OCC

The financial industry has shown support for the prudential regulators’ recent joint statement detailing plans to more clearly distinguish between regulatory guidance and rules, but some experts see a quandary in that fact.

Garris Horn Managing Member Richard Horn told Dodd Frank Update that the industry’s support for the idea of ensuring that guidance does not have the force and effect of a rule could prove to be a double-edged sword.

Get an in-depth look at the potential positives and negatives of regulators’ new approach to guidance.

Research conducted by Federal Financial Analytics, Inc. indicates that fintechs pose greater financial stability risk to the economy than previously thought, due in large part to their lack of regulatory oversight.

The report details findings indicating that fintechs pose systemic risk stemming from their general lack of liquidity, lack of regulatory oversight compared with banks and credit unions, their dominance in certain areas of the marketplace and the vast amount of personally identifiable information (PII) they store.

Get an in-depth look at the reasoning provided in the report.

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements would be strengthened and extended to cover credit unions and nonbank mortgage companies under a new bill sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The legislation’s introduction comes as financial trade organizations have continued to see progress toward long-advocated CRA updates intended to lessen the regulatory burden it places on financial institutions. A Moody’s study indicated the bill could have positive economic effects in addition to helping low- and middle-income families.

Find out more details about the varied opinions on the new legislation.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is being sued over its recent decision to begin accepting non-bank charter applications from fintech companies.

The lawsuit is the second brought by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) regarding the OCC’s stance on fintech charters and coincides with the renewal of a similar legal challenge previously brought by a coalition of state bank regulators.

Find out what arguments are being put forth in the case and what the OCC said in its rebuttal.

Recognizing the negative impacts of Hurricane Florence on customers, members and business operations at covered financial institutions, the federal prudential regulatory agencies and state regulators announced their intent to provide appropriate regulatory assistance to supervised entities affected by the storm.

The agencies – the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration – released a statement encouraging institutions operating in the affected areas to strive to continue meeting the financial services needs of their communities.

Read on to learn what assistance and recommendations the agencies are offering.

In a move intended to better distinguish between guidance and regulation, the federal prudential regulators collectively released a clarifying statement regarding the role of guidance.

The financial industry and other interested parties believe the move is a positive step given the fact that past guidance issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under Richard Cordray’s leadership was deemed to have the same force and effect of a law.

Find out more about what the regulators intend to do going forward in this regard.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued a bulletin clarifying the agency’s amended policies used in determining how well a bank has done complying with Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements.

The OCC also announced it would be seeking industry input on improving CRA implementation through an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, and the Treasury Department issued a memorandum suggesting ways CRA implementation could be improved as well.

Find out more details about what revisions the OCC has made to its guidance and what recommendations have been put forth so far.

The federal banking agencies have issued interim final rules expanding the 18-month on-site examination cycle to cover more insured depository institutions, U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.

The expansion is authorized by the recently enacted the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.

Find out specifics about what institutions will be impacted by the new interim rules.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that it will begin accepting special charter applications from non-depository financial services providers.

The announcement came in tandem with a Treasury Department report identifying regulatory improvements that could provide better oversight of support nonbank financial institutions, addressing a major point of contention for the banking industry.

Find out more about the agency’s announcement and the industry’s reaction.

A company charged with improper practices related to its marketing and sale of overdraft services recently agreed to pay $30 million in consumer redress and penalties to settle lawsuits filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Currency of the Currency (OCC).

In a 2017 lawsuit, the bureau asserted that the bank purposely constructed a deceptive overdraft opt-in policy to avoid losing an estimated $182 million each year because new overdraft opt-in requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act. The company disputed the claim.

Find out more about the settlement and the proceedings leading up to it.