On 12/11/2020, the CFPB issued their Fall 2020 Agenda which lists the regulatory matters the CFPB expects to focus on between November 2020 and November 2021. This twice-a-year publication is part of a larger Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions which outlines past and upcoming regulatory changes. This information is helpful for bankers to understand what changes are expected to take place in the future, and this is why we include these updates in our Quarterly Compliance Updates (the next one will be our Winter 2021 Quarterly Compliance Update and will be released in early 2021).

On 12/9/2020, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit alleging that Facebook is illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct. The complaint alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy to eliminate threats to its monopoly. For example, Facebook has been acquiring rivals such as Instagram and the mobile messaging app WhatsApp, as well as imposing anticompetitive conditions on software developers. The FTC states that…

On 12/8/2020, the Federal Trade Commission issued a “consumer education blog post” which provides tips for consumers on how to recognize and avoid vaccine-related scams. In their blog post, the FTC warns that, with COVID-19 vaccines in the pipeline, scammers will not be far behind. Therefore, consumers should look out for red flags of potential scams.

On 11/30/2020, the CFPB issued its final Advisory Opinions Policy to set forth procedures to facilitate the submission of requests that the CFPB issue advisory opinions. Advisory opinions may be issued by the CFPB in the form of interpretive rules, which in some situations may provide a safe harbor to regulated entities that are in compliance with the Bureau’s interpretive rule, in order to resolve regulatory uncertainty for interested parties. The Bureau initiated its policy for issuing advisory opinions in response to feedback received from external stakeholders in the 2018 Guidance RFI, encouraging the Bureau to provide written guidance in cases of regulatory uncertainty. The Advisory Opinion Policy is applicable on November 30, 2020.

On 11/25/2020, the CFPB announced a few enhancements to its website, including a new interactive enforcement database to help the public track the CFPB’s enforcement actions. In their release, the CFPB states that the updated website will feature additional user functionality, an improved layout, more content, and easier access to information. Through these updates, the CFPB intends to increase transparency and make it easier for consumers and stakeholders to locate and access essential resources.

On 11/20/2020, the FDIC, Federal Reserve, and OCC jointly issued an interim final rule to provide temporary relief to certain community banks whose asset size has increased in 2020 due, in large part, to their participation in government programs established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Paycheck Protection Program. The interim final rule provides temporary relieve to financial institutions with $10 billion or less in total consolidated assets as of December 31, 2019. According to the OCC’s release, community banks that have crossed a relevant threshold generally will have until 2022 to either reduce their size, or to prepare for new regulatory and reporting standards. The interim final rule is effective immediately, but comments will be accepted for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.