Federal Agencies

Subscribe to Federal Agencies

In this podcast, we discuss: the compliance challenges that could give rise to enforcement actions against PPP lenders and current and potential future investigatory activity; fair lending guidance for PPP lenders, key fair lending risks, and steps to mitigate fair lending risk; the status of examinations and reviews related to PPP loans; sources of compliance…

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has issued new guidance on authentication and access titled, “Authentication and Access to Financial Institution Services and Systems” (Guidance.)  The Guidance is intended to provide financial institutions with examples of effective risk management principles and practices for access and authentication.

The Guidance contains risk management principles…

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced this week that Fannie Mae will consider a loan applicant’s rental payment history in making underwriting decisions.  According to the FHFA, the change was made as a means of expanding credit access.

The FHFA’s announcement is yet another example of the growing use of alternative data by creditors in…

Tom Vartanian is a former federal banking regulator and law professor.  In Part II of this two-part podcast, we discuss technology’s impact on the banking system, how a new cyberspace infrastructure can increase security, the current financial conditions that could spark the next financial crisis, cryptocurrency’s role in building new networks for the creation and…

Tom Vartanian is a former federal banking regulator and law professor.  In Part I of this two-part podcast, we discuss the government policies that have contributed to or caused the financial crises faced by the U.S. over the past 200 years, how the consumer financial services industry can benefit from smarter regulation and a principles-based…

On December 18, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Current (OCC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced an interagency notice of proposed rulemaking that would require supervised banking organizations to provide notification of significant computer security incidents to their primary federal regulator.  Under the proposed rule, for incidents…

Since early June 2020 when cries for racial justice resulted in a period of social unrest in the U.S., federal and state financial institution regulators have taken meaningful, proactive steps to acknowledge financial inequality issues, reach out to traditionally underserved populations to expand access to credit, and further protect consumers from discrimination. While it remains…

The CFPB, OCC, FDIC, Federal Reserve, and NCUA have issued a joint statement “to specifically encourage” banks, savings associations, and credit unions “to offer responsible small-dollar loans to both consumers and small businesses” in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.  The statement builds on the March 19 statement issued jointly by the OCC, FDIC, and Federal…

The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions of the House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing entitled “An Examination of Regulators’ Efforts to Preserve and Promote Minority Depository Institutions” on November 20, 2019.  In its first hearing on minority depository institutions, the Subcommittee examined the unique challenges facing MDIs and the…

The constitutional question that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide in Seila Law is whether the CFPB’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause structure violates separation of powers.  A ruling by the Supreme Court that separation of powers requires the President to be able to remove the CFPB Director without cause would not impact either the OCC or…