Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection November 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board and the Bureau are publishing final rules amending the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies' regulations that implement the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended TILA by requiring that the dollar threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions be adjusted annually by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Under regulations adopted by the Board and the Bureau, if there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the Board and the Bureau will not adjust this exemption threshold from the prior year. However, in years following a year in which the exemption threshold was not adjusted, the threshold is calculated by applying the annual percentage change in the CPI-W to the dollar amount that would have resulted, after rounding, if the decreases and any subsequent increases in the CPI-W had been taken into account. Based on the annual percentage increase in the CPI-W as of June 1, 2021, the exemption threshold will increase from $58,300 to $61,000 effective January 1, 2022. Because the Dodd-Frank Act also requires similar adjustments in the Consumer Leasing Act's threshold for exempt consumer leases, the Board and the Bureau are making similar amendments to each of their respective regulations implementing the Consumer Leasing Act elsewhere in the Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register.

The OCC, the Board, and the Bureau are finalizing amendments to the official interpretations for their regulations that implement section 129H of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Section 129H of TILA establishes special appraisal requirements for ``higher-risk mortgages,'' termed ``higher-priced mortgage loans'' or ``HPMLs'' in the agencies' regulations. The OCC, the Board, the Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (collectively, the Agencies) jointly issued final rules implementing these requirements, effective January 18, 2014. The Agencies' rules exempted, among other loan types, transactions of $25,000 or less, and required that this loan amount be adjusted annually based on any annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). If there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the OCC, the Board, and the Bureau will not adjust this exemption threshold from the prior year. However, in years following a year in which the exemption threshold was not adjusted, the threshold is calculated by applying the annual percentage increase in the CPI-W to the dollar amount that would have resulted, after rounding, if the decreases and any subsequent increases in the CPI-W had been taken into account. Based on the CPI-W in effect as of June 1, 2021, the exemption threshold will increase from $27,200 to $28,500, effective January 1, 2022.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is conducting an assessment of the 2015 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Rule and related amendments in accordance with section 1022(d) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd- Frank Act). The Bureau is requesting public comment on its plans for the assessment as well as certain recommendations and information that may be useful in conducting the planned assessment.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is requesting to renew the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing information collection titled ``Generic Information Collection Plan for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Bureau Service Delivery.''

On October 21, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) ordered six large technology companies operating payments systems in the United States to provide information about certain of their business practices. The information will help the CFPB better understand how these firms use personal payments data and manage data access to users so the Bureau can ensure adequate consumer protection. Accompanying the orders, the Director of the Bureau issued a statement which is reprinted in this document for public review and comment. The Bureau invites any interested parties, including consumers, small businesses, advocates, financial institutions, investors, and experts in privacy, technology, and national security to submit comments to inform the agency's inquiry.