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  • FDIC Vice Chair delivers remarks on tokenization

    On March 11, FDIC Vice Chairman Travis Hill delivered prepared remarks on “Banking’s Next Chapter? Remarks on Tokenization and Other Issues.” The speech addressed the evolution of money and payment systems, focusing on the recent innovation of tokenizing commercial bank deposits and other assets and liabilities. Hill distinguished tokenization from assets like Bitcoin and Ether: “tokenization involves a representation of ‘real-world assets’ on a distributed ledger, including… commercial bank deposits, government and corporate bonds, money market fund shares, gold and other commodities, and real estate.” Hill highlighted the potential benefits of tokenization, such as improved efficiency in payments and settlements, 24/7/365 operations, programmability, atomic settlement (the settlement, or the act of transferring ownership of an asset from seller to buyer, combining instant and simultaneous settlements) and the creation of an immutable audit trail. He also mentioned that these innovations could streamline complex processes like cross-border transactions and bond issuances, offering notable advantages over traditional banking systems.

    The speech also acknowledged challenges and risks associated with tokenization, including technical, operational, and legal uncertainties. Questions remain about the structure of the future financial system, interoperability between different blockchains, and the legal implications of transferring ownership via tokens, Hill added.

    Regarding the regulatory approach to digital assets and tokenization, Hill expressed the need for as much clarity as possible, even in areas whether the technology is evolving quickly. For example, Hill noted that “it would be helpful to provide certainty that deposits are deposits, regardless of the technology or recordkeeping deployed, and if there are reasons to distinguish some or all tokenized deposits from traditional deposits for any regulatory, reporting, or other purpose, the FDIC should… explain how and why.”

    Bank Regulatory Federal Issues Digital Assets Bank Supervision Payments Federal Reserve

  • HUD sued for allegedly failing to refund mortgage insurance premiums for early-terminated FHA-insured mortgages

    Courts

    On March 12, a putative class action complaint was filed against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for allegedly denying homeowners their Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) refunds upon the early termination of their FHA-insured mortgages. According to the complaint, HUD must refund unearned MIPs, but has refused to refund homeowners by creating “unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.” The plaintiffs alleged that the OIG had confirmed “the validity of complaints regarding HUD’s handling of MIP refunds.”

    Citing HUD regulations, the plaintiffs alleged that when an FHA mortgage is terminated early, within seven years of the purchase of the refinancing of the property, there is an overpayment of the MIP which should be refunded by HUD. According to the plaintiffs it is a “widespread practice” for HUD not to automatically refund MIPs, but instead require a burdensome, lengthy process which hindered the prompt refund of fees in multiple ways. The 2022 OIG report cited by plaintiffs allegedly found, among other things, that HUD did not have adequate controls in place to ensure that refunds were appropriately tracked, monitored, and issued. The plaintiffs alleged that Floridians are owed over $21.7 million in refunds.

    The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive and declaratory relief and a return of all unfairly retained refunds “together with damages in the amount of the total earned interest and other investment monies accrued by Defendant with Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ monies.” 

    Courts Federal Issues HUD Class Action OIG FHA

  • CFPB releases consumer advisory for student borrowers notifying them of April deadline to cancel

    Federal Issues

    On March 11, the CFPB published a consumer advisory notifying student loan borrowers that they may have an opportunity to cancel or receive credits toward the cancellation of their student loans but some borrowers will need to consolidate their loans by April 30 in order to obtain the benefit. The Department of Education has implemented a “one-time adjustment” to help borrowers receive credit toward federal student loan cancellation. This adjustment is designed to enable the counting of more payments, including all payments made on federally managed loans since July 1, 1994, as well as certain periods of deferment, economic hardship, and forbearance. Generally, federal student loans are eligible for Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans, which offer loan cancellation after 10, 20, or 25 years of qualifying payments, or after 10 years for those pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), provided other eligibility criteria are met. The Bureau also noted that consolidation is free, warning against scammers who would charge for that service.

     

    Federal Issues CFPB Consumer Finance Student Lending Department of Education Income-Driven Repayment

  • Business groups sue the CFPB over credit card late fee rule

    Courts

    On March 7, several business groups (plaintiffs) sued the CFPB rule in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas over its announced credit card late fee rule. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the Bureau’s new final rule limited most credit card late fees to $8, among other actions, and was met immediately with criticism from banks and legislators.

    The plaintiffs’ complaint claimed the CFPB completed the rule hastily to implement a pledge made by President Biden around his State of the Union Address to reduce credit card late fees by 75 percent. The complaint further asserted the CFPB skipped necessary steps, made economic miscalculations, and otherwise breached the Administrative Procedure Act. As alleged, the Bureau likely understated “the volatility of card issuers’ cost-to-fee ratios pertaining to late fees” and improperly relied on data which does not allow for the recovery of a “reasonable and proportional” penalty fee. On the Bureau’s use of the Y-14M data, the complaint alleged the new rule ignored peer-reviewed studies and instead opted to base the rule on an internal study using confidential data that was not available for examination during the period allocated for public comment. The plaintiffs argued the final rule would incur “substantial compliance costs” by amending printed disclosures, using the cost-analysis provisions, and notifying consumers of changes in interest rates to recoup costs, among other problems. The complaint also cited TILA’s effective-date provisions and the Bureau’s embattled funding structure to support the argument that the final rule would cause irreparable harm.

    Courts Federal Issues CFPB Litigation Credit Cards Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Fees Consumer Finance Consumer Protection

  • GAO report calls for FDIC, Fed to fix bank supervision issues

    On March 6, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report to congressional requesters, including Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, regarding the Fed and FDIC’s communication of supervisory concerns related to the 2023 banking issues and the agencies’ procedures for escalating concerns. The report found that while both regulators generally met their requirements for communicating concerns, the Fed’s escalation procedures lacked clarity and specificity, which could have contributed to delayed enforcement last year.

    The GAO recommended that the Fed revise its escalation procedures to be more precise and include measurable criteria. The Fed agreed with the recommendation and acknowledged that clearer examination procedures could help in addressing supervisory concerns more promptly. For the FDIC, the GAO recognized that the FDIC already updated its escalation procedures in August 2023 and will intend to implement further revisions to respond promptly. The GAO report also suggested that Congress amend the FDI Act to incorporate noncapital triggers related to unsafe banking practices before they affect capital.

    Bank Regulatory Federal Issues FDIC Federal Reserve Bank Supervision GAO Congress

  • VA proposes rule changes to VA-Guaranteed, IRRRLoans

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On March 7, the VA published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register titled “Loan Guaranty: Revisions to VA-Guaranteed or Insured Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans” which sought comment on whether the “date of loan issuance” should be defined as date of the note (as originally suggested) or as the date “the first payment is due.” The notice explained the VA did not receive any comments on this aspect of the proposed rule and enumerated several concerns with the initial proposed definition. The comment period for this proposed rule will close on May 6.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Issues Department of Veterans Affairs Loans

  • Fed issues final rule for FMUs to update risk management requirements, noting cyber and climate risks

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On March 8, the Federal Reserve Board announced a final rule that will update risk management requirements for financial market utilities (FMUs) supervised by the Fed. FMUs provide the financial infrastructure to clear and settle payments and transactions. The rule will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, and FMUs are expected to comply with certain updates by 90 days and all updates by 180 days after publication. The Fed reported the final rule is “substantially similar” to the proposed rule and provided additional details to the exiting requirements for the following: (i) review and testing; (ii) incident management; (iii) business continuity management; and (iv) third-party risk management.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Issues Federal Reserve Cyber Risk & Data Security Risk Management

  • OCC’s Hsu speaks on operational resilience framework as regulators consider non-financial disruptions

    Federal Issues

    On March 12, the Acting Director for the OCC, Michael J. Hsu, delivered a speech at a banking conference in Washington, D.C. on “operational resilience,” which he defined as a bank’s ability to “prepare for, and adapt to, and withstand or recover from disruptions.” Hsu stressed that the most concerning impacts on financial institutions are not financial, but often arise from natural disasters, pandemics, global conflicts, or weak internal governance management. The acting director noted an increase in the probability of disruptions occurring and the impacts of them. In response, the OCC will expect financial institutions to be operationally resilient, and Hsu stated that the federal banking agencies are considering making changes to their operational resilience framework for large banks and possibly third-party service providers.

    These principles were first laid out in a white paper following the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center whereby the paper promoted geographic diversity and the resiliency of data centers. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, the federal banking agencies issued a paper that integrated existing guidance and common industry practices in October 2020.

    Federal Issues OCC Operational Resilience

  • FTC confirms two members as its board returns to full strength

    Federal Issues

    On March 8, the FTC announced the confirmation of two new commissioners: Andrew N. Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak. Additionally, current Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter received a confirmation vote for a second term. Newcomers Ferguson and Holyoak were nominated by President Biden and will serve until September 25, 2025; Slaughter will serve until the same date in 2029. Ferguson had previously been working as solicitor general of Virginia, and before that he was chief counsel to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and as Republican counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Holyoak was most recently solicitor general with the Utah Attorney General’s Office. Before that, she served as president and general counsel of a D.C.-based public interest law firm.

    Federal Issues FTC Utah

  • Fed Chairman Powell testifies before House Financial Services Committee on Basel III “Endgame,” commercial real estate, and banking capital

    Federal Issues

    On March 6, the House Financial Services Committee held its semi-annual hearing on the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Report, and heard testimony from the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell a day after the Republican committee members sent a letter to the banking regulators urging withdrawal from the Basel III “Endgame” proposal. Powell discussed the Basel III Endgame proposal comments, the commercial real estate market, and capital requirements, among others.

    On the Basel III “Endgame” proposal, Chairman McHenry (R-NC) asked if the Fed was listening to the comments received and what the status of the rulemaking is moving forward. Powell confirmed that the Fed has received substantive comments in mid-January and had put out the Quantitative Impact Study; the Fed is still analyzing the comments and will soon reach a point where the Fed can begin making decisions. Powell signaled to expect “broad and material changes to the proposal” while expressing confidence that the final proposal will receive support from the Fed and the public.

    Congressman Barr (R-KY), who also questioned the Basel III “Endgame” proposal, asked whether a re-proposal that implemented Basel III in a “capital neutral way” could be achieved without jeopardizing financial stability; Powell responded with “hypothetically, yes.” Then, pointing to a report that found 97 percent of comment letters either opposed or expressed concerns about the proposal, Powell stated “it’s unlike anything I’ve seen.” On technical matters, Barr raised the concern that subjecting different size banks to a one-size-fits-all standard would concentrate the industry, increase risks, and decrease competition. Powell indicated he shared that concern.

    Congressman Himes (D-CT) inquired about the commercial real estate market, specifically if the rapid decline in vacancy rates was a manageable risk. Powell indicated that the risks are manageable but stressed that “[t]here will be some losses by banks” and that the Fed is actively in touch with these banks, mostly small- and medium-sized banks with higher concentrations in this market. Congressman Lynch (D-MA) inquired about the 2023 banking issues and if they were caused in part by the “instantaneous” withdrawals of money from the banks as a proverbial bank run. Powell confirmed that the Fed is working on liquidity rules to change this.

    Congressman Loudermilk (R-GA) inquired about the driving force behind the record-high levels of credit card debt. Powell believed that pure economic growth was the cause, and the number has just scaled up; alternatively, it was because of the stimulus spending from the pandemic. Loudermilk then posed a hypothetical: if there was a rule on restricting lending from banks, if that rule would drive businesses and consumers towards “alternative forms of credit”; Powell said it would, and that would present nonbank lenders with more business. Moreover, Congressman Loudermilk had Powell commit to at most an analysis of how capital proposals affect small business credit access and small-dollar lending before finalizing any proposals.

    Federal Issues House Financial Services Committee Basel

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