All in Regulatory Update

On September 30, 2022, FinCEN issued a final rule establishing a beneficial ownership information reporting requirement, pursuant to the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). This rule will require certain entities to file with FinCEN reports that identify two categories of individuals: the beneficial owners of the entity, and individuals who have filed an application with specified governmental authorities to create the entity or register it to do business. The requirements in the final rule are intended to help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud, and other illicit activity, while minimizing the burden on entities doing business in the United States.

On September 30, 2022, the OFAC published the Sanctions Compliance Guidance for Instant Payment Systems, which emphasizes the importance of taking a risk-based approach to managing sanctions risks in the context of new payment technologies such as instant payment systems and to highlight considerations relevant to managing those risks. The guidance also encourages developers of instant payment systems to incorporate sanctions compliance considerations and features as they develop these systems.

On September 29, 2022, the Federal Reserve Board announced that six of the nation's largest banks will participate in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise designed to enhance the ability of supervisors and firms to measure and manage climate-related financial risks. Scenario analysis is an emerging tool to assess climate-related financial risks, and there will be no capital or supervisory implications from the pilot. The banks in the pilot exercise are Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.

On September 29, 2022, the CFPB released a special edition of Supervisory Highlights on recent examination findings covering the practices of student loan servicers, and schools that lend to students directly. During supervisory examinations, the CFPB found that these schools had improper blanket policies of withholding transcripts to force students to make payments. The CFPB’s exams also found that student loan servicers illegally hampered borrowers’ access to federal student loan payment relief and cancellation programs including Income-Driven Repayment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Loan Forgiveness.

On September 28, 2022, the CFPB ordered Regions Bank to pay $50 million into the CFPB’s victims relief fund and to refund at least $141 million to customers harmed by its illegal surprise overdraft fees. Regions Bank is based in Alabama with more than $160 billion in consolidated assets and operates approximately 1,700 retail branches and 2,000 ATMs across 16 states. It offers and provides an array of financial products and services to consumers, including deposit accounts, credit cards, and lines of credit.

On September 27, 2022, the CFPB issued a statement through the Federal Register that the The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) authorization regarding the revised Policy on No-Action Letters and the Policy on the Compliance Assistance Sandbox (Policies) will expire on September 30, 2022. With the expiration of the PRA Authorization, the said policies will no longer be effective on the same date.

On September 22, 2022, the CFPB announced a new initiative to spur new opportunities by seeking information on refinances and mortgage products to promote competition and support household financial stability. The agency is asking for public input on ways to improve mortgage refinances for homeowners who would benefit from refinancing, as well as to support automatic short-term and long-term loss mitigation assistance for homeowners who experience financial disruptions. This initiative is part of CFPB's effort to promote competition and innovation in consumer finance markets.