Stakeholders connected to the financial sector will have the opportunity to comment on ways federal banking agencies can reduce regulatory burden for covered entities. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) and banking regulators are required to weed out unnecessary, outdated, or unduly burdensome regulatory requirements every 10 years, under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA).
For this comment period, financial professionals are being asked to weigh in on requirements that fall into three of the 12 regulatory categories the agencies use to divide their regulations – consumer protection; directors, officers, and employees; and money laundering.
Interested parties are being invited to comment on:
- the continued need for a particular rule;
- the complexity of a given rule;
- the extent to which a rule may overlap, duplicate or conflict with other federal rules, and, to the extent feasible, with state and local governmental rules; and
- the length of time since the rule has been evaluated or the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed in the area affected by the rule.
According to the request for information (RFI), the banking agencies have not identified any rules within the three categories covered in this comment period “that would have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities,” but “will consider public comments submitted through the EGRPRA review process and agency experience to identify regulations where the agencies can reduce burdens that have a significant impact on a substantial number of small insured depository institutions.”
The agencies plan to hold the first in a series of public outreach meetings, where interested parties may comment on applicable regulatory requirements directly to the agencies, on Sept. 25. Individuals interested in providing oral comments must register by Aug. 9 and indicate the regulatory category they would like to discuss. Individuals selected to provide oral comments will be notified within one month of registration closing. More details about the meeting will be finalized as the date approaches.
The public will have 90 days from the RFI’s publication in the Federal Register to comment on the relevant regulations. The agencies plan to request feedback on the remaining regulatory categories over the next two years.