Federal Reserve System April 4, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under section 805(a)(1)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ``Dodd-Frank Act''), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the ``Board'') is required to promulgate risk-management standards governing the operations related to the payment, clearing, and settlement activities of certain financial market utilities (``FMUs'') that are designated as systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the ``Council''). In addition, under section 806(e) of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Board is required to prescribe regulations setting forth the standards for determining when advance notice is required to be provided by a designated FMU for which the Board is the Supervisory Agency when the designated FMU proposes to change its rules, procedures, or operations that could materially affect the nature or level of risks presented by the designated FMU. The Board is proposing new Part 234 to Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations to implement these provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Effective July 21, 2011, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amends the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) by increasing the threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions from $25,000 to $50,000. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act provides that, on or after December 31, 2011, this threshold must be adjusted annually by any annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Accordingly, the Board is making corresponding amendments to Regulation Z, which implements TILA, and to the accompanying staff commentary. Because the Dodd-Frank Act also increases the Consumer Leasing Act's threshold for exempt consumer leases from $25,000 to $50,000, the Board is making similar amendments to Regulation M elsewhere in today's Federal Register.