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Prudential Regulators Issue Joint Agreement On Classification And Appraisal Of Securities Held By Financial Institutions
On October 29, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board, and the OCC issued a joint agreement to update and revise the 2004 Uniform Agreement on the Classification of Assets and Appraisal of Securities Held by Banks and Thrifts. The updated agreement reiterates the importance of a robust investment analysis process and the agencies' longstanding asset classification definitions. It also replaces references to credit ratings with alternative standards of creditworthiness consistent with sections 939 and 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act, which directed the agencies to remove any reference to or requirement of reliance on credit ratings in the regulations and replace them with appropriate standards of creditworthiness. The agencies adopted those new standards in 2012 (see, e.g., the OCC’s final rule). The joint agreement provides examples to demonstrate the appropriate application of the new standards to the classification of securities.
Banking Agencies Clarify Guidance On Troubled Debt Restructurings
Last week, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, the NCUA, and the OCC released interagency guidance related to the accounting treatment and regulatory credit risk grade or classification of commercial and residential real estate loans that have undergone troubled debt restructurings (TDRs). The guidance clarifies the definition of collateral-dependent loans and states that impaired collateral-dependent loans should be measured for impairment based on the fair value of the collateral rather than the present value of expected future cash flows.
Financial Regulators Propose Framework for Assessing Diversity At Financial Firms
On October 23, the CFPB, the OCC, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board, the NCUA, and the SEC proposed joint standards for assessing the diversity policies and practices of regulated institutions. Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act required the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) at each agency to develop the standards. The Act specifically prohibits the standards from imposing requirements on or otherwise affecting the lending policies and practices of any regulated entity, or requiring any specific action based on the findings of an assessment, and the agencies state that the assessments will not occur within the standard examination or supervision process. The standards, which the agencies believe are designed to promote “transparency and awareness,” cover four general areas: (i) organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion, (ii) workforce profile and employment practices, (iii) procurement and business practices to promote supplier diversity, and (iv) practices to promote transparency of organizational diversity and inclusion. The agencies state that the standards account for variables including asset size, number of employees, governance structure, income, number of members or customers, contract volume, location, and community characteristics, and the agencies recognize the standards may need to change and improve over time. The proposed standards are subject to a public comment period, which will run for 60 days once they are published in the Federal Register.
Prudential Regulators Propose Large Institution Liquidity Rule
On October 24, the Federal Reserve Board issued a proposed rule it developed with the OCC and the FDIC to establish a minimum liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) consistent with the Basel III LCR, with some modifications to reflect characteristics and risks of specific aspects of the U.S. market and U.S. regulatory framework. The proposal would create for the first time a minimum liquidity requirement for certain large or systemically important financial institutions. The covered institutions would be required to hold (i) minimum amounts of high-quality, liquid assets such as central bank reserves and government and corporate debt that can be converted easily and quickly into cash, and (ii) liquidity in an amount equal to or greater than its projected cash outflows minus its projected cash inflows during a short-term stress period. The requirements would apply to all internationally active banking organizations—i.e., those with $250 billion or more in total consolidated assets or $10 billion or more in on-balance sheet foreign exposure—and to systemically important, non-bank financial institutions designated by the FSOC. The proposal also would apply a less stringent, modified LCR to bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies that are not internationally active, but have more than $50 billion in total assets. The regulators propose various categories of high quality, liquid assets and also specify how a firm's projected net cash outflows over the stress period would be calculated using common, standardized assumptions about the outflows and inflows associated with specific liabilities, assets, and off-balance-sheet obligations. Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by January 31, 2013.
Special Alert: Agencies Issue Joint Statement On Fair Lending Compliance And The CFPB's ATR/QM Rule
On October 22, the CFPB, the OCC, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board, and the NCUA (collectively, the Agencies) issued a joint statement (Interagency Statement) in response to inquiries from creditors concerning their liability under the disparate impact doctrine of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and its implementing regulation, Regulation B by originating only “qualified mortgages.” Qualified mortgages are defined under the CFPB’s January 2013 Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Rule (ATR/QM Rule). The DOJ and HUD did not participate in the Interagency Statement.
The Interagency Statement describes some general principles that will guide the Agencies’ supervisory and enforcement activities with respect to entities within their jurisdiction as the ATR/QM Rule takes effect in January 2014. The Interagency Statement does not state that a creditor’s choice to limit its offerings to qualified mortgage loans or qualified mortgage “safe harbor” loans would comply with ECOA; rather, the Agencies state that they “do not anticipate that a creditor’s decision to offer only qualified mortgages would, absent other factors, elevate a supervised institution’s fair lending risk.” Furthermore, the Interagency Statement will not necessarily preclude civil actions.
The Agencies acknowledge that although there are several ways to satisfy the ATR/QM Rule, some creditors may be inclined to originate all or predominantly qualified mortgages, particularly when the ATR/QM Rule first becomes effective. In selecting business models and product offerings, the Agencies “expect that creditors would consider and balance demonstrable factors that may include credit risk, secondary market opportunities, capital requirements, and liability risk.” The Agencies further understand that creditors may have a “legitimate business need” to fine-tune their product offerings over the next few years in response to the impact of the ATR/QM Rule, just as they have in response to other significant regulatory changes that have occurred in the past.
The Agencies advise creditors to continue to evaluate fair lending risk as they would for other types of product selections, including by carefully monitoring their policies and practices and implementing effective compliance management systems. Nonetheless, the Agencies state that individual cases will be evaluated on their own merits.
The Agencies state that they “believe that the same principles…apply in supervising institutions for compliance with the Fair Housing Act.” However, because neither DOJ nor HUD participated in issuing the Interagency Statement, it remains to be seen how those agencies would view this issue.
It is noteworthy that the standard articulated in the Interagency Statement (“legitimate business needs”) differs from HUD’s disparate impact rule relating to the Fair Housing Act. In its rule, HUD codified a three-step burden-shifting approach to determine liability under a disparate impact claim. Once a practice has been shown by the plaintiff to have a disparate impact on a protected class, the rule states that the defendant would have the burden of showing that the challenged practice “is necessary to achieve one or more substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interests of the respondent…or defendant…A legally sufficient justification must be supported by evidence and may not be hypothetical or speculative.” (Emphasis added.)
Questions regarding the matters discussed in this Alert may be directed to any of our lawyers listed below, or to any other BuckleySandler attorney with whom you have consulted in the past.
- Jeffrey P. Naimon, (202) 349-8030
Federal Reserve Board Announces BSA/AML Compliance Action
On October 17, the Federal Reserve Board released a cease and desist order against a foreign bank and its New York branch over alleged BSA/AML compliance failures. After entering into a Written Agreement in June 2012 that required the branch to improve compliance with BSA/AML in connection with the branch’s bulk cash transactions business line, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York conducted an examination to assess the effectiveness of the branch’s BSA/AML compliance program in other business lines. This examination identified an alleged failure of the branch to maintain an adequate risk-based compliance program to mitigate the BSA/AML risks associated with the branch’s foreign correspondent accounts. The order requires the bank and the branch to (i) retain an independent consultant to assess, and prepare a compliance report on, the branch’s compliance with the BSA/AML requirements, (ii) submit an enhanced BSA/AML compliance program, (iii) submit an enhanced customer due diligence program and an enhanced suspicious activity reporting program, and (iv) retain an independent consultant to conduct a suspicious activity review of U.S. dollar transactions cleared over a six month period in 2012. In addition, the bank’s board and the branch management must jointly submit a written management oversight plan.
Bank Holding Company Resolves Federal Mortgage Claims
On October 10, a bank holding company announced that it has agreed in principle, on behalf of itself and certain affiliates, to resolve mortgage-related allegations by the federal government. The company reached agreements in principle with HUD and the DOJ to settle (i) certain civil and administrative claims arising from FHA-insured mortgage loans originated over a six-and-a-half year period and (ii) certain alleged civil claims regarding the company’s mortgage servicing and origination practices as part of the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement. Pursuant to the agreements in principle, the company committed to $500 million of consumer relief, a $468 million cash payment, and the implementation of certain mortgage servicing standards. The company also reached an agreement in principle with the Federal Reserve Board to impose a $160 million civil monetary penalty, in conjunction with an April 2011 Consent Order.
Agencies Propose Flood Insurance Rule
On October 11, the FDIC, the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board, and other federal agencies (collectively the agencies) proposed a rule to implement changes to certain flood insurance regulations required by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. The proposal generally would, among other things, require premiums and fees for flood insurance to be escrowed for any loans secured by residential improved real estate or a mobile home. The proposal incorporates a statutory exception for any institution with total assets of less than $1 billion that, as of July 6, 2012, was not required by federal or state law to escrow taxes or insurance for the term of the loan and did not have a policy to require escrow of taxes and insurance. The agencies also propose requiring lenders to accept private flood insurance that meets the statutory definition to satisfy the mandatory purchase requirement, but seek comment on whether the final rule should include a provision that expressly permits lenders to accept a flood insurance policy issued by a private insurer that does not meet the definition of "private flood insurance.” The proposed rule also would amend lender-placement provisions to clarify that a lender or its servicer has the authority to charge a borrower for the cost of coverage commencing on the date on which the borrower's coverage lapsed or became insufficient. The proposal also stipulates the circumstances under which a lender or its servicer must terminate lender-placed insurance and refund payments to a borrower, and establishes documentary evidence a lender must accept to confirm that a borrower has obtained an appropriate amount of flood insurance coverage. Comments on the proposal are due by December 9, 2013.
President Obama Nominates Federal Reserve Chair
On October 9, President Obama nominated Janet Yellen, currently the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, to serve as Chairman of the Board. President Obama framed the nomination as “one of the most important appointments that any President can make.” He described Governor Yellen as committed to maintaining stable prices, promoting maximum employment, reforming consumer protection, and addressing the issue of “too big to fail.” Ms. Yellen’s nomination is subject to Senate approval.
Federal Agencies Issue Guidance On Reporting Elder Financial Abuse Under Gramm-Leach-Bliley
On September 23, eight federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve Board, the CFPB, the OCC, and the FDIC, issued interagency guidance to clarify the applicability of Gramm-Leach Bliley Act privacy provisions to reporting suspected financial exploitation of older adults. The guidance states that although the Act generally prohibits a financial institution from disclosing nonpublic personal information about a consumer to any nonaffiliated third party without notifying the consumer and providing an opportunity to opt-out of the disclosure, the Act contains several exemptions that generally allow for the reporting of suspected elder financial abuse, either at the request of a local, state, or federal agency or on the financial institution’s own initiative.