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‘Challenging’ year awaits as ICBA maps out its Plan for Prosperity
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2016
The Independent Community Bankers of America released an updated Plan for Prosperity, mapping out its priorities for advocating for regulatory relief. ICBA’s Chris Cole, executive vice president and senior regulatory counsel; Paul Merski, executive vice president for congressional relations; and Viveca Ware, executive vice president for regulatory policy, spoke with Dodd Frank Update about ICBA’s plan and other competition facing community bankers.
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CFPB publishes correction regarding TRID tolerances
Posted Date: Thursday, February 11, 2016
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a noticed in the Federal Register on to correct a typo regarding tolerances for property taxes and certain other property-related costs that was found in the “Supplementary Information” to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule. Read on for more details.
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There may be no limit to CFPB’s UDAAP reach
Posted Date: Thursday, February 11, 2016
Just in case you didn’t have enough to worry about, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently asserted that there is no statute of limitations when it comes to bringing enforcement actions for conduct that violates the Dodd-Frank Act’s UDAAP (“unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices”) prohibition. Here’s what you need to know.
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FDIC raises asset threshold for 18-month exam cycle
Posted Date: Friday, January 22, 2016
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) decided to extend the 18-month regulatory examination cycle to qualifying institutions under $1 billion in assets at its Jan. 21 board meeting. The decision was praised by the Independent Community Bankers of America, but the group expressed concerns about other proposals from the corporation. Read on to learn more.
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3 ways CFPB hopes to increase checking access
Posted Date: Friday, February 5, 2016
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau conducted a field hearing in which it provided three ways that it hopes to increase checking account access to unbanked consumers in the country. Director Richard Cordray told attendees at the hearing that consumers “deserve to have more options for access to lower-risk deposit accounts that can better fit their needs.” Read on for details of how the bureau hopes to increase access.
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Resolving repurchase disputes just got easier
Posted Date: Friday, February 5, 2016
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced that government-sponsored enterprises Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have implemented an independent dispute resolution process for resolving repurchase disputes. The Representation and Warranty Framework has been a priority for the conservatorship since 2012. Read on to learn more.
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CFPB, DOJ reach settlement with Toyota
Posted Date: Friday, February 5, 2016
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice reached a settlement with Toyota Motor Credit Corp., under which the largest captive auto lender in the U.S. and the fifth largest auto lender overall will change its pricing and compensation system to reduce dealer discretion and other incentives to mark up interest rates on the basis of borrower’s race and/or national origin. Read on for more details.
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FDIC’s Bank Data Guide receives enhancements
Posted Date: Thursday, February 11, 2016
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has made several improvements to its Bank Data Guide, a reference tool for many of the structural, financial and economic products that are available on the FDIC website. The enhancements should make finding bank data easier. If not, don’t fret: the Help tab also has been improved.
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CFPB brings action against buy-here, pay-here dealer
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2016
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a consent order against Herbies Auto Sales for alleged abusive financing schemes, hiding auto finance charges and misleading consumers. As a buy-here, pay-here auto dealer, Herbies falls under the bureau’s jurisdiction under Section 1029 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
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‘Breaking up the big banks’ might not be needed
Posted Date: Thursday, February 11, 2016
Riding on voters’ continued resentment of Wall Street and the 2008 financial crisis, presidential candidates such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have been basing some of their campaign strategies on not being cozy with the big banks and too-big-to-fail financial institutions. Vows of breaking them up or not bailing them out have been made – but are they necessary? Under the Dodd-Frank Act’s Title I financial stability measures, institutions that have been designated as systemically important are starting to do what the law intended: break up.
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MetLife speaks its case against SIFI designation
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2016
MetLife, Inc. – which had been designated a “systemically important financial institution” by the Financial Stability Oversight Council in December 2014 – got its day in court, appearing before U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer to challenge its designation. Given the line of questioning on FSOC’s process, a favorable ruling may be possible for the insurance company. Could this lead to other SIFIs shaking off their designation? Could this lead to a re-evaluation of other administrative adjudications?
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Banks and credit unions spar over proposals
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2016
In response to the National Credit Union Administration’s field-of-membership proposals that would expand the reach of federally chartered credit unions, the American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions have sent letters to Senate Majority and Minority Leaders Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Majority and Minority Leaders Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Read on to catch the latest news in advocacy efforts.
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Payday lending, tribal sovereignty takes center stage
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2016
With the House Republican majority continuing its fight against banking regulations, the House Financial Services Committee’s Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee held a two-panel hearing regarding payday lending and its connection to the issue of tribal sovereignty. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been criticized for stating that tribal entities tried to “skirt” state laws. Read on to hear what witnesses had to say.
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Report details CFPB’s Civil Penalty distribution process
Posted Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
Shortly before the House Financial Services Committee released a report detailing how fair-lending penalties paid into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Civil Penalty Fund by Ally Bank may be distributed to non-minority consumers, the Office of the Inspector General had released a report detailing its own findings of the bureau’s distribution process.
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Report claims CFPB improperly issuing Ally funds
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2016
A new report from the House Financial Services Committee staff claims that internal documents obtained by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau show that non-minority borrowers could have received settlement proceeds from a fair lending enforcement action taken against Ally Bank. What does the bureau have to say about the findings? Read on for the details.
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Threats increase, but GSIB regulations working
Posted Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
Threats to U.S. financial stability increased in 2015 from a year earlier, the Office of Financial Research told Congress in its annual report. In addition, it said that regulatory changes to global systemically important banks appear to have reduced the perception of their competitive advantages. Read on to see what else the office had to tell Congress.
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Community bank relief included in Call Report bill
Posted Date: Thursday, February 11, 2016
House Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), along with co-sponsors Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), introduced the Community Bank Reporting Relief Act (H.R. 4500), a bill that would streamline bank reporting by allowing well-capitalized and highly rated banks to file a short-form Call Report. The Independent Community Bankers of America expressed strong support for the bill; read on to hear what they had to say.
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Race car driver, attorney arrested in $2 billion payday lending enterprise
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2016
In a case involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, professional race car driver Scott Tucker and his attorney Timothy Muir have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a “nationwide internet payday lending enterprise that systematically evaded state laws in order to charge illegal interest rates as high as 700 percent on loans.” Read on for more details.
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CFPB begins highlighting other complaint areas
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2016
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlighted “other financial services” such as debt settlement, check cashing, money orders and credit repair in its seventh monthly Complaint Snapshot. The bureau found that most consumer complaints about these products revolved around fraud or unreliable customer service.
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NCUA, CFPB answer credit unions’ questions
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray and National Credit Union Administration Chairman Debbie Matz conducted a town hall webinar, with Cordray and subject matter experts fielding questions from a credit union audience. Read on to learn more about the credit union members’ questions and concerns.
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Twitter launches critical response to Super Bowl ad
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2016
More than 111 million viewers tuned in to the Super Bowl, and among the commercials was an ad for Quicken Loans’ Rocket Mortgage, “the first end-to-end completely consumer-driven online mortgage experience.” It didn’t take long for social media to criticize the Rocket Mortgage ad for presumably encouraging the same recklessness that led to the financial crisis. The ad wasn’t the only one to receive attention from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.
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TRID, community banking, bank management: The latest agency workshops
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Mark your calendars: There are a number of webinars and workshops that will be hosted by the regulators themselves. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be hosting its first webinar on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule since the rule became effective Oct. 3, 2015. Also, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will be hosting webinars and workshops on topics concerning community banking and how bank directors can improve their operations. Read on for more details.
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Agencies settle mortgage, foreclosure case with HSBC
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2016
The Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia’s attorney general, reached a settlement with HSBC Bank USA N.A. and its affiliates to address mortgage origination, servicing and foreclosure abuses. Read on to learn more.
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CFTC grants registration to German derivatives clearing organization
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2016
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted Eurex Clearing AG registration as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) under the Commodity Exchange Act. Eurex Clearing AG is based in Germany and is one of the leading clearinghouses in Europe and across the world. With the announcement, Eurex Clearing AG becomes the 16th DCO registered with the CFTC and the sixth registered DCO based outside the U.S. Read on for more details.
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ICBA to FASB: More outreach needs to be done
Posted Date: Friday, February 5, 2016
Community bankers had a chance to sit down with the entire Financial Accounting Standards Board to discuss their concerns about the current expected credit loss proposal. Board members and a representative from the Federal Reserve told members of Independent Community Bankers of America that small and community banks will be able to tailor their methodologies, but there still are some concerns about the proposal. Read on to learn more.
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Industry push buys time for DoD database access
Posted Date: Friday, February 5, 2016
Lenders who have not yet requested access to the Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data Center database to ease compliance with new Military Lending Act rules have a little more time to do so, thanks in part to a late push by industry trade associations. Read on to see what the new deadline to submit requests is, as well as how to make your request today. Act quickly – the deadline is approaching soon.
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Stevens touts strong multifamily market at conference
Posted Date: Friday, February 5, 2016
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported preliminary estimates that saw commercial/multifamily mortgage originations increase 24 percent in 2015 from a year earlier. As MBA opened its 26th annual Commercial/Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing (CREF) Convention in Orlando, Fla., President and CEO David H. Stevens told attendees the market was drawing the attention of many, including federal regulators. Read on to see what Stevens had to say and how historically strong the commercial/multifamily market is today.
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FDIC addresses reciprocal deposit comments in DIF assessment proposal
Posted Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
Saying it was responding to concerns from nearly 500 commenters, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. put out a revised proposed rule on calculating the assessments for small banks for the deposit insurance fund. The changes alter how reciprocal deposits are calculated in assessments, as well as when the assessment increases for banks that grow assets. Read on to learn more.
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Bill to provide tax exemption for employer student loan assistance
Posted Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
House Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) introduced the Student Tax Affordability and Relief Tax (H.R. 4364) is a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts paid by employers on employees’ student loans. Read on to learn more.
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NY governor nominates superintendent of NYDFS
Posted Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his nomination for superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services. The American Bankers Association stated that “due to the size of the state’s financial sector, NYDFS actions are closely watched for ripple effects in other jurisdictions.” Read on to learn more about the nominee.
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FHA cuts to support affordable, energy-efficient housing
Posted Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
In an effort to encourage capital financing of affordable and energy-efficient apartments, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced a multifamily insurance rate reduction that will become effective April 1. It is estimated that the rate reductions will spur the rehabilitation of an additional 12,000 units of affordable housing per year nationally and generate significant revenue for taxpayers. Read on to learn more.
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There’s a new whistleblower program in town
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2016
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched the new website for its Whistleblower Program. Similar to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower, the CFTC’s program incorporates provisions from the Dodd-Frank Act that awards individuals who voluntarily report violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and protects against employer retaliation. Read on to learn more about the new website.
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Big Data: When and how credit furnishers should use it
Posted Date: Friday, January 22, 2016
The era of Big Data has arrived, according to a report from the Federal Trade Commission. Read on to learn more about its use, and how it may affect consumers and the companies that choose to use it as well as the potential liability risks.
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NAFCU: Keep the Cybersecurity Assessment voluntary
Posted Date: Friday, January 22, 2016
In a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions requested that the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council keep its Cybersecurity Assessment Tool voluntary rather than a requirement. The association warned that a mandate could lead to unintended consequences, such as restricting business growth. Read on to learn more.
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‘Audit the Fed’ fails, but backed by presidential candidates
Posted Date: Friday, January 22, 2016
The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 (S. 2232), which was also known as the “Audit the Fed” bill, was defeated in the Senate on Jan. 12 after failing to obtain the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture. The bill, introduced by Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would have allowed the Government Accountability Office to audit the Federal Reserve Board’s deliberations on monetary policy. Despite its defeat, it had received support from a prominent Democrat.
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