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Senators express support for ILC in letter to FDIC
On September 15, five Republican Senators and four Democrats sent a letter to FDIC acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg expressing their support for the industrial loan company (ILC) charter. The Senators also expressed their opposition to regulatory actions that could “target the ILC charter in a manner not consistent with the laws Congress has passed.” The Senators noted that “the safety and soundness of the ILC charter has been broadly successful when historically compared to the rest of the banking industry,” and further explained that the ILC charter will allow “new and expanded opportunities in the regulated banking sector.” The Senators stated that they support more competition in financial services and encourage regulators “to ensure that new competition is kept under the confines of the regulated banking system, which ultimately protects consumers and our constituents.”
Biden announces nominees for FDIC board
On September 20, President Biden announced his intention to nominate two members of the FDIC Board of Directors. The nominees, if confirmed, would fill the two vacant seats on the five-member Board. Travis Hill was nominated as a Board member and as vice chair. During his tenure at the FDIC, Hill previously served as senior advisor to the chairman and deputy to the chairman for policy. Prior to that, Hill served as senior counsel at the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Biden also nominated Jonathan McKernan as a Board member. McKernan is a senior counsel at the FHFA and currently is on detail from the agency to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs where he is counsel on the minority staff. Previously, McKernan served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Treasury Department.
New NYDFS proposal to implement Commercial Finance Disclosure Law
On September 14, NYDFS published a notice of proposed rulemaking under New York’s Commercial Financing Disclosure Law (CFDL) related to disclosure requirements for certain providers of commercial financing transactions in the state. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the CFDL was enacted at the end of December 2020, and amended in February to expand coverage and delay the effective date. (See S5470-B, as amended by S898.) Under the CFDL, providers of commercial financing, which include persons and entities who solicit and present specific offers of commercial financing on behalf of a third party, are required to give consumer-style loan disclosures to potential recipients when a specific offering of finance is extended for certain commercial transactions of $2.5 million or less. Last December, NYDFS announced that providers’ compliance obligations under the CFDL will not take effect until the necessary implementing regulations are issued and effective (covered by InfoBytes here).
The newest proposed regulations (see Assessment of Public Comments for the Revised Proposed New Part 600 to 23 NYCRR) introduce several revisions and clarifications following the consideration of comments received on proposed regulations published last October (covered by InfoBytes here). Updates include:
- A new section stating that a “transaction is subject to the CFDL if one of the parties is principally directed or managed from New York, or the provider negotiated the commercial financing from a location in New York.”
- A new section requiring notice be sent to a recipient if a change is made to the servicing of a commercial financing agreement.
- An revised definition of “recipient” to now “include entities subject to common control if all such recipients receive the single offer of commercial financing simultaneously.”
- Clarifying language stating that the “requirements pertaining to the statement of a rate of finance charge or a financing amount, as that term appears in Section 810 of the CFDL, shall be in effect only upon the quotation of a specific commercial financing offer.”
- Provisions allowing providers to perform calculations based upon either a 30-day month/360-day year or a 365-day year, with the acknowledgment that different methods of computation may lead to slightly different results.
- An amendment stating that “a ‘provider is not required to provide the disclosures required by the CFDL when the finance charge of an existing financing is effectively increased due to the incurrence, by the recipient, of avoidable fees and charges.’”
- An acknowledgement of comments asking that 23 NYCRR Part 600 be identical to California’s disclosure requirements (covered by InfoBytes here) “or as consistent as possible.” In response, NYDFS said that while it generally agrees, and has consulted with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), the regulations cannot be identical because the CFDL differs from the California Consumer Financial Protection Law and the Department cannot anticipate any future revisions DFPI may make to its proposed regulations.
Comments on the proposed regulations are due October 31.
OCC releases enforcement actions data
On September 15, the OCC released a list of recent enforcement actions taken against national banks, federal savings associations, and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with such entities. Included in the release is an August 29 formal agreement between the OCC and a Texas-based bank in connection with allegedly unsafe or unsound practices relating to strategic and capital planning, credit risk management, Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) methodology, corporate governance, and internal controls. The agreement requires the bank to: (i) establish a compliance committee to monitor the bank’s progress in complying with the agreement’s provisions; (ii) report such progress to the bank’s board on a quarterly basis; and (iii) develop, implement, and adhere to, among other things, the ALLL Program, the contingency funding plan and any amendments thereto, and the internal audit program and any amendments or revisions thereto.
OCC announces Alaska and Puerto Rico disaster relief
On September 19, the OCC issued proclamations (see here and here) permitting OCC-regulated institutions, at their discretion, to close offices affected by flooding in Alaska and Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico “for as long as deemed necessary for bank operation or public safety.” The proclamation directs institutions to OCC Bulletin 2012-28 for further guidance on actions they should take in response to natural disasters and other emergency conditions. According to the 2012 Bulletin, only bank offices directly affected by potentially unsafe conditions should close, and institutions should make every effort to reopen as quickly as possible to address customers’ banking needs.
FDIC announces Arizona disaster relief
On September 15, the FDIC issued FIL-41-2022 to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and help facilitate recovery in areas of Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (Arizona) affected by severe storms from July 17-18. The FDIC acknowledged the unusual circumstances faced by institutions affected by the storms and suggested that institutions work with impacted borrowers to, among other things: (i) extend repayment terms; (ii) restructure existing loans; or (iii) ease terms for new loans to those affected by the severe weather, provided the measures are done “in a manner consistent with sound banking practices.” Additionally, the FDIC noted that institutions “may receive favorable Community Reinvestment Act consideration for community development loans, investments, and services in support of disaster recovery.” The FDIC will also consider regulatory relief from certain filing and publishing requirements.
OCC reports on mortgage performance
On September 15, the OCC released a report on the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the second quarter of 2022, providing information on mortgage performance through June 30. According to the OCC, 97 percent of mortgages were current and performing at the end of the quarter, compared to 95 percent a year earlier. The percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages was 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 1.8 percent in the prior quarter and 3.8 percent a year ago. The report also found that servicers completed 28,109 modifications in the second quarter of 2022—a decrease of 33.7 percent from the previous quarter. Additionally, of the 28,109 mortgage modifications, 78.2 percent reduced borrowers’ monthly payments and 95.6 percent were “combination modifications,” which are modifications that include multiple actions affecting the affordability and sustainability of the loan, such as an interest rate reduction and a term extension.
Toomey seeks "greater transparency" on CRA agreements
On September 7, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-PA) wrote a letter to the Federal Reserve Board, OCC, and FDIC (together, the “Agencies”) expressing his concern for “the lack of transparency associated with community benefits plans (CBPs) developed by banks and community groups in connection with the Community Reinvestment Act,” which often remain undisclosed by banks despite the requirements of the CRA. He noted that greater transparency is “critically necessary” for Congress and the public to judge the efficacy of the CRA and its implementing regulations. Toomey described that the growth and prevalence of the dollar value of CBPs in recent years underscores the need to update the regulations implementing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s CRA sunshine provision. Toomey requested that the Agencies establish a public, searchable database on their websites containing all CRA-related agreements, including CBPs, and to provide comprehensive data on those agreements. Additionally, Toomey urged the Agencies to broaden the definition of “covered agreement” under the regulations to align with congressional intent and mitigate the potential for evasion by banks and community groups.
FDIC, FinCEN release results of digital identity tech sprint
On September 9, the FDIC and FinCEN announced key takeaways and solution summaries from a recent “Tech Sprint” to develop solutions for banks and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing. As previously covered in InfoBytes, in January, the FDIC’s technology lab, FDiTech, and FinCEN announced the launch of a Tech Sprint challenging participants “to develop solutions for financial institutions and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing—the process used to collect, validate, and verify information about a person.” The FDIC and FinCEN sought solutions that included, among other things: (i) increasing efficiency and account security; (ii) reducing fraud and other forms of identity-related crime; (iii) reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing; and (iv) fostering customer confidence in the digital banking environment.
The Tech Sprint resulted in proposed solutions that followed one of three distinct approaches: (i) tools that would measure the effectiveness of identity proofing systems; (ii) development of a scoring methodology for remote identity proofing; and (iii) envisioning an identity provider consortium or platform. The release also noted that multiple participating teams referenced the use of source verification, interoperability, and emerging technologies such as zero knowledge proofs and multi-party computation for secure, privacy-protecting data sharing.
Agencies push to implement Basel III
On September 9, the FDIC, OCC, and Federal Reserve Board reaffirmed their commitment to implementing enhanced regulatory capital requirements that align with Basel III standards issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in 2017. The agencies announced they are currently developing—and will issue “as soon as possible”—a joint proposed rule on new capital standards for large banking organizations. The agencies noted that community banks are subject to different capital requirements and will not be affected by the proposal.