FRB

The findings came in the Shared National Credit Program Review issued by the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Read on for details from the report on the caution bank regulators are urging institutions to take with leveraged lending.

The efficacy of the Community Reinvestment Act reform plan published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was a central theme during Comptroller Joseph Otting’s latest hearing before the House Financial Services Committee.

Otting took the opportunity to attempt to clarify how aspects of the proposal will benefit low-to-moderate-income communities and to dispel misconceptions about the reform plan.

Learn more about the insights that came out of the hearing.

The Federal Reserve is primarily attributing a year-over-year dip in total net income recorded collectively by the nation’s Reserve Banks to a drop in certain interest income tied to securities combined with an uptick in certain security-related interest expenses on securities.

The Reserve Banks have seen a drop in net income in each of the last four years.

Read on for information.

Having avoided joining with two of its regulatory counterparts in endorsing plans to revamp Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, the Federal Reserve’s ideas regarding CRA reform became clearer in a recent speech by Fed Governor Lael Brainard.

Amid her nuanced account of what changes the Fed has determined might be appropriate in reforming CRA standards, her main point on the matter was quite succinct, asserting that the focus should be getting it “right” rather than getting it done quickly.

Learn more about the key takeaways from her speech. 

The Federal Reserve recently finalized new modifications to its National Settlement Service (NSS) and Fedwire Funds Service to support system enhancements and to reduce processing and settlement delays.

The Fed also announced it will extend its operating hours to promote adoption of the same-day automated clearinghouse system.

Find out more details about the changes.

The task of updating regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has been fraught with conflict since long before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) approved an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to clarify and modernize CRA standards last week.

Representatives of a coalition of 34 Democrats serving on the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) and the Senate Banking Committee recently attended the FDIC meeting during which the proposal received board approval, despite pushback from FDIC Vice Chairman Martin Gruenberg, who chose to abstain from the vote.

Find out more about the differing political viewpoints with regard to CRA reform.

In light of the Trump administration’s push to revamp Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, several banking trade groups are pushing for the federal regulators to push pause on certain changes to Call Report data requirements and data collection requirements related to small business lending.

Any changes to the CRA framework could alter regulations implementing Section 1071 with regard to the reporting and tracking of small business and farm loans, the trades noted.

Get more details about the letter.

Agency officials offered insight about their new proposal to clarify and modernize Community Reinvestment Act requirements during a press conference hosted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. prior to releasing a joint advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the matter.

In addition to addressing what activities qualify for CRA credit and they are quantified, the agencies have proposed new criteria encompassing banks that conduct most of their deposit business online.

Learn more details about the agencies’ proposal.

The Federal Reserve’s foot-dragging in endorsing the newly proposed changes to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements, issued Thursday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., is not the only evidence of a split among regulators on the best approach to updating regulations implementing the more than 40-year-old law.

Financial industry advocates were encouraged by aspects of the proposal they believe will lead to increased transparency and credit availability in certain communities. Consumer advocates, on the other hand, have been strongly critical of the proposal.

Learn more details of the various viewpoints on the proposal.

The five federal financial regulatory agencies recently issued a joint statement on the use of alternative data in underwriting by banks, credit unions and non-bank financial firms. The agencies sought to call out the consumer benefits of using alternative data in terms of credit availability.

The agencies described how a well-designed compliance management program can enable companies to account for relevant consumer protection laws and regulations to ensure all opportunities, risks and compliance requirements when using alternative date in credit decisions.

Get more details about the statement.