OCC

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson joined acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in an event to raise awareness of the way in which Opportunity Zones can receive credit under new regulatory rules.

The event took place in Charleston, S.C., and brought together 50 bankers, developers, and advocates from throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Read on for more details from the event.

Little more than a month after taking over at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), acting comptroller Brian Brooks announced the agency would propose a rule on defining the true lender in a transaction.

The move comes on the heels of the OCC issuing a rule finalizing the “valid when made” doctrine on Brooks’ first day at the helm.

Read on for details about how the OCC will determine who the true lender of a transaction will be.

Federal financial regulators issued a statement to institutions on managing the transition away from LIBOR, encouraging them to continue work to transition to alternative reference rates.

The statement from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council also highlighted the legal and consumer compliance risks associated with inadequate fallback language, when the contractual language does not contemplate LIBOR’s permanent discontinuance.

Read on for more details from the agencies’ statement.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released its Semiannual Risk Perspective report, finding that the current pandemic will stress financial performance this year.

The report also said that compliance risk is on the rise, in part because of federal programs related to the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program.

Read on for more insight from the report.

Just over a week after stepping down as the Comptroller of the Currency, Joseph Otting is back in business, joining the board of directors of Black Knight Inc.

Otting had been the first comptroller in three decades to have banking experience before taking the job, and said he looked forward to joining Black Knight.

Read on for more details from the announcement.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks wrote to state associations for cities, mayors and governors, warning them to consider the long-term adverse impact of stay-at-home orders on the nation’s banks.

“Certain aspects of these local orders, potentially threaten the stability and orderly functioning of the financial system the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) is charged by law to protect,” Brooks wrote.

Read on for more details from Brooks’ letters.

Brian Brooks officially took over May 29 as the acting comptroller of the currency, following the resignation of Comptroller Joseph Otting.

Brooks issued a statement that laid out his priorities for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as he steps into the new role, and hours later, announced the OCC finalized a rule clarifying the “valid when made” standard on the sale and purchase of loans.

Read on for details of the focus of the OCC going forward.

Looking to provide a path forward for lenders considering small-dollar products to offer consumers, federal financial regulators recently issued principles for conducting small-dollar lending.

The principles were released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve, the National Credit Union Administration and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Read on for details from the agencies’ statement and principles.

Just more than 40 days after comments closed on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) proposed rule, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized the revision to the 1977 standards for determining how banks serve their community needs, particularly in low- and moderate-income communities.

The rule brings clarity to activities which qualify for CRA credit, along with new ways to determine assessment areas.

Read on for more on the OCC’s proposal and reaction from industry and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which joined in the proposal but did not join in the finalized rule.

Less than three years into his five-year term, Office of the Comptroller of Currency Comptroller Joseph Otting announced that he was leaving the position, one day after the regulator finalized its modernization of the Community Reinvestment Act rule.

Otting was confirmed to the position in November 2017 by a 54-43 vote and came into the role as the first comptroller in three decades who had experience in the banking industry

Read on for more details and industry reaction.