On November 11, 2018, the federal agencies (FDIC, Federal Reserve, and OCC) released a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comment.  In the release, the agencies are inviting comment on a proposed rule to amend regulations requiring appraisals for certain real-estate related transactions.  The proposed rule would increase the threshold level at or below which appraisals would not be required for residential real estate-related transactions. The proposed rule would increase the threshold from $250,000 to $400,000.

The FDIC has requested public comments on issues related to small-dollar lending by FDIC-Supervised financial institutions.  Specifically, feedback is being requested regarding consumer demand for small-dollar credit products, the supply of small-dollar credit products currently offered by banks, and what the FDIC can do to facilitate increase small-dollar lending.

On October 26, 2018, the CFPB issued a statement regarding their planned payday rule.  Specifically, the CFPB explained that they expect to issue proposed rules in early 2019 that will reconsider the Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans rule.  They also plan to address the rule’s compliance date in this 2019 issuance. In their statement, the CFPB explained that they will make final decisions regarding the scope of the proposal closer to the issuance of the proposed rules. They also said, however, that

Earlier this month, the CFPB launched a new “Innovation” page on their website which promotes the initiatives of the newly formed Office of Innovation.  The Office of Innovation was formed in July of 2018 with a goal of encouraging consumer-friendly innovation and carrying on the work that was being done under Project Catalyst.  The new Innovation webpage comes just about a month after the CFPB proposed a revision to their policy to encourage trial disclosure programs (9/10/18).

On October 17, 2018, the CFPB published its rulemaking agenda for the Fall of 2018.  This is the second rulemaking agenda under Acting Director Mick Mulvaney. The agenda indicates that the information is current as of August 30, 2018 and identifies items the  CFPB “reasonably anticipates having under consideration during the period from October 1, 2018, to September 30, 2019.”

As is the case each month, the FDIC and OCC have released lists of performance evaluations from financial institutions receiving ratings during September of 2018.  Banks and savings associations subject to CRA examinations - and especially their CRA Officers who are responsible for CRA compliance - can greatly benefit from reviewing CRA performance evaluations that their regulators publish on similarly sized banks.  Specifically, reviewing Outstanding performance evaluations can often show a bank what unique steps can be taken to get extra CRA credit during an examination while Substantial NonCompliance ratings can explain what an insufficient CRA program looks like.