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Chopra discusses DIF restoration plan
On December 14, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra expressed concerns with the FDIC’s current plan to “restore the Deposit Insurance Fund to the statutory minimum in 2028.” The Federal Deposit Insurance Act requires the development and adoption of a Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) Restoration Plan (Plan) when the fund’s reserve ratio drops below 1.35 percent or is expected to within six months. According to the FDIC, “[e]xtraordinary growth in insured deposits during the first and second quarters of 2020 caused the reserve ratio to decline below the statutory minimum as of June 30, 2020.” The FDIC Board adopted the Plan in September 2020 to restore DIF’s levels to at least 1.35 percent by September 30, 2028, but noted during the Plan’s semiannual update for 2021 that “the overall economic outlook has strengthened relative to when the Plan was first adopted in September 2020,” and that “the banking system continues to appear better positioned to withstand losses when compared to prior periods of stress.” FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams also commented that since it is difficult to predict deposit trends and potential losses, the agency will continue to monitor this space.
Chopra cautioned that “[g]iven the significant uncertainty in the projections embedded in this plan—and the ultimate goal to have the Deposit Insurance Fund well exceed the 1.35% statutory minimum—we must continue to carefully analyze this plan to probe whether any amendments are necessary prior to the next semi-annual update to the Board of Directors.” He further noted that the 2008 financial crisis highlighted the importance of “countercyclical policy,” and that “regulatory and supervisory safeguards should be strengthened in stronger economic times, when risks tend to build in the financial system and when bank profits are robust.”
FDIC announces deposit insurance seminars
On October 7, the FDIC announced that it will conduct four identical seminars for bank employees and bank officers regarding FDIC deposit insurance coverage between October 21 and December 14. According to the FDIC, the seminars will: (i) provide an overview of FDIC-deposit insurance rules; (ii) cover topics such as the general principles of coverage, ownership categories, and requirements; (iii) provide information on additional deposit insurance resources; and (iv) include coverage examples and a live Q&A session. Registration will be required, but the seminars are free. Seminar participants must register at least two business days prior to the event, which can be accessed here.
FDIC proposes changes to deposit insurance regulations for trust accounts and mortgage servicing accounts
On July 20, the FDIC published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend the deposit insurance regulations for trust accounts and mortgage servicing accounts. The changes are intended to clarify the deposit insurance rules for depositors and bankers, enable more timely insurance determinations for trust accounts in the circumstance of a bank failure, and increase consistency of insurance coverage for mortgage servicing account deposits. According to the FDIC, some highlights include, among other things, that: (i) a deposit owner’s trust deposits would be insured up to $250,000 per beneficiary, but must not exceed five beneficiaries, regardless of if a trust is revocable or irrevocable, and regardless of contingencies or the allocation of funds among the beneficiaries; (ii) a maximum amount of deposit insurance coverage would be $1.25 million per owner, per insured depository institution for trust deposits; and (iii) “mortgage servicers’ advances of principal and interest funds on behalf of mortgagors in a mortgage servicing account would be insured up to $250,000 per mortgagor, consistent with the coverage for payments of principal and interest collected directly from mortgagors.” Additionally, the FDIC published a Fact Sheet on the NPRM, which provides an overview of simplifying deposit insurance rules for trust accounts and enhancing consistency for mortgage servicing account deposits. FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams released a statement specifying that the NPRM would, “merge the revocable and irrevocable trust categories into one uniform trust accounts category with one set of rules; establish a simple formula for calculating deposit insurance based on the number of beneficiaries; and eliminate the ability for a trust account to be structured to obtain unlimited deposit insurance at a bank, which is the case today, and certainly contrary to the spirit of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.” Comments on the NPRM will be due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
FDIC outlines revised approach for insured depository institution resolution planning
On June 25, the FDIC announced PR-58-2021, which outlines a modified approach to implementing its rule requiring insured depository institutions (IDIs) with $100 billion or more in total assets (CIDIs) to submit resolution plans under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Among other things, the modified approach extends the resolution plan’s submission frequency to a three-year cycle and lays out new details regarding the FDIC’s emphasis on engagement with firms. The new approach “exempts filers from other content requirements that have been less useful or are obtainable through other supervisory channels.” In addition, on a case-by-case basis, the FDIC plans to “expressly exempt certain content requirements based on the FDIC’s evaluation of how useful or material the information would be in planning to resolve the specified CIDI.” Resolution plans will be submitted in two groups. The first group will contain IDIs whose top tier parent company is not regarded as a U.S. global systemically important bank or a category II banking organization. The second group encompass all other IDIs with $100 billion or more in total assets. For institutions with less than $100 billion in total assets, the moratorium on submission of IDI plans announced in November 2018 remains in effect.
FDIC grants exception requests for certain deposit insurance recordkeeping requirements
On August 4, the FDIC published responses to exception requests pursuant to the Recordkeeping for Timely Deposit Insurance Determination rule (Rule). The notice outlines two time-limited exceptions for covered institutions effective as of July 28. The Rule, codified at 12 CFR Part 370 (and amended last year—covered by InfoBytes here), requires covered institutions to implement information technology systems and recordkeeping capabilities in order to calculate quickly the available amount of deposit insurance coverage for each deposit account in the event of failure. The FDIC allows covered institutions to request an exception from one or more of Part 370’s requirements should circumstances “make it impracticable or overly burdensome to meet those requirements.” Additionally, a covered institution may—upon notice to the FDIC—rely upon another covered institution’s FDIC-granted exception request, if the two institutions have substantially similar facts and circumstances.
The first exception grants an exception of up to 18 months from certain information technology and general recordkeeping requirements to allow covered institutions to perform system updates and remediation efforts to ensure certain sole proprietorship deposit accounts are correctly classified by an institution’s information technology system. The second exception grants an exception of up to 12 months from certain information technology and general recordkeeping requirements “for a limited number of joint accounts that a covered institution has not confirmed are ‘qualifying joint accounts’ entitled to separate deposit insurance coverage.”
FDIC introduces deposit insurance application for nonbanks
On February 10, the FDIC issued FIL-8-2020, which incorporates Procedures for Deposit Insurance Applications from Applicants that are Not Traditional Community Banks into its Deposit Insurance Application Procedures Manual (manual). In addition to the updating the manual, the agency also issued a handbook, entitled Applying for Deposit Insurance – A Handbook for Organizers of De Novo Institutions (handbook), advising that the updated manual together with the handbook provide comprehensive instructions for completing deposit insurance applications. According to the letter, the updated manual and the handbook contain mostly “technical edits and clarifications” and are meant to “provide transparency and clarity” for applicants. The letter also supplies the definitions of “non-bank” and “non-community bank.”
Mobile banking company approved for FDIC deposit insurance
On February 7, the FDIC approved a proposed national bank’s application for deposit insurance and consent to merge with its parent company. The FDIC found that financial projections show the bank, which will offer banking products through mobile, online, and phone-based banking channels, will be “well capitalized” based on initial paid-in capital funds of no less than $104.4 million to be provided through the transfer of assets and liabilities. During the first three years of operation, the bank must maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 10 percent or greater, and may also be required to maintain higher minimum capital requirements as dictated by the bank’s operating plan or as required by the OCC pursuant to its regulatory authority. According to the FDIC, the proposed national bank will be located in Utah, and while it will have no branches, deposit-taking ATMs, or offices available to the public, it will offer full-service banking products and combine “traditional retail banking approaches with modern technology.”
The FDIC noted that deposit insurance will not take effect until the bank has been granted a charter and its banking operation has been fully approved by the OCC to operate as a depository institution (in August 2018, the OCC granted preliminary conditional approval of the bank’s de novo chapter application). According to the FDIC, approval is conditioned on the Federal Reserve Board granting final approval to the parent company to become a bank holding company.
FDIC finalizes securitization safe harbor
On January 30, the FDIC adopted the Final Rule to Revise Securitization Safe Harbor Rule (rule) as recommended by FDIC staff in a memorandum dated January 23. In July, as previously covered by InfoBytes, the FDIC approved a proposal to remove the requirement that, for safe harbor treatment, “the documents governing a securitization issuance require compliance with Regulation AB” of the SEC Regulation AB, “in circumstances where Regulation AB is not, by its terms, applicable to that transaction.” The proposal suggested that “it is no longer clear that compliance with the public disclosure requirements of Regulation AB in a private placement or in an issuance not otherwise required to be registered is needed to achieve the policy objective of preventing a buildup of opaque and potentially risky securitizations such as occurred during the pre-crisis years, particularly where the imposition of such a requirement may serve to restrict overall liquidity.” The final rule—which is unchanged from the proposal—eliminates the “significant disclosure requirements” to no longer mandate that private placements of securitization obligations provide Regulation AB disclosures. With the adoption of the final rule, only those transactions that are subject to Regulation AB are required to make the disclosures. The rule is expected to increase the securitization of residential mortgages and will become effective 30-60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
FDIC approves amendments to deposit insurance recordkeeping, joint account determinations
On July 16, the FDIC approved amendments to two final rules designed to resolve issues related to deposit insurance regulations. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the first of the final rules amends Part 370 of the FDIC’s Rules and Regulations for “Recordkeeping for Timely Deposit Insurance Determination,” to address issues raised during implementation of the final rule adopted in November 2016 (covered by InfoBytes here). Among other things, the amendments to Part 370 require banks with at least two million deposit accounts to upgrade deposit recordkeeping to allow the FDIC to determine the necessary deposit insurance coverage. The rule also allows for an optional one-year extension of the rule’s compliance date of April 1, 2020, provided prior notice is given to the FDIC. The final rule is effective October 1. FDIC Director Gruenberg dissented from the final rule’s approval.
The second final rule amends Part 330—applicable to banks of all sizes—to update the requirements for verifying participants in joint deposit accounts. Part 330 provides alternatives to the traditional signature card, and will allow satisfaction of proof of joint-ownership to be established by other information contained in a bank’s deposit account records and not solely by signed signature cards of each co-owner. The final rule takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
FDIC proposes changes to record keeping requirements for deposit insurance determinations
On March 29, the FDIC Board of Directors approved proposals to amend two rules, which would simplify the process for making deposit insurance determinations in the event a bank enters receivership. The first proposal amends Part 370 of the FDIC’s Rules and Regulations for “Recordkeeping for Timely Deposit Insurance Determination,” to address issues raised during implementation of the final rule adopted in November 2016 (covered by InfoBytes here). Among other things, the proposal provides an optional one-year extension of the rule’s compliance date of April 1, 2020. The second proposal amends Part 330, which would allow satisfaction of proof of co-ownership for deposits of a joint account to be insured separately from deposits in respective individual accounts, to be established by other information contained in deposit account records, and not solely by signed signature cards of each co-owner. Comments on each proposal will be due within 30 days of publication in the Federal Register.