On 6/23/2020, the CFPB issued an interpretive rule to provide guidance to creditors information on the way in which the CFPB determines which counties qualify as “underserved” for a given calendar year. The CFPB’s list of rural and underserved counties and areas is used by financial institutions for two main purposes: 1) for an exemption from the requirement to establish an escrow account for higher-priced mortgage loans and 2) to qualify for the ability to originate balloon-payment qualified mortgages and balloon-payment high cost mortgages.

Jun 18
Jun 18 CFPB Announces Pilot Program for Issuing Advisory Opinions

Adam Witmer

Regulatory Update

On 6/18/2020, the CFPB announced the establishment of a new pilot advisory opinion program. In their release, the CFPB explains that they are establishing this pilot program in response to feedback received from external stakeholders encouraging the Bureau to provide written guidance in cases of regulatory uncertainty. Specifically, the CFPB states they are establishing the advisory opinion pilot program to provide guidance with interpretive content that is:

Jun 18
Jun 18 SBA Revises PPP Loan Forgiveness Application

Adam Witmer

Regulatory Update

On 6/17/2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) posted a revised version of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application. According to the SBA, this revised application is more “borrower-friendly” than the original application. In addition, the SBA released an EZ version of the application that requires fewer calculations and less documentation for eligible borrowers, who include borrowers that:

Jun 18
Jun 18 CFPB Updates Remittance Transfer Guide

Adam Witmer

Regulation E, Regulatory Update

The CFPB has recently updated its Small Entity Compliance Guide on Remittance Transfers to correspond with the May 11, 2020 changes to the rule. The main changes to this guide include the following:

Jun 18
Jun 18 OCC BUlletin Provides CRA Guidance

Adam Witmer

CRA, Regulatory Update

On 6/17/2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued Bulletin 2020-61 to inform national banks about how the recently issued “host state loan-to-deposit ratios” are used to determine compliance with laws relating to Interstate Banking and branching efficiency. Specifically, the OCC’s CRA regulation (12 CFR 25, subpart E") includes specific tests for determining whether an interstate bank is lending appropriately in host states where it has branches. The OCC’s new bulletin explains how national banks can use this data.

Jun 17
Jun 17 CFPB Issues FAQs on Credit Reporting

Adam Witmer

Regulatory Update, FCRA

On 6/16/2020, the CFPB issued a new compliance aid to provide financial institutions with additional information relating to the CARES Act and this COVID-19 pandemic. This new guide (Version 1) reiterates the Bureau’s April 1, 2020 “Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement Priorities Regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V in Light of the CARES Act” and provides ten questions and answers to assist financial institutions in understanding Bureau expectations.

Jun 16
Jun 16 Federal Reserve to Resume Exams

Adam Witmer

Regulatory Update

When the Federal Reserve announced in March that it would temporarily reduce its exam activity in light of the coronavirus response measures banks were taking, we knew this break from exams wouldn’t last forever. On 6/15/2020, the Federal Reserve Board announced that it will resume examination activities for all banks and anticipates that exams will continue to be conducted offsite until conditions improve.

Jun 15
Jun 15 CFPB Provides New Elder Abuse Resource

Adam Witmer

Regulatory Update

On 6/10/2020, the CFPB issued a new step-by-step guide to help communities form networks to increase their capacity to prevent and respond to elder abuse. Specifically, the guide offers planning tools, templates, and exercises to help stakeholders complete the following key tasks in the creation of a new network or to refresh or expand an existing one…