Executive Affairs |
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