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Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

Financial Regulators Issue Joint Supervisory Guidance for Disaster Areas; VA Announces Wildfire Relief

Federal Issues Disaster Relief Department of Veterans Affairs FDIC OCC NCUA Federal Reserve Mortgages

Federal Issues

On December 15, the FDIC, Fed, OCC, and NCUA issued Interagency Supervisory Examiner Guidance for Institutions Affect by a Major Disaster (Guidance). The Guidance provides information on assessing the financial condition of institutions affected by a “major disaster with individual assistance” as declared by the President. The Guidance also encourages institutions affected by such disasters to discuss relevant issues with their examiners and notes that the supervisory agencies will consider extending report filing deadlines and rescheduling exams. Additionally, the Guidance states that examiners should consider factors related to the disaster, such as asset losses and staffing issues, when assessing capital adequacy and management capability requirements. And when considering the supervisory response to an institution that receives a lower component or composite rating, the Guidance provides that examiners should recognize the extent to which any weaknesses are related to the major disaster.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), on December 12, announced additional special relief following the California wildfires in Circular 26-17-42. The Circular encourages VA loan holders to extend forbearance to borrowers affected by the wildfires and VA loan servicers to continue solicitation of the VA Disaster Loan Modification program (as previously covered by InfoBytes here). Additionally, for affected borrowers and loans, the Circular suggests that loan holders follow the 90-day foreclosure moratorium and that servicers consider waiving late charges and suspending credit reporting. The Circular is effective until January 1, 2019.

Find continuing InfoBytes coverage on Disaster Relief here.