Dodd-Frank News Center

Agencies issue FAQs on CRA consideration for activities in response to COVID-19

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions on Community Reinvestment Act consideration for activities in response to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). The FAQs provide additional clarification of the information included in the Joint Statement on CRA Consideration for Activities in Response to COVID-19 issued in March 2020.

Fed issues updated report to Congress on FRA 13(3) response to COVID-19

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Reserve Board has filed an updated report with Congress pursuant to Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act concerning certain lending facilities established by the Fed in response to economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fed is required to submit an initial report regarding each facility established under Section 13(3) and periodic updates at least every 30 days thereafter. The current report provides the second periodic update for: (1) the Primary Dealer Credit Facility; (2) the Commercial Paper Funding Facility; and (3) the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility.

CFPB reports on complaints mentioning coronavirus keywords

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Consumer Response has released a Complaint Bulletin that reflects complaint data from complaints submitted in 2020, as of May 11, and highlights trends in complaints mentioning coronavirus keywords. The Complaint Bulletin also highlights changes in overall complaint volume before and after the declaration of the coronavirus national emergency.

Agencies provide temporary changes to supplementary leverage ratio rule

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve Board, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued an interim final rule providing temporary changes to their supplementary leverage ratio rule. According to the agencies’ joint release, the temporary modifications will provide flexibility to certain depository institutions to expand their balance sheets in order to provide credit to households and businesses in light of the challenges arising from the coronavirus response.

Specifically, the interim final rule permits depository institutions to choose to exclude U.S. Treasury securities and deposits at Federal Reserve Banks from the calculation of the supplementary leverage ratio. The rule is effective upon publication in the Federal Register and will be in effect through March 31, 2021. Comments on the rule will be accepted for 45 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

 

Fed issues report on economic well-being of U.S. households

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Reserve Board has issued its “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019, Featuring Supplemental Data from April 2020.” The report found that financial circumstances were generally positive for most adults at the end of 2019 but that financial conditions changed dramatically for people who experienced job loss or reduced hours during March 2020 as the spread of COVID-19 intensified in the United States.

The report draws from the Fed’s seventh annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, which was conducted in October of 2019. To obtain updated information in the midst of closures and stay-at-home orders, a smaller supplemental survey of just over 1,000 adults was conducted from April 3 to April 6 of 2020.

 

CFPB outlines responsibilities of financial firms during COVID-19 pandemic

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a statement and frequently asked questions outlining the responsibility of certain financial firms during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the statement, the Bureau outlines the billing error responsibilities of credit card issuers and other open-end, non-home secured creditors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bureau released two FAQ documents. The first document reminds checking, savings, or prepaid account providers that they can offer consumers immediate relief by changing account terms without advance notice where the change in terms is clearly favorable to the consumer. The second document focuses on existing regulatory flexibilities for open-end credit (that is not home-secured) that may be useful for assisting customers.

 

FDIC proposed rule would mitigate deposit insurance assessment effects of participating in COVID-19 programs

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that would mitigate the deposit insurance assessment effects of participating in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and the Federal Reserve Board’s Paycheck Protection Program Lending Facility and Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility. The proposed rule would ensure that banks will not be subject to significantly higher deposit insurance assessments for participating in these programs. The FDIC is proposing an effective date by June 30, 2020, and an application date of April 1, 2020. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted for seven days after publication in the Federal Register.

Fed updates Municipal Liquidity Facility term sheet

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Reserve Board has published updates to the term sheet for the Municipal Liquidity Facility to provide pricing and other information. The MLF was established to offer up to $500 billion in lending to states and municipalities to help manage cash flow stresses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Fed has also issued updated frequently asked questions regarding the MLF.

Beatty introduces bill to expand access to PPP

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Representative Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) is introducing the Making Opportunities a Reality for Entrepreneurs (MORE) PPP Act, which is intended to ensure that the nation’s small businesses, including minority-owned businesses, independent contractors, and 1099 workers, will have fairer access to participation in the Paycheck Protection Program.

Beatty said, “Since the very beginning of this public health crisis, I have consistently fought to get desperately-needed funding into the hands of small business owners like cosmetologists, barbers, nail technicians, family restaurants, those working from gig to gig, sole proprietors, and self-employed individuals.” She said her bill “will do just that by injecting additional resources into the PPP, setting aside targeted funding for entities with 25 or fewer employees, and instituting safeguards to make sure small businesses—not big, publicly traded companies—can obtain the support they need to weather the virus’ financial fallout and ultimately keep their doors open.”

 

Fed expands access to PPP Liquidity Facility and collateral that can be pledged

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Reserve Board has expanded access to its Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF) to additional lenders and expanded the collateral that can be pledged. The changes are intended to facilitate lending to small businesses via the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program. As a result of the changes, the Fed said, all PPP lenders approved by the SBA, including non-depository institution lenders, are now eligible to participate in the PPPLF. In addition, eligible borrowers will be able to pledge whole PPP loans that they have purchased as collateral to the PPPLF.