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CFPB publishes final rule adjusting annual dollar amount thresholds under TILA regulations
On August 27, the CFPB issued a final rule amending Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), including as amended by 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 ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage provisions (ATR/QM). The CFPB is required to make annual adjustments to dollar amounts in certain provisions in Regulation Z, and has based the adjustments on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index in effect on June 1, 2018. The following thresholds will be effective on January 1, 2019:
- For open-end consumer credit plans under TILA, the threshold for disclosing an interest charge will remain unchanged at $1.00;
- For open-end consumer credit plans under the CARD Act amendments, the adjusted dollar amount for the safe harbor for a first violation penalty fee will increase from $27 to $28, and the adjusted dollar amount for the safe harbor for a subsequent violation penalty fee will increase from $38 to $39;
- For HOEPA loans, the adjusted total loan amount threshold for high-cost mortgages will be $21,549, and the adjusted points and fees dollar trigger for high-cost mortgages will be $1,077; and
- The maximum thresholds for total points and fees for qualified mortgages under the ATR/QM rule will be: (i) 3 percent of the total loan amount for loans greater than or equal to $107,747; (ii) $3,232 for loan amounts greater than or equal to $64,648 but less than $107,747; (iii) 5 percent of the total loan amount for loans greater than or equal to $21,549 but less than $64,648; (iv) $1,077 for loan amounts greater than or equal to $13,468 but less than $21,549; and (v) 8 percent of the total loan amount for loan amounts less than $13,468.
HUD releases ANPR on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulations
On August 13, HUD announced an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking comment on potential amendments to its 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulations. As previously covered by InfoBytes, AFFH was aimed at helping communities who receive HUD funding meet their fair housing obligations to provide affordable housing in more communities; however, HUD now states that the rule “proved ineffective, highly prescriptive, and effectively discouraged the production of affordable housing.” The ANPR requests public comment on changes that will, among other things, (i) minimize regulatory burden; (ii) create a process focused on accomplishing positive results; (iii) provide for greater local control; (iv) encourage actions that will increase housing choice; and (v) efficiently utilize HUD resources. The ANPR also details a list of substantive questions HUD is interested in commenters responding to, including “[w]hat type of community participation and consultation should program participants undertake in fulfilling their AFFH obligations?” and “[h]ow should HUD evaluate the AFFH efforts of program participants?” Comments on the ANPR must be received by October 15.
CFPB amends Regulation P, provides exemptions for annual privacy notice requirement
On August 10, the CFPB issued final amendments to Regulation P, which implements the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and provides, among other things, exemptions for financial institutions from sending annual privacy notices to consumers provided they meet certain conditions. The final rule—originally proposed in July 2016 (as previously covered in InfoBytes here)—implements a December 2015 statutory change in Section 75001 of the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act,” which permits certain exemptions provided a qualifying financial institution (i) has not changed its privacy notice from the one previously delivered to its customer, and (ii) limits its sharing of a customer’s nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties so that a customer does not have the right to opt out, as otherwise afforded under the statute and Regulation P. The final rule will not affect the collection or use of a customer’s nonpublic personal information, and all financial institutions are still required to deliver initial privacy notices to customers. Moreover, the final rule establishes requirements for alternative delivery methods and provides deadlines for financial institutions that lose the exception and are required to resume delivery of annual privacy notices.
The amendments to Regulation P will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
CFPB announces HMDA File Format Verification Tool and new 2017 data reports and datasets
On August 9, the CFPB released the 2018 File Format Verification Tool (FFVT). The FFVT tests whether HMDA reporters’ files meet formatting requirements, specifically whether the file (i) is pipe-delimited; (ii) has the proper number of data fields; and (iii) has data fields formatted as integers, where necessary. It does not include any data validation or consistency tests. Because the tool has no login functions, no federal agency will receive or review the files tested. Additionally, earlier in the week, the Bureau announced the release of the 2017 HMDA Dynamic National Loan-Level Dataset and the Aggregate & Disclosure reports. The Dynamic National Loan-Level Dataset contains the raw HMDA data reported by all HMDA reporters, redacted by the Bureau to protect applicant and borrower privacy. The Disclosure Reports summarize lending activity for individual institutions by MSA or MD and nationwide and the National Aggregate Reports summarize aggregate lending activity of all institutions, tabulated by a variety of loan, borrower, and geographical characteristics.
CFPB updates “workpapers” section of Supervision and Examination Manual
In August, the CFPB released an updated version of the Supervision and Examination Manual, which includes minor changes to the workpapers section of the examination process and an updated scope summary template. According to the manual, workpapers are the records documenting the review conducted by examiners to reach conclusions about the financial institution’s compliance with federal consumer protection laws. The manual emphasizes that “[a]ll information collected and all records created during the review that are used to support findings and conclusions could potentially be included in the workpapers” and all workpapers must be reviewed and signed off by the examiner in charge. The Bureau requires all workpapers and related documentation to be maintained in electronic form.
Federal Reserve requests comments on proposal to include omitted items from capital assessments and stress testing information collection
On August 8, the Federal Reserve Board published a notice and request for comment in the Federal Register seeking to revise, without extension, the existing information collection “Capital Assessments and Stress Testing.” The information collection is applicable to bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of $100 billion or more and U.S. intermediate holding companies established by foreign banking organizations that are subject to enhanced testing in order to mitigate risks to the financial stability of the United States. Last December, the Fed published modifications to the FR Y-14Q, Schedule L, which took effect as of the March 31, 2018, report date. However, following the adoption of the proposed changes, the Fed became aware of items mistakenly omitted from the report forms and instructions for the FR Y-14Q, which require respondents to report “total stressed net current exposure under the two supervisory stressed scenarios.” The proposal will revise sub-schedule L.5 (Derivatives and SFT Profile) for the FR Y-14Q report by adding the missing items. Comments on the proposal must be received by October 9.
OCC updates Comptroller’s Licensing Manual to revise public comment period calculation for business combination applicants
On July 30, the OCC released Bulletin 2018-22 announcing an updated version of its “Business Combinations” booklet of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. As previously covered in InfoBytes, the OCC released a revised version of the booklet last November, which included updates related to regulations addressing applications for national banks and federal savings associations proposing to execute a business combination. Current version 1.1 of the booklet incorporates minor technical corrections and includes a change in the public comment period calculation, which is “generally 30 days after the newspaper publication.” Among other things, the booklet provides a requirement that a notice “must be published three times in a newspaper of general circulation in the community or communities where the main or home offices of the banks involved in the transaction are located.” The OCC further advises applicants to consider the possibility of a processing delay in the event “significant or adverse comments” are received, and stresses potential delays should be a factored in when planning target dates for consummating a business combination.
Federal Reserve Board launches inaugural Consumer Compliance Supervision Bulletin
On July 26, the Federal Reserve Board released its inaugural Consumer Compliance Supervision Bulletin (Bulletin) to share information about the agency’s supervisory observations and other noteworthy developments related to consumer protection, and provide practical steps for banking organizations to consider when addressing consumer compliance risk. The first Bulletin focuses on fair lending issues related to the practice of redlining and outlines key risk factors the Fed considers in its review, such as (i) whether a bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) assessment areas inappropriately exclude minority census tracts; (ii) whether a bank’s Home Mortgage Disclosure Act or CRA lending data show “statistically significant disparities in majority minority census tracts when compared with similar lenders”; or (iii) whether the bank’s branches, loan production offices, or marketing strategies appear to exclude majority minority census tracts. Practical steps for mitigating redlining risk are also provided. The Bulletin also discusses fair lending risk related to mortgage pricing discrimination against minority borrowers, small dollar loan pricing that discriminates against minorities and women, disability discrimination, and maternity leave discrimination.
The Bulletin additionally addresses unfair or deceptive acts or practices risks related to overdrafts, misrepresentations made by loan officers, and the marketing of student financial products and services. The Bulletin also highlights regulatory and policy developments related to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s updated Uniform Interagency Consumer Compliance Rating System along with recent changes to the Military Lending Act.
OCC releases additional guidance on state loan-to-deposit ratios
On July 25, the OCC issued Bulletin 2018-21 to provide additional guidance for covered national banks on how state loan-to-deposit ratios are used to determine compliance with Section 109 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. On June 21, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the OCC released the host state loan-to-deposit ratios for each state or U.S. territory. Section 109, which prohibits banks from establishing or acquiring interstate branches for the primary purpose of deposit production, requires a comparison of a bank’s statewide loan-to-deposit ratio to the yearly host state loan-to-deposit ratios. If a bank’s statewide ratio is less than one-half the yearly published host state ratio, an additional review is required by the appropriate agency.
OCC issues update to Comptroller’s Handbook
On July 23, the OCC issued Bulletin 2018-20, which announced revisions to the “Capital and Dividends” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook as mandated by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The revised booklet—which applies to all OCC-supervised bank examinations—includes changes to the regulatory capital rule, reflects the integration of the OTS into the OCC, and includes expanded examination procedures for capital, dividends, and capital adequacy.