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  • Illinois reissues and extends several Covid-19 executive orders

    State Issues

    On April 2, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued Executive Order 2021-06, which extends several executive orders through May 1, 2021 (previously covered here, hereherehereherehere, and here). Among other things, the order extends: (i) Executive Order 2020-07 regarding in-person meeting requirements, (ii) Executive Order 2020-23 regarding actions by individuals licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation engaged in disaster response, (iii) Executive Order 2020-25 regarding garnishment and wage deductions (previously covered here), (iv) Executive Order 2020-30 regarding residential evictions (previously covered here), and (v) Executive Order 2020-72 regarding the residential eviction moratorium (previously covered here and here).

    State Issues Covid-19 Illinois Mortgages Evictions Debt Collection

  • Illinois reissues and extends several Covid-19 executive orders

    State Issues

    On April 2, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued Executive Order 2021-06, which extends several previous executive orders through May 1, 2021 (previously covered here, hereherehereherehere, and here). Among other things, the order extends: (i) Executive Order 2020-07 regarding in-person meeting requirements, (ii) Executive Order 2020-23 regarding actions by individuals licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation engaged in disaster response, (iii) Executive Order 2020-25 regarding garnishment and wage deductions (previously covered here), (iv) Executive Order 2020-30 regarding residential evictions (previously covered here), and (v) Executive Order 2020-72 regarding the residential eviction moratorium (previously covered here and here).

    State Issues Covid-19 Illinois Licensing Debt Collection Evictions Mortgages

  • CFPB rolls back last year’s Covid-19 flexibilities

    Federal Issues

    On March 31, the CFPB rescinded, effective April 1, the following policy statements, which provided temporary regulatory flexibility measures to help financial institutions work with consumers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic:

    • A March 26, 2020, statement addressing the Bureau’s commitment to taking into account staffing and related resource challenges facing financial institutions related to supervision and enforcement activities.
    • A March 26, 2020, statement postponing quarterly HMDA reporting requirements. (Covered by InfoBytes here.)
    • A March 26, 2020, statement postponing annual data submission requirements related to credit card and prepaid accounts required under TILA, Regulation Z and Regulation E. (Covered by InfoBytes here.)
    • An April 1, 2020, statement on credit reporting agencies and furnishers’ credit reporting obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bureau notes that the rescission “leaves intact the section entitled “Furnishing Consumer Information Impacted by COVID-19” which articulates the CFPB’s support for furnishers’ voluntary efforts to provide payment relief and that the CFPB does not intend to cite in examinations or take enforcement actions against those who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies that accurately reflect the payment relief measures they are employing.” (Covered by InfoBytes here.)
    • An April 27, 2020, statement affirming that the Bureau would not take supervisory or enforcement action against land developers subject to the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and Regulation J for delays in filing financial statements and annual reports of activity. (Covered by InfoBytes here.)
    • A May 13, 2020, statement providing supervision and enforcement flexibility for creditors to resolve billing errors during the pandemic. (Covered by InfoBytes here.)
    • A June 3, 2020, statement providing temporary flexibility for credit card issuers regarding electronic provision of certain disclosures during the Covid-19 pandemic in accordance with the E-Sign Act and Regulation Z. (Covered by InfoBytes here.)

    The rescission also withdraws the Bureau as a signatory to the April 7, 2020, Interagency Statement on Loan Modifications and Reporting for Financial Institutions Working with Customers Affected by the Coronavirus (covered by InfoBytes here), and the April 14, 2020, Interagency Statement on Appraisals and Evaluations for Real Estate Related Financial Transactions Affected by the Coronavirus (covered by InfoBytes here).

    Additionally, the Bureau issued Bulletin 2021-01 announcing changes to how it communicates supervisory expectations to institutions. Bulletin 2021-01 replaces Bulletin 2018-01 (covered by InfoBytes here), which previously created two categories of findings conveying supervisory expectations: Matters Requiring Attention (MRAs) and Supervisory Recommendations (SRs). Under the revised Bulletin, the Bureau notes that examiners “will continue to rely on [MRAs] to convey supervisory expectations” but will no longer issue formal written SRs, as the agency believes that MRAs will more effectively convey its supervisory expectations. The Bulletin further states that “Bureau examiners may issue MRAs with or without a related supervisory finding that a supervised entity has violated a Federal consumer financial law.”

    Federal Issues CFPB Covid-19 Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Data Collection / Aggregation Mortgages HMDA Credit Cards Prepaid Cards TILA Examination Supervision Consumer Finance

  • U.S.-EU release statement on Joint Financial Regulatory Forum

    Financial Crimes

    On March 24 and 25, EU and U.S. participants, including officials from the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Board, CFTC, FDIC, SEC, and OCC, participated in the U.S.-EU Joint Financial Regulatory Forum to discuss topics of mutual interest, including those related to (i) “next steps” for Covid-19 recovery and for mitigating financial stability risks; (ii) “sustainable finance”; (iii) banking and insurance multilateral and bilateral engagement; (iv) capital market regulatory and supervisory cooperation; (v) regulatory and supervisory developments pertaining to financial innovation, including the importance of promoting ongoing “responsible innovation and international supervisory cooperation”; and (vi) anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) issues, including “the potential for enhanced cooperation to combat money laundering and terrorist financing bilaterally and in the framework of [the Financial Action Task Force].” Participants also discussed possible responses to climate-related financial risks, as well as “the progress in their respective legislative and supervisory efforts to ensure a smooth transition away from LIBOR.”

    Financial Crimes Department of Treasury OFAC EU Of Interest to Non-US Persons Covid-19 Climate-Related Financial Risks Fintech Anti-Money Laundering Combating the Financing of Terrorism LIBOR Bank Regulatory Federal Reserve CFTC FDIC OCC SEC

  • Nevada issues final extension for eviction moratorium

    State Issues

    On April 1, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak issued Declaration of Emergency Directive 043, relating to the implementation of Senate Bill 1 (previously covered here). The directive provides that certain residential unlawful detainer or summary eviction actions against covered persons are stayed through May 31, 2021. Emergency Directives 008, 025, 031, and 036 (covered herehere, here, and here) had previously prohibited such evictions through March 31.  In the accompanying press release, Governor Sisolak stated that the moratorium will not be extended again.

    State Issues Covid-19 Nevada Mortgages Evictions

  • Idaho Department of Finance once again extends “work from home” guidance

    State Issues

    On March 31, the Idaho Department of Finance extended its temporary regulatory guidance (previously covered here, here, here) permitting mortgage brokers and lenders, mortgage loan originators, regulated lenders, title lenders, payday lenders, and collection agency licensees and registrants to work from home under certain circumstances. The original guidance (previously covered here) permits employees to work from home where the residence is not a licensed branch and certain data security requirements are met. The guidance is extended through December 31, 2021.

    State Issues Covid-19 Idaho Mortgage Broker Mortgage Origination Payday Lending Title Loans Licensing

  • NYDFS updates cybersecurity fraud alert

    State Issues

    On March 30, NYDFS issued an updated cybersecurity fraud alert that warns of other techniques used in a widespread cybercrime campaign targeting public-facing websites. As previously covered in InfoBytes, the update stems from NYDFS’ February 16 cybersecurity fraud alert sent to regulated entities, which described a “widespread cybercrime campaign” designed to steal nonpublic private consumer information (NPI) from public-facing websites and use the stolen NPI to fraudulently apply for pandemic and unemployment benefits. In addition to the techniques previously identified, NYDFS alerts regulated entities of the following additional hacking methods: (i) using web-debugging tools to steal unredacted, plaintext NPI while in transit from the data vendor to the company; and (ii) credential stuffing to gain access to insurance agent accounts and using those agent accounts to steal consumer NPI. To prevent sensitive data from being stolen from public-facing websites, NYDFS advises financial organizations to circumvent displaying prefilled NPI, even in redacted form, and to guarantee that all portals are being guarded by the “robust access controls required by [NYDFS]’s cybersecurity regulation.” The alert also outlines remediation steps that financial institutions should execute to guarantee basic security.

    State Issues NYDFS Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security State Regulators Data Breach 23 NYCRR Part 500 Covid-19 Bank Regulatory

  • Treasury issues emergency capital investment program FAQs

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On March 30, the U.S. Treasury Department issued frequently asked questions to provide timely guidance concerning all aspects of the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP). The FAQs cover issues regarding:

    • The types of institutions eligible to participate in the ECIP;
    • Submission of an ECIP application and emergency investment lending plan;
    • How Treasury will decide allocation of the available capital among applicants that meet the thresholds for eligibility, including how well an applicant has responded to the needs of communities impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic;
    • Whether an institution can choose to issue preferred stock or subordinated debt in the ECIP; and
    • Compliance and reporting requirements.

    The ECIP was established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (covered by InfoBytes here), and will provide up to $9 billion in capital directly to Community Development Financial Institutions and minority depository institutions to provide, among other things, “loans, grants, and forbearance for small and minority businesses and consumers in low income communities” that may be disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. As previously covered in InfoBytes, on March 22, the OCC, Federal Reserve Board, and the FDIC published an interim final rule (IFR) to facilitate the implementation of the ECIP.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance ECIP OCC Federal Reserve FDIC Covid-19 Bank Regulatory

  • Biden extends PPP deadline

    Federal Issues

    On March 30, President Biden signed the PPP Extension Act of 2021, extending the covered period for the Paycheck Protection Program from March 31 to June 30. However, new loan applications will not be accepted after May 31. 

    Federal Issues SBA Covid-19 Small Business Lending CARES Act

  • NY AG exempts stimulus payments from garnishment

    State Issues

    On March 24, the New York attorney general issued official guidance for New York state banking institutions, creditors, and debt collectors to clarify that federal stimulus payments are exempt from garnishment under New York law. The guidance, which is based on multiple state and federal consumer protection laws, explains that any attempt to garnish stimulus funds from consumers in the state would constitute “illegal acts” because such garnishment would violate prohibitions under the New York City Consumer Protection Law, New York General Business Law 601(8), the FDCPA, and Dodd-Frank prohibitions of unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts or practices. Banking institutions are also advised to treat these stimulus payments “as subject to the same protections as statutorily exempt payments.”

    State Issues State Attorney General Debt Collection Consumer Finance Covid-19

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