The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a final rule on October 27 that determines when a national bank or federal savings association (bank) makes a loan and is the “true lender” in the context of a partnership between a bank and a third party, such as a marketplace lender. This is a significant regulatory development that warrants the close attention of the national banking community and those who do business with national banks and federal savings associations.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) on October 20 issued a final rule to extend the government-sponsored enterprises patch (GSE Patch), i.e., the “temporary qualified mortgage” exemption within the qualified mortgage/ability-to-repay rule.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a policy statement on October 5 establishing a process to allow for early termination of consent orders. The policy statement is applicable on October 8, 2020.
The Dodd-Frank Act provides that the Bureau may enter into administrative consent orders where the Bureau has identified violations of federal consumer financial law. Consent orders, which generally have a five-year term, describe the Bureau’s findings and conclusions concerning the identified violations by an entity and generally impose injunctive relief, monetary relief, penalties, and reporting, recordkeeping, and cooperation requirements.
An August 31 memorandum issued by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), an arm of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Branch, could dramatically change the way agencies handle civil and administrative enforcement proceedings. The memorandum directs covered agencies to provide greater due process to individuals and companies under investigation and reemphasizes the principle that the burden of proof of a violation rests solely with the government. The memorandum was issued to implement the directives contained in Section 6 of Executive Order 13924, Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery (issued May 19, 2020). In relevant part, the executive order directed agency heads to revise agency procedures and practices in light of “the principles of fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication.”
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule that requires minimum standards for anti-money laundering (AML) programs for banks lacking a federal functional regulator (the Federal Reserve Board, OCC, FDIC, OTS, NCAU, and SEC), i.e., banks and similar financial institutions that are subject only to state regulation and supervision, and certain international banking entities (collectively, “covered banking entities”).
The final rule also extends customer identification program (CIP) and beneficial ownership requirements (also known as the Customer Due Diligence or CDD Rule) to covered banking entities. Such banking entities may include private banks, international banking entities, non-federally-insured credit unions, state banks, savings associations, and trust companies.
Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require financial institutions to compile, maintain, and submit to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) certain data on applications for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses. The Bureau took the next step to implement this mandate on September 15, 2020 by releasing its Outline of Proposals under Consideration and Alternatives Considered (Outline) regarding small business lending data collection and reporting. Coinciding with the issuance of the Outline, the Bureau also released a high-level summary.
California’s governor is expected to sign into law soon a bill creating a state consumer financial protection agency, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), which some have called California’s “mini-CFPB.” We reported previously on the importance of this law in January and March.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on September 1 issued an order under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act to temporarily—at least through the end of 2020—halt residential rental evictions for Americans struggling to pay rent due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The CDC states that the ban is necessary to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, a historic threat to public health, by preventing homelessness and facilitating stay-at-home/social distancing directives.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on August 27 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) will extend their moratorium on foreclosures and evictions until at least December 31, 2020. The foreclosure moratorium applies to GSE-backed, single-family mortgages only. The evictions moratorium applies to properties that have been acquired by a GSE through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions (real estate owned, or REO, properties). Currently, FHFA projects additional expenses of $1.1 to $1.7 billion will be borne by the GSEs due to the existing foreclosure moratorium and its extensions related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
