Between merging banks and merging credit scoring models,
financial regulators still have to find time to conduct examinations and
rulemaking activities.
Below are a few synopses of activities and announcements
that recently came out of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the Federal Reserve and the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC):
FHFA updates timeline for bi-merge credit scoring model
The FHFA recently announced it will move up the timeline for
publishing certain historical data to better align with its implementation of the
new bi-merge credit scoring model for single-family loans acquired by Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac. The move was decided based on stakeholder engagement and
input, indicating that publishing the data in the third quarter of 2024 rather
than the first quarter of 2025 would help better support market participants
with the transition, which is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of
2025. Multiple trade financial groups expressed
concerns that the decision to accelerate the data’s publication could
potentially bifurcate any analysis efforts. Read the FHFA’s release here.
Fed approves merger between Atlantic Union, American
National
The Federal Reserve recently approved a proposed merger
between Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp. and American National Bankshares Inc.
Atlantic Union would indirectly acquire American National’s subsidiary bank,
American National Bank and Trust Co., both of which are based in Danville, Va.
The Fed also gave a green light to Atlantic Union Bank, based in Richmond Va.,
to merge with American National Bank and for Atlantic Union Bank to establish
and operate branches at locations of American National Bank. Read more here.
OCC recommends FOIA revisions
The OCC called for reforms to its Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) regulations in a notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to include
procedures on expedited processing of FOIA requests and provide for appeals of
denials of expedited processing and denials of fee waiver requests. The agency
also wants to remove the “competitive harm” standard for information provided
to the government on an involuntary basis, along with a conforming amendment concerning
FOIA fee waivers. The comment deadline on the proposal is April 22. Learn more here.
FDIC releases Q2 CRA examination schedules, list of
recent exams
In early March, the FDIC published a list of
state nonmember banks evaluated for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance
and assigned ratings in December 2023. Days prior, the FDIC released its CRA
examination schedule for the second and third quarters. CRA regulations require
each federal bank and thrift regulator to publish its quarterly CRA examination
schedule
at least 30 days before the start of each quarter.