InfoBytes Blog
Filter
Subscribe to our InfoBytes Blog weekly newsletter and other publications for news affecting the financial services industry.
Prudential Regulators Announce Final Changes To Call Report
On January 14, the Federal Reserve Board, the OCC, and the FDIC announced final changes to the Call Report to implement the Basel III capital standards and consumer data collection after delaying certain changes last year. The agencies now plan to implement in March 2014 the proposed reporting requirements for (i) depository institution trade names; (ii) a modified version of the reporting proposal pertaining to international remittance transfers; (iii) the proposed screening question about the reporting institution’s offering of consumer deposit accounts; and (iv) for institutions with $1 billion or more in total assets that offer such accounts, the proposed new data items on consumer deposit account balances. The agencies would then implement the proposed breakdown of consumer deposit account service charges in March 2015, but only for institutions with $1 billion or more in total assets that offer consumer deposit accounts. The proposed instructions for these new items also were revised. In addition, the agencies will not at this time proceed with the proposed annual reporting by institutions with a parent holding company that is not a bank or savings and loan holding company of the amount of the parent holding company’s consolidated total liabilities.
Federal Reserve Board Seeks Comment On Designated Utilities' Risk Management Standards, Payment System Risk Policy
On January 10, the Federal Reserve Board proposed revisions to the Regulation HH risk-management standards for certain financial market utilities that have been designated as systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and for which the Federal Reserve Board is the Supervisory Agency pursuant to Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Board also requested comment on related revisions to part I of the Federal Reserve Policy on Payment System Risk (PSR policy), which applies to financial market infrastructures more generally, including those operated by the Federal Reserve Banks. The Federal Reserve states that both sets of proposed changes are based on and generally are consistent with the April 2012 Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures developed jointly by the international standard-setting bodies, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems and the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions. Among other things, the revisions: (i) establish separate standards to address credit risk and liquidity risk, (ii) add a standard on general business risk, and (iii) heighten requirements on transparency and disclosure. Comments on both proposals must be submitted by March 31, 2014.
Senators Seek More Transparency In Federal Agency Settlements
On January 8, Senate Banking Committee members Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) released the “Truth in Settlements Act.” The legislation would mandate that for any criminal or civil settlement entered into by a federal agency that requires total payments of $1 million or more, the agency must post online in a searchable format a list of each covered settlement agreement. The list must include, among other things: (i) the total settlement amount and a description of the claims; (ii) the names of parties and the amount each settling party is required to pay; and (iii) for each settling party, the amount of the payment designated as a civil penalty or fine, or otherwise specified as not tax deductible. The bill also would require that public statements by an agency about a covered settlement describe: (i) which portion of any payments is a civil or criminal penalty or fine, or is expressly specified as non-tax deductible; and (ii) any actions the settling company is required to take under the agreement, in lieu of or in addition to any payment. The bill would exempt disclosure of information subject to a confidentiality provision, but would in cases where partial or full confidentiality is applied, require the agency to issue a public statement about why confidential treatment is required to protect the public interest of the U.S. The bill also would require public companies to describe in their annual and periodic SEC reports any claim filed for a tax deduction that relates to a payment required under a covered settlement. In announcing the legislation, Senator Warren stated that the bill is needed to “shut down backroom deal-making and ensure that Congress, citizens and watchdog groups can hold regulatory agencies accountable for strong and effective enforcement that benefits the public interest.”
Senate Confirms Federal Reserve Board Chair
On January 6, the U.S. Senate voted 56-26 to confirm Janet Yellen to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Ms. Yellen will begin her appointment after Chairman Bernanke steps down at the end of January.
Prudential Regulators Announce Coordinated Action Against Technology Service Provider
Recently, the OCC released a formal agreement it entered with the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and a banking software company to resolve allegations of unsafe and unsound practices relating to the software company’s disaster recovery and business continuity planning and processes. The action reportedly resulted from the third-party service provider’s (TSP) delay in reestablishing full operations at a processing center in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The agreement requires the TSP to continue to maintain a compliance committee, which must submit quarterly written reports to the TSP’s board. The agreement also details minimum requirements for (i) an enhanced disaster recovery and business continuity planning (DR/BCP) process; and (ii) a DR/BCP risk management program and audit process. The agreement also reaffirms the TSP board’s responsibility for proper and sound management of the TSP. The action demonstrates the OCC’s and other federal authorities’ continued focus on third-party service providers. While in this instance the regulators employed the Bank Services Company Act to directly address concerns about a TSP, recent Federal Reserve Board and OCC guidance also focuses on financial institutions’ responsibilities with regard to managing risks related to third parties’ disaster recovery and business continuity.
Federal Reserve Board Announces Consumer Division Director's Retirement
On January 3, the Federal Reserve Board announced that Sandra Braunstein, the director of the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, will retire on April 1, 2014. Ms. Braunstein has led the division for 10 years, part of her nearly 27 years of service with the Federal Reserve Board. During her time leading the division, the Federal Reserve developed a new regulatory framework for credit cards and established new regulatory protections for consumers in the residential mortgage market. Ms. Braunstein also oversaw the creation of mortgage foreclosure mitigation and neighborhood stabilization programs, and played a key role in the transition of division staff and resources to the CFPB.
Federal Agencies Issue Statement On Subjecting TruPS CDOs To Volcker Rule
On December 27, in response to substantial criticism and legal action by banking trade groups, the Federal Reserve Board, the OCC, the FDIC, and the SEC stated that they are reviewing whether it is appropriate and consistent with the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) not to subject pooled investment vehicles for Trust Preferred Securities (TruPS), such as collateralized debt obligations backed by TruPS, to the prohibitions on ownership of covered funds in section 619 of the DFA, as implemented by the recently finalized Volcker Rule. Community banks and their trade group representatives state that the Volcker rule treatment of TruPS conflicts with a separate section of the DFA that requires TruPS issued by depository institution holding companies to be phased out of such companies’ calculation of Tier 1 capital, but provides for the permanent grandfathering of TruPS issued before May 19, 2010, by certain holding companies with total consolidated assets of less than $15 billion. The banks assert that banking entities investing in pooled TruPS are facing “unexpected and precipitous write-downs” that are not justified by any safety and soundness concern, and that the resulting write-downs are actually causing safety and soundness concerns. The agencies promised to address the matter by January 15, 2014.
Federal Reserve Board Issues Guidance On Risk Transfers
On December 20, the Federal Reserve Board issued SR 13-23, which clarifies the Federal Reserve’s supervisory expectations when assessing a firm’s capital adequacy in certain circumstances when the risk-based capital framework may not fully capture the residual risks of a transaction. The letter states that, while the Federal Reserve generally views a firm’s engagement in risk-reducing transactions as a sound risk management practice, there are certain risk-reducing transactions for which the risk-based capital framework may not fully capture the residual risks that a firm faces on a post-transaction basis. The letter addresses two specific characteristics of risk transfer transactions that give rise to this concern: (i) a firm transfers the risk of a portfolio to a counterparty that is unable to absorb losses equal to the risk-based capital requirement for the risk transferred; or (ii) a firm transfers the risk of a portfolio to an unconsolidated, “sponsored” affiliate entity. The letter stresses that bank supervisors will strongly scrutinize risk transfer transactions that result in substantial reductions in risk-weighted assets, including in supervisors’ assessment of a firm’s overall capital adequacy, capital planning, and risk management through the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review. The Federal Reserve may in certain cases determine not to recognize a transaction as a risk mitigant for risk-based capital purposes. Supervisors will evaluate whether a firm can adequately demonstrate that the firm has taken into account any residual risks in connection with the transaction.
Prudential Regulators Address Impact Of QM Lending On CRA Ratings
On December 13, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, the OCC, and the NCUA issued an interagency statement to clarify safety and soundness expectations and CRA considerations in light of the CFPB’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule. The statement emphasizes that institutions may originate both QM and non-QM loans based on their business strategies and risk appetites and that residential mortgage loans “will not be subject to safety-and-soundness criticism based solely on their status as QMs or non-QMs.” Acknowledging that some institutions may choose to originate only or predominantly QM loans, the agencies state that, consistent with recent guidance concerning the fair lending implications of QM-only lending, “the agencies that conduct CRA evaluations do not anticipate that institutions’ decision[s] to originate only QMs, absent other factors, would adversely affect their CRA evaluations.”
Banking Regulators Finalize Social Media Guidance
On December 11, the FFIEC, on behalf of the CFPB, the FDIC, the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board, the NCUA, and the State Liaison Committee, released final guidance on the applicability of consumer protection and compliance laws, regulations, and policies to activities conducted via social media by federally supervised financial institutions and nonbanks supervised by the CFPB. The guidance was finalized largely as proposed. However, in response to stakeholder comments, the regulators clarified certain provisions. For example, the final guidance clarifies that traditional emails and text messages, on their own, are not social media. The final guidance also explains that to the extent consistent with other applicable legal requirements, a financial institution may establish one or more specified channels that customers must use for submitting communications directly to the institution, and that a financial institution is not expected to monitor all Internet communications for complaints and inquiries, but should take into account the results of its own risk assessment in determining the appropriate approach regarding monitoring and responding to communications. The regulators also clarified that the guidance is not intended to provide a “one-size-fits-all” approach; rather financial institutions are expected to assess and manage the risks particular to the individual institution, taking into account factors such as the institution’s size, complexity, activities, and third party relationships. The final guidance also contains further discussion regarding the application of certain laws and regulations to social media activities, such as the Community Reinvestment Act. Finally, consistent with other recent regulatory initiatives, the final guidance clarifies that prior to engaging with a prospective third party an institution should evaluate and perform due diligence appropriate to the risks posed.