New and Proposed Regulations
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New Regulations:
Truth in Lending (Regulation Z) Annual Threshold Adjustments (Credit Cards, HOEPA, and Qualified Mortgages) - Dates: This final rule is effective January 1, 2021. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this final rule amending the regulation text and official interpretations for Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The Bureau is required to calculate annually the dollar amounts for several provisions in Regulation Z; this final rule revises, as applicable, the dollar amounts for provisions implementing TILA and amendments to TILA, including under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act), the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The Bureau is adjusting these amounts, where appropriate, based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in effect on June 1, 2020. (Federal Register Notice) 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) Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans - DATES: This rule is effective October 20, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this final rule to amend its regulations governing payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. Specifically, the Bureau is revoking provisions of those regulations that: Provide that it is an unfair and abusive practice for a lender to make a covered short-term or longer-term balloon-payment loan, including payday and vehicle title loans, without reasonably determining that consumers have the ability to repay those loans according to their terms; prescribe mandatory underwriting requirements for making the ability-to-repay determination; exempt certain loans from the mandatory underwriting requirements; and establish related definitions, reporting, recordkeeping, and compliance date requirements. The Bureau is making these amendments to the regulations based on its re-evaluation of the legal and evidentiary bases for these provisions. (Federal Register Notice) Prohibitions and Restrictions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Interests in, and Relationships With, Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds - DATES: Effective date: The final rule is effective October 1, 2020. SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, SEC, and CFTC (together, the agencies) are adopting amendments to the regulations implementing section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act (BHC Act). Section 13 contains certain restrictions on the ability of a banking entity or 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 (covered funds). These final amendments are intended to improve and streamline the regulations implementing section 13 of the BHC Act by modifying and clarifying requirements related to the covered fund provisions of the rules. (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) Incorporation of Existing Statement of Policy Regarding Requests for Participation in the Affairs of an Insured Depository Institution by Convicted Individuals - Dates: This rule is effective September 21, 2020. SUMMARY: Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act requires persons convicted of certain criminal offenses to obtain prior written consent before participating in the conduct of the affairs of any depository institution. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is revising its existing regulations relating to section 19 to revise the FDIC's procedures and standards relating to applications for the FDIC's written consent, and to incorporate and revise the FDIC's existing Statement of Policy for Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (SOP). Incorporating the SOP into the FDIC's regulations will make application of the SOP more transparent, increase certainty concerning the FDIC's application process, afford regulatory relief, and help both insured depository institutions and affected individuals to understand the impact of section 19 and to potentially seek relief from it. The FDIC's existing SOP will be rescinded on the date this final rule (rule) becomes effective. (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) 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) 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: Loans to Executive Officers, Directors, and Principal Shareholders of Member Banks; Regulation O - DATES: This interim final rule is effective on July 16, 2020. Comments on the interim final rule must be received no later than August 31, 2020. SUMMARY: On April 17, 2020, the Board issued an interim final rule to except certain loans made by June 30, 2020, that are guaranteed under the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program from the requirements of the Federal Reserve Act and the corresponding provisions of the Board's Regulation O. The Board is issuing this interim final rule to expand the exception to apply to PPP loans made through August 8, 2020. (Federal Register Notice) National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders - DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 3, 2020. SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is proposing a regulation to determine when a national bank or Federal savings association (bank) makes a loan and is the ``true lender'' in the context of a partnership between a bank and a third party, such as a marketplace lender. Under this proposal, a bank makes a loan if, as of the date of origination, it is named as the lender in the loan agreement or funds the loan. (Federal Register Notice) Loans in Areas Having Special Flood Hazards; Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance - DATES: Comments on the proposed questions and answers must be submitted on or before September 4, 2020. SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, FCA, and NCUA (collectively, the Agencies) propose to reorganize, revise, and expand the Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance and solicit comment on all aspects of the amendments. To help lenders meet their responsibilities under Federal flood insurance law and to increase public understanding of their flood insurance regulations, the Agencies have prepared proposed new and revised guidance addressing the most frequently asked questions and answers about flood insurance. Significant topics addressed by the proposed revisions include the effect of major amendments to flood insurance laws with regard to the escrow of flood insurance premiums, the detached structure exemption, and force-placement procedures. (Federal Register Notice) Loans in Areas Having Special Flood Hazards; Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance; Extension of Comment Period - DATES: The comment period for the proposed revisions to the Interagency Flood Questions and Answers, published on July 6, 2020 (85 FR 40442), is extended from September 4, 2020, to November 3, 2020. SUMMARY: On July 6, 2020, the OCC, Board, FDIC, FCA, and NCUA (collectively, the Agencies) published in the Federal Register a notice soliciting comments on a proposal to reorganize, revise, and expand the Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance (July 2020 Proposed Questions and Answers). The July 2020 Proposed Questions and Answers provided for a comment period ending on September 4, 2020. The Agencies have determined that an extension of the comment period until November 3, 2020, is appropriate. This action will allow interested parties additional time to analyze the proposal and prepare and submit comments. (Federal Register Notice) Qualified Mortgage Definition Under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z): General QM Loan Definition - DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 8, 2020. SUMMARY: With certain exceptions, Regulation Z requires creditors to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a consumer's ability to repay any residential mortgage loan, and loans that meet Regulation Z's requirements for ``qualified mortgages'' (QMs) obtain certain protections from liability. One category of QMs is the General QM loan category. For General QM loans, the ratio of the consumer's total monthly debt to total monthly income (DTI ratio) must not exceed 43 percent. In this notice of proposed rulemaking, the Bureau proposes certain amendments to the General QM loan definition in Regulation Z. Among other things, the Bureau proposes to remove the General QM loan definition's 43 percent DTI limit and replace it with a price-based threshold. Another category of QMs is loans that are eligible for purchase or guarantee by either the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs), while operating under the conservatorship or receivership of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The GSEs are currently under Federal conservatorship. The Bureau established this category of QMs (Temporary GSE QM loans) as a temporary measure that is set to expire no later than January 10, 2021 or when the GSEs exit conservatorship. In a separate proposal released simultaneously with this proposal, the Bureau proposes to extend the Temporary GSE QM loan definition to expire upon the effective date of final amendments to the General QM loan definition in Regulation Z (or when the GSEs cease to operate under the conservatorship of the FHFA, if that happens earlier). In this present proposed rule, the Bureau proposes the amendments to the General QM loan definition that are referenced in that separate proposal. The Bureau's objective with these proposals is to facilitate a smooth and orderly transition away from the Temporary GSE QM loan definition and to ensure access to responsible, affordable mortgage credit upon its expiration. (Federal Register Notice) Higher-Priced Mortgage Loan Escrow Exemption (Regulation Z) - DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before September 21, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is proposing to amend Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act, as mandated by section 108 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The amendments would exempt certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions from the requirement to establish escrow accounts for certain higher-priced mortgage loans. (Federal Register Notice) Qualified Mortgage Definition Under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z): Seasoned QM Loan Definition - DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 28, 2020. SUMMARY: With certain exceptions, Regulation Z requires creditors to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a consumer's ability to repay any residential mortgage loan, and loans that meet Regulation Z's requirements for ``qualified mortgages'' (QMs) obtain certain protections from liability. Regulation Z contains several categories of QMs, including the General QM category and a temporary category (Temporary GSE QM loans) of loans that are eligible for purchase or guarantee by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) while they are operating under the conservatorship or receivership of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this proposal to create a new category of QMs (Seasoned QMs) for first-lien, fixed-rate covered transactions that have met certain performance requirements over a 36-month seasoning period, are held in portfolio until the end of the seasoning period, comply with general restrictions on product features and points and fees, and meet certain underwriting requirements. The Bureau's primary objective with this proposal is to ensure access to responsible, affordable mortgage credit by adding a Seasoned QM definition to the existing QM definitions. (Federal Register Notice) CARD Act Rules Review Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act; Request for Information Regarding Consumer Credit Card Market - DATES: Comments must be received by October 27, 2020. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is requesting comment on two related, but separate, reviews. First, the Bureau is conducting a review of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act) Rules. As part of this review, the Bureau is seeking comment on the economic impact of the CARD Act Rules on small entities so that it can determine whether the rules should be continued without change, or should be amended or rescinded, consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statutes, to minimize any significant economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of such small entities. Second, the Bureau is conducting a review of the consumer credit card market, within the limits of its existing resources available for reporting purposes, pursuant to the CARD Act, and is seeking comment on a number of aspects of the consumer credit card market. (Federal Register Notice) For More Information Contact:
Jennifer Heaton, Vice President of Government & Executive Affairs |
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