As we previously reported, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) rescinded its 2020 Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) final rule (the “2020 CRA Final Rule” or the “Rescinded Rule”) in December 2021 and has since been operating under a CRA framework largely based on the OCC’s 1995 CRA rule (the “1995 Rule”), which was adopted jointly with the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. … Continue Reading

Just one day after announcing that it was launching a new system to provide guidance to other agencies with consumer financial protection responsibilities on how the CFPB intends to enforce federal consumer financial laws, the CFPB released its first Consumer Financial Protection Circular (2022-02) addressing deceptive representations involving the FDIC’s name or logo or deposit insurance. … Continue Reading

After moving alone in 2020 to reform its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Reserve Board in issuing a joint notice of proposed rulemaking setting forth proposed amendments to their regulations implementing the CRA. … Continue Reading

With Democrats now firmly in control of the FDIC, Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg released a list of the FDIC’s priorities for 2022.  His list of priorities included the following:

  • Community Reinvestment Act (CRA): The FDIC, Federal Reserve, and OCC plan to act jointly on a notice of proposed rulemaking in the near future that would strengthen and enhance CRA. 
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The OCC announced this week that it has conditionally approved applications from Social Finance Inc. (SoFi) to create SoFi Bank, National Association (SoFi Bank, N.A.), as a full service national bank headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.

The OCC’s press release indicates that as part of the transaction, SoFi Bank, N.A. is acquiring Golden Pacific Bank, National Association, an insured national bank, and will continue to offer a range of local commercial-focused loan and deposit products previously offered by Golden Pacific. … Continue Reading

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has withdrawn its lawsuit filed in D.C. federal district court in December 2020 seeking to block the OCC from granting a national bank charter to Figure Technologies Inc.  The lawsuit represented the CSBS’s third challenge to the OCC’s authority to issue special purpose national bank (SPNB) charters to non-depository fintech companies or to uninsured deposit-taking fintechs. … Continue Reading

On December 4, 2021, the OCC issued a final rule that rescinds its June 2020 Consumer Reinvestment Act (CRA) final rule and replaces it with a rule that is largely based on the OCC’s 1995 CRA rule that was adopted jointly with the Federal Reserve Board and FDIC.  The final rule is effective January 1, 2022. … Continue Reading

On April 1, 2021, the FDIC’s final rule issued in December 2020 revising its brokered deposits regulation became effective.  The full compliance date for the final rule is January 1, 2022.  The rule established a new framework for analyzing whether deposits made through deposit arrangements qualify as “brokered deposits” and amended the methodology for calculating the interest rate restrictions that apply to less than well capitalized insured depository institutions.… Continue Reading

The OCC has issued a bulletin that includes a self-assessment tool for OCC-supervised banks to evaluate how prepared they are to address the risks arising from the expected cessation of the publication of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) next year.

In November 2020, the OCC, together with the FDIC and the Federal Reserve Board, issued a “Statement on LIBOR Transition” that encouraged banks to transition away from LIBOR as soon as possible, and in any event by December 31, 2021. … Continue Reading

The CFPB’s final rule on the role of supervisory guidance was published in last Friday’s Federal Register.

On January 20, 2021, President Biden’s Chief of Staff Ronald Klain issued a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies setting forth the terms of a regulatory freeze.  The memorandum included the requirement for a rule that had been sent to the Federal Register but not yet published to be immediately withdrawn from the Office of the Federal Register and approved by a department or agency head appointed by President Biden.… Continue Reading