CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
The final rule issued by the Federal Reserve Board to implement the LIBOR Act by establishing default rules for benchmark replacements in certain contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate was published in today’s Federal Register and will become effective on February 27, 2023.
Yesterday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued instructions to servicers on replacement indices for their legacy single-family mortgage loans with 1-month, 6-month, and 1-year LIBOR indices. … Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued a joint statement on crypto-asset risks to banking organizations. The term “crypto-asset” refers to any digital asset implemented using cryptographic techniques.
The statement begins with the agencies’ observations that “[t]he events of the past year have been marked by significant volatility and the exposure of vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset sector” and that “[t]hese events highlight a number of key risks associated with crypto-assets and crypto-asset sector participants that banking organizations should be aware of.”… Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve Board issued a final rule last week that establishes default rules for benchmark replacements in certain contracts that use the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) as a reference rate. LIBOR will be discontinued in June 2023. The rule implements the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, which was enacted in March 2022. … Continue Reading
The CFPB, Fed, and OCC have announced that they are increasing three exemption thresholds that are subject to annual inflation adjustments. Effective January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, these exemption thresholds are increased as follows:
On September 7, 2022, newly-appointed Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve (the “Fed”), Michael S. Barr, gave a speech outlining his near-term goals and the “holistic approach” he intends to take to achieve them. Building on the efforts made over the previous 12 years since the Global Financial Crisis to strengthen the banking system and oversight, Barr emphasized his top goals include making the financial system safer and fairer. … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors narrowed the timetable for the launch of its instant payments platform—FedNow—to mid-year 2023, specifically targeting a production rollout of the service in a May to July 2023 timeframe. The Fed had previously communicated a 2023 launch. In September 2022, the FedNow Pilot Program will begin technical testing for the service.… Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve Board issued a proposal last week that would establish default rules for benchmark replacements in certain contracts that use as a reference rate the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which will be discontinued in 2023. The proposal implements the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, which was enacted in March 2022. … Continue Reading
On July 6, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, “the Agencies”) issued a Joint Statement to “remind” banks that they, of course, should apply a risk-based approach to assessing customer relationships and conducting customer due diligence (“CDD”).… Continue Reading
Dr. Thomas is widely-viewed as the nation’s leading CRA expert and has advised federal regulators on CRA reform. After reviewing CRA’s origins and purpose, we discuss how the new proposal differs from the OCC’s rescinded 2020 final CRA rule and the current CRA rules, including the proposal’s higher asset threshold for small banks and approach to assessment areas, how industry and consumer groups have reacted to the proposal, and next steps and possible timetable for issuance of final rules. … Continue Reading
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
