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Fed agencies issue Covid-19 guidance
On March 9, the Federal Reserve, CFPB, FDIC, NCUA, OCC, and CSBS issued a joint release encouraging institutions to “work constructively with borrowers and other customers in affected communities” and stating that “prudent efforts consistent with safe and sound lending practices should not be subject to examiner criticism.” The agencies also acknowledged that institutions would face staffing and other challenges and committed to expedite requests to provide more convenient availability of services and work to minimize the disruption and burden of examinations and inspections.
Financial regulators provide supervisory relief, and VA encourages mortgage relief to veterans after Tennessee tornadoes
On March 12, the OCC, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, NCUA, and the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions issued an interagency statement on supervisory practices for financial institutions affected by the recent tornadoes in Tennessee. Among other things, the agencies called on financial institutions to “work constructively” with affected borrowers, noting that “prudent efforts” to adjust loan terms in affected areas “should not be subject to examiner criticism.” Institutions facing difficulties in complying with any publishing and reporting requirements should also contact their primary federal and/or state regulator. Additionally, the agencies noted that institutions may receive Community Reinvestment Act consideration for community development loans, investments, and services that revitalize or stabilize federally designated disaster areas. In FIL-16-2020, the FDIC further encouraged supervised institutions to consider, among other things, (i) extending repayment terms; (ii) restructuring existing loans; or (iii) easing terms for new loans to affected borrowers, if done in a manner consistent with sound banking practices. The FDIC stated it will also consider regulatory relief from certain filing and publishing requirements.
Separately, on March 10, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued Circular 26-20-5 to encourage mortgagees to provide relief for VA borrowers affected by the recent tornadoes in Tennessee. The Circular encourages loan holders and servicers to (i) extend forbearance to distressed borrowers and to members of the National Guard assisting in the recovery efforts; (ii) establish a 90-day moratorium on initiating new foreclosures; (iii) waive late charges; and (iv) suspend credit reporting on affected loans. The Circular will be rescinded April 1, 2021. Mortgage servicers and veteran borrowers are also encouraged to review the VA’s Guidance on Natural Disasters.
Find continuing InfoBytes coverage on disaster relief guidance here.
Regulatory agencies issue pandemic planning statement
On March 6, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, NCUA, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, and the CFPB—through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council—issued an Interagency Statement on Pandemic Planning, which, among other things, updates 2006 and 2007 guidance on the need for business continuity plans (BCPs) that address the effects of pandemics. The interagency statement encourages banks to develop plans that, among other things, limit disruption of operations, minimize staff contact by utilizing remote access, and plan for staffing challenges by cross-training bank staff. The statement recommends that the BCPs of financial institutions should include: (i) a preventive program; (ii) a documented strategy that applies to the stages of the pandemic; (iii) a “comprehensive framework of facilities, systems, or procedures to ensure that the institution’s critical operations will continue” (iv) a testing program; and (v) an oversight program to ensure ongoing review and updates to the plan.” The statement also lists websites that offer information on pandemic planning activities. The FDIC and the OCC also published advisories, FIL-14-2020, and OCC 2020-13, respectively.
On March 9, the agencies issued a joint press release encouraging the financial institutions to “meet the financial needs of customers and members affected by” COVID-19. Also, the U.S. Senate sent a letter to trade associations encouraging them to provide job security for employees who self-quarantine or must miss work to take care of sick family members, and to ensure staff will not be required to use all sick leave/vacation leave or “report for work when such leave is exhausted.” The letter urges the entities to work with their customers by waiving late fees and overdraft fees among other measures. The Connecticut Department of Banking issued its own guidance as well regarding temporary remote work, and on March 5, the Washington Department of Financial Institutions issued similar guidance.
Representatives urge financial regulators to strengthen cyber infrastructures
On January 7, Representatives Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) and Gregory Meeks D-NY) sent a letter to nine federal financial regulators urging them to strengthen their financial infrastructures against possible cyber-attacks in the wake of recent threats against the U.S. from Iran and its allies following the killing of Iranian official Qasem Soleimani. The letter also requests that the regulators coordinate with law enforcement and regulated entities to increase information sharing surrounding cyber threats, and “communicate a strategy to further mitigate existing cyber vulnerabilities within [the U.S.] financial infrastructure by March.” The letter was sent to the Federal Reserve Board, Treasury Department, SEC, FDIC, CFPB, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, National Credit Union Administration, and the OCC.
As previously covered by InfoBytes, NYDFS separately issued an Industry Letter on January 4 warning regulated entities about the “heightened risk” of cyber-attacks by hackers affiliated with the Iranian government. The letter provides recommendations for ensuring quick responses to any suspected cyber incidents, and reminds entities they must inform NYDFS “as promptly as possible but in no event later than 72 hours’ after a material cybersecurity event.”
NCUA releases 2020 supervisory priorities
In January, the NCUA issued a letter to board of directors and chief executive officers at federally insured credit unions outlining the agency’s 2020 supervisory priorities. Top supervisory priorities include:
- Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML). Examinations will continue to focus on customer due diligence and beneficial ownership requirements. The NCUA will also collaborate with law enforcement and banking regulators on initiatives such as updates to the FFIEC’s BSA/AML examination manual and enforcement guidelines, guidance concerning politically exposed persons, and measures for improving suspicious activity and currency transaction report filing procedures.
- Consumer Financial Protection. Based on a rotating regulation review cycle, NCUA examiners will review compliance (at a minimum) with the following regulations: the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Gramm-Leach-Bailey (Privacy Act), Payday Alternative Lending and other small dollar lending, Truth in Lending Act, Military Lending Act, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
- Cybersecurity. In 2020 the NCUA will continue conducting cybersecurity maturity assessments for credit unions with assets over $250 million and will begin to assess those with assets over $100 million. In addition, the NCUA intends to pilot new procedures—scaled to an institution’s size and risk profile—to evaluate critical security controls during examinations between maturity assessments.
- LIBOR Cessation Planning. Examiners will assess credit unions’ planning related to the discontinuation of LIBOR. According to the NCUA, credit unions should “proactively transition away from instruments using LIBOR as a reference rate.”
Other areas of focus include credit risk, current expected credit losses, liquidity risk, and modernization updates. The extended examination cycle will continue to apply to qualifying credit unions.
Regulators issue joint statement on using alternative data in underwriting
On December 3, the Federal Reserve, the CFPB, the FDIC, the NCUA, and the OCC (agencies) issued an Interagency Statement on alternative data use in credit underwriting, highlighting applicable consumer protection laws and noting risks and benefits. (See press release here). According to the statement, alternative data use in underwriting may “lower the cost of credit” and expand credit access, a point previously raised by the CFPB and covered in InfoBytes. Specifically, the potential benefits include: (i) increased “speed and accuracy of credit decisions”; (ii) lender ability to “evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers who currently may not obtain credit in the mainstream credit system”; and (iii) consumer ability “to obtain additional products and/or more favorable pricing/terms based on enhanced assessments of repayment capacity.” “Alternative data” refers to information not usually found in traditional credit reports or typically provided by customers, including for example, automated “cash flow evaluation” which evaluates a borrower’s capacity to meet payment obligations and is derived from a consumer’s bank account records. The statement indicates that this approach can improve the “measurement of income and expenses” of consumers with steady income over time from multiple sources, rather than a single job. The statement also recognizes that the way in which entities use alternative data—for example, implementing a “Second Look” program, where alternative data is only used for applicants that would otherwise be denied credit—can increase credit access. The statement points out that use of alternative data may increase potential risks, and that those practices must comply with applicable consumer protection laws, including “fair lending laws, prohibitions against unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.” Therefore, the agencies encourage entities to incorporate appropriate “robust compliance management” when using alternative data in order to protect consumer information.
Agencies seek comments on proposed changes to CECL
On October 17, the OCC, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, and NCUA published a proposed interagency policy statement on allowances for credit losses and proposed interagency guidance on credit risk review systems.
The proposed policy statement describes the measurement of expected credit losses under the current expected credit losses (CECL) methodology for determining allowances for credit losses applicable to financial assets measured at amortized costs. It will apply to financial assets measured at amortized cost, loans held-for-investment, net investments in leases, held-to-maturity debt securities, and certain off-balance-sheet credit exposures. The proposed policy statement also stipulates financial assets for which the CECL methodology is not applicable, and includes supervisory expectations for designing, documenting, and validating expected credit loss estimation processes. Once finalized, the proposed policy would be effective at the time of each institution’s adoption of CECL.
The proposed credit risk review systems guidance—which is relevant to all institutions supervised by the agencies—will update the 2006 Interagency Policy Statement on the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses to reflect the CECL methodology. The proposed guidance “discusses sound management of credit risk, a system of independent, ongoing credit review, and appropriate communication regarding the performance of the institution's loan portfolio to its management and board of directors.” Furthermore, the proposed guidance stresses that financial institution employees involved with assessing credit risk should be independent from an institution’s lending function.
Comments on both proposals are due December 16.
District Court allows NCUA to substitute plaintiff, denies dismissal of breach of contract claim in RMBS action
On October 15, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the NCUA may substitute a new plaintiff to represent the agency’s claims in a residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) action against an international bank serving as an RMBS trustee. In the same order, the court dismissed certain tort claims, but allowed claims for breach of contract to move forward against the trustee.
According to the opinion, NCUA brought the action on behalf of 97 trusts for which the international bank served as the trustee, even though NCUA only had direct interest in eight of the trusts. NCUA argued it had derivative standing to pursue the claims on behalf of the other 89 trusts “on the theory that it had a latent interest in the [the 89 trusts] after they wound down and as ‘an express third-party beneficiary under the [89 trusts] Indenture Agreements.’” The trustee moved to dismiss the action and after hearing oral arguments on the motion, the court stayed the case pending the outcome of NCUA’s appeal regarding derivative standing in similar action before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In August 2018, the 2nd Circuit held that NCUA lacked standing to bring the derivative claims because the trusts had granted the right, title, and interest to their assets, including the RMBS trusts, to the Indenture Trustee. (Previously covered by InfoBytes here.) Based on the appellate court decision in the similar action, NCUA moved to file a second amended complaint and substitute a newly appointed trustee as plaintiff for the claims made on behalf of the 89 trusts for which it did not have direct standing.
Despite the trustee’s objections, the district court granted NCUA’s request, concluding that NCUA’s claims were timely and allowing the NCUA’s “Extender Statute”—which gives the agency the ability to bring contract claims at “the longer of” “the 6-year period beginning on the date the claim accrues” or “the period applicable under State law”—to apply to the new substitute plaintiff. Additionally, the court denied the bank’s motion to dismiss NCUA’s breach of contract claim alleging the trustee had notice of the defects in the mortgage files held in the various trusts. The court concluded that NCUA sufficiently plead that the trustee “did indeed receive notice [of the defective mortgages] and should have thus acted,” under the Pooling and Servicing Agreements.
NCUA approves additional payday loan alternative
On September 19, the NCUA announced the approval of a final rule creating a new payday alternative loan product (PAL II). As previously covered by InfoBytes, in June 2018, NCUA proposed the PAL II as an additional offering to the current payday alternative loan product (PAL I), which has been available since 2010. PAL II includes most features of PAL I except that it (i) eliminates a loan minimum and sets the maximum at $2,000; (ii) requires a minimum loan term of one month and a maximum of 12 months; and (iii) does not contain a requirement for the minimum length of a membership. Moreover, federal credit unions are restricted to offering only one type of PAL loan to a member at any given time. All prior requirements of PAL I loans, such as the prohibition against rollovers, the limit on the number of loans a single borrower can take in a given period, and full amortization, remain in effect. The final rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
NCUA allows credit unions to serve hemp businesses
On August 19, the NCUA released interim guidance allowing federally insured credit unions to service hemp businesses. The guidance notes that, as of December 20, hemp is no longer a controlled substance at the federal level—the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) removed hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. However, hemp may not be produced lawfully under federal law, beyond a 2014 pilot program, until the USDA promulgates regulations and guidelines to implement the hemp production provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill. The guidance instructs credit unions to be aware of federal, state, and tribal laws and regulations that apply to any hemp-related businesses they may service and to have Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance programs equal to the level of complexity and risks involved. The guidance emphasizes that lending to lawfully operating hemp-related businesses is permissible, but that the lending must be done in accordance with NCUA’s regulations for lending, and appropriate underwriting standards must be considered. NCUA notes that the guidance will be updated once the USDA regulations are finalized.