CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) released two supervision and regulation letters regarding the agency’s program to supervise “novel” banking activities.
The release of these letters follows a January policy statement indicating the FRB’s interest in leveling the playing field in terms of subjecting uninsured and insured banks to the same limitations on activities, including novel banking activities. … Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC have released final interagency guidance for their respective supervised banking organizations on managing risks associated with third-party relationships, including relationships with financial technology-focused entities such as bank/fintech sponsorship arrangements. The guidance is intended to provide principles for effective third-party risk management for all types of third-party relationships, regardless of how they may be structured. … Continue Reading
On March 30, 2023, the White House endorsed several proposals to strengthen regulatory requirements for the banking industry in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures. This comes on the heels of President Biden’s March 13, 2023 remarks where he noted his intention to ask Congress and the banking regulators to “strengthen the rules for banks” to decrease the likelihood of similar failures in the future.… 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
On October 3, 2022, the Federal Reserve finalized a rule expanding Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing), the implementing regulation for the Durbin Amendment. The final RULE is substantially similar to the proposed rule issued in 2021 and requires online (card not present) debit card transactions to be enabled for processing on at least two unaffiliated payment card networks. … Continue Reading
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
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
The CFPB, FTC, DOJ, and Federal Reserve Board have filed a joint amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit urging the court to reverse a district court ruling that an individual who had already received credit from the defendant and who was not currently applying to the defendant for credit was not an “applicant” for purposes of the ECOA’s adverse action notice requirement.… Continue Reading
