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FDIC updates brokered deposit FAQs
On December 29, the FDIC released an update to the Questions and Answers Related to the Brokered Deposits Rule. The FDIC clarified in a new FAQ that, with respect to third-party administrators of health savings accounts (HSAs) that hire third parties, “the HSA exception applies when: ‘[t]he agent or nominee places, or assists in placing, customer funds into deposit accounts for the primary purpose of paying for or reimbursing qualified medical expenses under section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code.’” Therefore, a third party that is an agent or nominee of a customer may qualify for the HSA exception where the third party’s primary purpose is to help place customer funds into HSAs to facilitate the payment for or reimbursement of qualified medical expenses. The updated FAQs also explained that entities relying upon the “25 percent test” to calculate their percentage of total assets under administration at IDIs for reporting purposes must submit a notice and provide quarterly reporting to the FDIC that “include[s] calculations based upon the average daily balance of funds placed at IDIs over the course of each reporting quarter.” Non-compliance with the reporting requirement may lead to revocation of the primary purpose exception and removal from the FDIC’s public register of entities that rely on the primary purpose exception on the FDIC’s webpage. An annual certification is required within 30 days of the anniversary date of the original filing.
OCC revises CRA small and intermediate bank asset-size threshold adjustments
On December 30, the OCC announced revisions to the asset-size thresholds used to define small and intermediate small banks and savings associations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Effective January 1, a small bank or savings association will mean an institution that, as of December 31 of either of the past two years, had assets of less than $1.384 billion. An intermediate small bank or savings association will mean an institution with assets of at least $346 million as of December 31 of both of the prior two years, and less than $1.384 billion as of December 31 of either of the prior two years. The adjustments follow a final rule issued last month, which rescinded the OCC’s 2020 CRA rule and replaced it with a rule based largely on the prior rules adopted jointly by the federal banking agencies in 1995, as amended. (Covered by InfoBytes here.) Under the 2021 final rule, banks are evaluated under different CRA examination procedures based on their asset-size threshold amounts. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC also announced joint annual adjustments to the CRA asset-size thresholds used to define “small bank” and “intermediate small bank” in December.
Jelena McWilliams to resign as FDIC chairman
On December 31, Jelena McWilliams announced her resignation as FDIC Chairman effective February 4. McWilliams, who was appointed in 2018, noted in her resignation letter to President Biden that throughout her tenure at the agency the FDIC “has focused on its fundamental mission to maintain and instill confidence in our banking system while at the same time promoting innovation, strengthening financial inclusion, improving transparency, and supporting community banks and minority depository institutions, including through the creation of the Mission Driven Bank Fund.” She also credited FDIC staff for taking swift measures to maintain stability and provide flexibility for banks and consumers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
McWilliams’ resignation follows a conflict among members of the FDIC Board of Directors related to a joint request for information (RFI) seeking public comment on revisions to the FDIC’s framework for vetting proposed bank mergers. Last month, FDIC Board member Martin J. Gruenberg and Rohit Chopra (who has an automatic board seat as Director of the CFPB) issued a joint statement announcing that the FDIC Board of Directors voted to launch a public comment period on updating the FDIC’s regulatory implementation of the Bank Merger Act. Gruenberg and Chopra indicated at the time that the Board members taking part in this action had approved the RFI. Shortly following the announcement, the FDIC released a statement disputing that any action had been approved. (Covered by InfoBytes here.) Chopra issued a follow-up statement challenging the view that only the FDIC Chairperson has the right to raise matters for discussion in Board meetings, and called for “immediate[]” resolution of the conflict, stating that “[a]bsent a return to legal reality and constructive engagement, board members will need to take further steps to exercise independence from management and to ensure sound governance of the [FDIC].” (Covered by InfoBytes here.)
FDIC announces Alabama disaster relief
On December 23, the FDIC issued FIL-82-2021 to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and help facilitate recovery in areas of Alabama affected by severe storms and flooding. The FDIC acknowledged the unusual circumstances faced by institutions and their customers affected by the weather and suggested that institutions work with impacted borrowers to, among other things, (i) extend repayment terms; (ii) restructure existing loans; or (iii) ease terms for new loans to those affected by the severe weather, provided the measures are done “in a manner consistent with sound banking practices.” Additionally, the FDIC noted that institutions “may receive favorable Community Reinvestment Act consideration for community development loans, investments, and services in support of disaster recovery.” The FDIC will also consider regulatory relief from certain filing and publishing requirements.
DOJ solicits additional comments on bank mergers
On December 17, the DOJ announced that its Antitrust Division is soliciting additional public comments regarding the potential revision of the 1995 Bank Merger Competitive Review Guidelines (Banking Guidelines) as part of a continuing effort by the federal agencies responsible for banking regulation and supervision. According to the announcement, the division will utilize “additional comments to ensure that the Banking Guidelines reflect current economic realities and empirical learning, ensure Americans have choices among financial institutions, and guard against the accumulation of market power.” The division had previously announced in September 2020 that it was soliciting comments regarding the Banking Guidelines’ potential revision. The call for public comment contained specific questions, including whether: (i) any new guidance should be bank-specific; (ii) any new bank merger guidance should be jointly issued; (iii) the 1800/200 Herfindahl-Hirschman Index screen should be updated; and (iv) there should be a de minimis exception. The announcement also noted that “[b]uilding on the responses, the updated call for comment focuses on whether bank merger review is currently sufficient to prevent harmful mergers and whether it accounts for the full range of competitive factors appropriate under the laws.” The announcement further noted that the division will continue working with the Federal Reserve, OCC, and the FDIC, and will consider comments from the public.
Agencies release statement on the community bank leverage ratio framework
On December 21, the Federal Reserve Board, the OCC, and the FDIC released an interagency statement regarding the optional community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) framework. According to the announcement, temporary relief measures affecting the framework are set to expire on December 31, 2021, and the CBLR requirement will revert to greater than 9 percent, as established under the 2019 final rule, starting January 1, 2022. The announcement further noted that “[t]he community bank leverage ratio framework includes a two-quarter grace period that allows a qualifying community bank to continue reporting under the framework and be considered ‘well capitalized’ as long as its leverage ratio falls no more than 1 percentage point below the applicable community bank leverage ratio requirement.” Other highlights of the announcement include, among other things: (i) if a banking organization elects the CBLR framework when submitting its March 31, 2022 Call Report, it will be subject to the greater than 9 percent CBLR requirement and must utilize total consolidated assets as of the report date to determine eligibility; and (ii) starting January 1, 2022, “a banking organization in the CBLR framework must report a leverage ratio greater than 8 percent to use the two-quarter grace period.”
Agencies release 2020 CRA data
On December 21, the three federal banking agency members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) with Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) responsibility—the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, and the OCC—announced the release of the 2020 small business, small farm, and community development CRA data. The analysis contains information from 687 lenders about originations and purchases of small loans (loans with original amounts of $1 million or less) in 2020, a 1.2 percent decrease from the 695 lenders that reported data in 2019. According to the analysis, the total number of originated loans decreased by approximately 1.7 percent from 2019, with the dollar amount of originations increasing by roughly 7.9 percent. The analysis further noted that 621 banks reported community development lending activity totaling nearly $169 billion in 2020, a 52 percent increase from 2019.
U.S.-UK financial regulators discuss bilateral issues
On December 17, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a joint statement covering the recently held fifth meeting of the U.S.-UK Financial Regulatory Working Group (Working Group). Participants included officials and senior staff from both countries’ treasury departments, as well as regulatory agencies including the Federal Reserve Board, CFTC, FDIC, OCC, SEC, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority. The Working Group discussed, among other things, (i) international and bilateral cooperation; (ii) “emerging regulatory approaches and the need to promote multilateral cooperation and alignment given that a number of third-party providers operate cross-border to provide services to the financial sector and there are potential risks of regulatory fragmentation”; (iii) “risks associated with regulatory driven fragmentation in derivatives clearing and banking markets”; (iv) “efforts in relation to the LIBOR transition, market developments, the risks associated with newly created credit-sensitive rates, and transition implications for other jurisdictions;” and (v) the management of climate-related financial risks and other sustainable finance issues. According to the statement, Working Group participants will continue to engage bilaterally on these issues and others ahead of the next meeting planned for this spring.
FDIC updates videos on the mortgage servicing rules
On December 17, the FDIC announced that it updated the technical assistance videos on the mortgage servicing rules. According to the announcement, the information in the five videos provides a high-level overview, which is intended to help FDIC-supervised institutions understand and comply with the mortgage servicing rules. The announcement also noted that the videos incorporate the 2016 Mortgage Servicing Rule and the 2016 Fair Debt Collection and Practices Act Interpretive Rule, and that the video series generally focus on the small servicer, as defined in Regulation Z. Highlights of each video include, among other things: (i) an overview of mortgage servicing and information for determining whether a servicer qualifies as a small servicer under Regulation Z (Video 1); (ii) key provisions for which small servicers do not have an exception (Video 2); (iii) an overview of some of the requirements that apply to large servicers and not small servicers (Video 3); (iv) information regarding successors in interest (Video 4); and (v) information and examples related to developing a compliance management system (Video 5).
Agencies release annual CRA asset-size threshold adjustments
On December 16, the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC announced joint annual adjustments to the CRA asset-size thresholds used to define “small bank” and “intermediate small bank,” which are subject to streamlined CRA evaluations, but not subject to the reporting requirements applicable to large banks unless they choose to be evaluated as one. A “small bank” is defined as an institution that, as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, had less than $1.384 billion in assets. An “intermediate small” bank is defined as an institution that, as of December 31 of both of the prior two calendar years, had at least $346 million in assets, and as of December 31 of either of the past two calendar years, had less than $1.384 billion in assets. The joint final rule takes effect on January 1, 2022.