On February 24, the Federal Reserve Board announced in SR 14-2 that it will start publishing a semi-annual report to provide certain information on bank applications and notices filed with the Federal Reserve. The guidance applies to all financial institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve, including those with $10 billion or less in consolidated assets. The purpose of SR 14-2 is to provide a better understanding of the Federal Reserve’s approach to applications and notices that may not satisfy statutory requirements for approval of the proposal or otherwise raise supervisory or regulatory concerns.
Archives for February 2014
CFPB Considers Expanding HMDA Reporting Requirements
CFPB is questioning whether to increase the data collected under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to better monitor trends and abuses in the market. This would possibly requiring lenders to explain why they rejected a loan and whether they thought it was a so-called “qualifying mortgage.” In addition, financial institutions would have disclose an applicant’s debt-to-income ration, the interest rate, the total origination charges, and the total discount points of the loan.
ABA & Subchapter S Bank Association Seeks Action
ABA urged federal regulators to remedy a provision in the Basel III capital standards that disadvantages the 2,000 community banks organized as Subchapter S corporations.
‘Heightened Expectations’ for Banks
The OCC recently released proposed amendments to its Part 30 regulations, which reflect the agency’s “heightened expectations” for large banks. The “Interim Final Rule,” contains risk-management standards for institutions with more than $50 billion in assets. It also places greater responsibility on board members, particularly independent directors, to ensure that the rules are followed and to require that banks have independent audit and risk-management officers who can go straight to the board with concerns. In the Interim Final Rule OCC has explicitly reserved authority to apply the guidelines to an institution with less than $50 billion in assets if the OCC determines that it is highly complex or otherwise presents a heightened risk.