Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On August 29, 2018, the OCC, Board, and FDIC (collectively, the agencies) issued interim final rules that were effective immediately to implement section 210 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (Economic Growth Act), which was enacted on May 24, 2018. The agencies are now adopting the interim final rules as final without change. The interim final rules and final rules implement section 210 of the Economic Growth Act, which amended section 10(d) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) to permit the agencies to examine qualifying insured depository institutions (IDIs) with under $3 billion in total assets not less than once during each 18-month period. In addition, these final rules adopt as final the parallel changes to the agencies' regulations governing the on-site examination cycle for U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, consistent with the International Banking Act of 1978 (IBA).

The OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (collectively, the Agencies) are amending their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to adjust the asset-size thresholds used to define ``small bank'' or ``small savings association'' and ``intermediate small bank'' or ``intermediate small savings association.'' As required by the CRA regulations, the adjustment to the threshold amount is based on the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

This document corrects OCC's Regulatory Flexibility Act certification for the proposed rule that was published in the Federal Register on September 28, 2018, entitled ``Regulatory Capital Treatment for High Volatility Commercial Real Estate (HVCRE) Exposures.''

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (together, the agencies) are inviting public comment on a proposal that would implement a new approach for calculating the exposure amount of derivative contracts under the agencies' regulatory capital rule. The proposed approach, called the standardized approach for counterparty credit risk (SA-CCR), would replace the current exposure methodology (CEM) as an additional methodology for calculating advanced approaches total risk-weighted assets under the capital rule. An advanced approaches banking organization also would be required to use SA-CCR to calculate its standardized total risk-weighted assets; a non-advanced approaches banking organization could elect to use either CEM or SA-CCR for calculating its standardized total risk-weighted assets. In addition, the proposal would modify other aspects of the capital rule to account for the proposed implementation of SA-CCR. Specifically, the proposal would require an advanced approaches banking organization to use SA-CCR with some adjustments to determine the exposure amount of derivative contracts for calculating total leverage exposure (the denominator of the supplementary leverage ratio). The proposal also would incorporate SA-CCR into the cleared transactions framework and would make other amendments, generally with respect to cleared transactions. The proposed introduction of SA-CCR would indirectly affect the Board's single counterparty credit limit rule, along with other rules. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also is proposing to update cross-references to CEM and add SA-CCR as an option for determining exposure amounts for derivative contracts in its lending limit rules.

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the renewal of this information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Currently, the OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled ``Annual Stress Test Rule.''

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning renewal of its information collection titled, ``Funding and Liquidity Risk Management.''

The OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (collectively, the agencies) are inviting comment on a proposed rule that would implement section 205 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act by: Expanding the eligibility to file the agencies' most streamlined report of condition, the FFIEC 051 Call Report, to include certain insured depository institutions with less than $5 billion in total consolidated assets that meet other criteria; and, establishing reduced reporting on the FFIEC 051 Call Report for the first and third reports of condition for a year. The OCC and Board also are proposing similar reduced reporting for certain uninsured institutions that they supervise with less than $5 billion in total consolidated assets that otherwise meet the same criteria. This Federal Register notice also includes a Paperwork Reduction Act notice to reduce the amount of data required to be reported on the FFIEC 051 Call Report for the first and third calendar quarters, and other related changes.

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled ``Leveraged Lending.''

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, ``Fiduciary Activities.''

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, ``Market Risk.''

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning a revision to a regulatory reporting requirement for national banks and federal savings associations titled, ``Company-Run Annual Stress Test Reporting Template and Documentation for Covered Institutions with Total Consolidated Assets of $100 Billion or More under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.''

The Board, OCC, FDIC, FCA, and FHFA (each an Agency and, collectively, the Agencies) are adopting amendments to their rules establishing minimum margin requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants (Swap Margin Rule). These amendments conform the Swap Margin Rule to rules recently adopted by the Board, the OCC, and the FDIC that impose restrictions on certain qualified financial contracts, including certain non-cleared swaps subject to the Swap Margin Rule (the QFC Rules). Specifically, the final amendments to the Swap Margin Rule conform the definition of ``Eligible Master Netting Agreement'' to the definition of ``Qualifying Master Netting Agreement'' in the QFC Rules. The amendment to the Swap Margin Rule ensures that netting agreements of firms subject to the Swap Margin Rule are not excluded from the definition of ``Eligible Master Netting Agreement'' based solely on their compliance with the QFC Rules. The amendment also ensures that margin amounts required for non-cleared swaps covered by agreements that otherwise constitute Eligible Master Netting Agreements can continue to be calculated on a net portfolio basis, notwithstanding changes to those agreements that will be made in some instances by firms revising their netting agreements to achieve compliance with the QFC Rules. In addition, for any non-cleared swaps that were ``entered into'' before the compliance dates of the Swap Margin Rulesand which are accordingly grandfathered from application of the rule's margin requirementsthe amendments state that any changes to netting agreements that are required to conform to the QFC Rules will not render grandfathered swaps covered by that netting agreement as ``new'' swaps subject to the Swap Margin Rule.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (the agencies) may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), of which the agencies are members, has approved the agencies' publication for public comment of a proposal to revise and extend the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic and Foreign Offices (FFIEC 031), the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic Offices Only (FFIEC 041), and the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic Offices Only and Total Assets Less Than $1 Billion (FFIEC 051), which are currently approved collections of information. The Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income are commonly referred to as Call Reports. The FFIEC has also approved the Board's publication for public comment, on behalf of the agencies, of a proposal to revise and extend the Report of Assets and Liabilities of U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks (FFIEC 002) and the Report of Assets and Liabilities of a Non-U.S. Branch that is Managed or Controlled by a U.S. Branch or Agency of a Foreign (Non-U.S.) Bank (FFIEC 002S) as well as the agencies' publication for public comment of proposals to revise and extend the Foreign Branch Report of Condition (FFIEC 030), the Abbreviated Foreign Branch Report of Condition (FFIEC 030S), and the Regulatory Capital Reporting for Institutions Subject to the Advanced Capital Adequacy Framework (FFIEC 101), all of which are currently approved collections of information. The proposed revisions generally address the revised accounting for credit losses under the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-13, ``Financial InstrumentsCredit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments'' (ASU 2016-13). This proposal also includes reporting changes for regulatory capital related to implementing the agencies' recent notice of proposed rulemaking on the implementation and capital transition for the current expected credit losses methodology (CECL). In addition, this notice includes other revisions to the Call Reports and the FFIEC 101 resulting from two sections of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA), effective upon enactment on May 24, 2018, that affect the information reported in these reports and for which the agencies submitted emergency review requests to OMB that OMB has approved. The proposed revisions related to ASU 2016-13 would begin to take effect March 31, 2019, for reports with quarterly report dates and December 31, 2019, for reports with an annual report date, with later effective dates for certain respondents. At the end of the comment period for this notice, the comments received will be reviewed to determine whether the FFIEC and the agencies should modify the proposed revisions to one or more of the previously identified reports. As required by the PRA, the agencies will then publish a second Federal Register notice for a 30-day comment period and submit the final Call Reports, FFIEC 002, FFIEC 002S, FFIEC 030, FFIEC 030S, and FFIEC 101 to OMB for review and approval.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is proposing to amend its enforceable guidelines relating to recovery planning standards for insured national banks, insured federal savings associations, and insured federal branches (Guidelines) to increase the average total consolidated assets threshold for applying the Guidelines from $50 billion to $250 billion. In addition, the proposed change to the Guidelines would decrease from 18 months to 12 months the time within which a bank should comply with the Guidelines after the bank becomes subject to them. Finally, the proposal would make technical amendments to remove outdated compliance dates.

The OCC is inviting comment on a proposed rule to implement a new section of the Home Owners' Loan Act (HOLA). The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA) amended HOLA to add a new section that allows a Federal savings association with total consolidated assets of $20 billion or less, as of December 31, 2017, to elect to operate as a covered savings association. A covered savings association has the same rights and privileges as a national bank and is subject to the same duties and restrictions as a national bank. A covered savings association retains its Federal savings association charter and existing governance framework. The new section of HOLA requires the OCC to issue rules that, among other things, establish streamlined standards and procedures for elections to operate as covered savings associations and clarify requirements for the treatment of covered savings associations.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC or agency) invites comments on this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit ideas for building a new framework to transform or modernize the regulations that implement the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA). A new CRA regulatory framework would help regulated financial institutions more effectively serve the convenience and needs of their communities by encouraging more lending, investment, and activity where it is needed most; evaluating CRA activities more consistently; and providing greater clarity regarding CRA-qualifying activities. A transformed or modernized framework also would facilitate more timely evaluations of bank CRA performance, offer greater transparency regarding ratings, promote a consistent interpretation of the CRA, and encourage increased community and economic development in low- and moderate-income (LMI) areas. Revisions of this nature are consistent with the original intent of the CRA: To help meet the credit needs of the communities that banks serve. In addition, these types of revisions would align with the transformation of the banking industry and reduce the complexity, ambiguity, and burden associated with the regulations.

The OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (collectively, the agencies) are jointly issuing and inviting comment on an interim final rule that amends the agencies' liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) rule to treat liquid and readily-marketable, investment grade municipal obligations as high-quality liquid assets (HQLA). Section 403 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act amends section 18 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and requires the agencies, for purposes of their LCR rule and any other regulation that incorporates a definition of the term ``high-quality liquid asset'' or another substantially similar term, to treat a municipal obligation as HQLA (that is a level 2B liquid asset) if that obligation is, as of the LCR calculation date, ``liquid and readily-marketable'' and ``investment grade.''

The OCC is seeking nominations for members of the Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee (MSAAC) and the Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee (MDIAC). The MSAAC and the MDIAC assist the OCC in assessing the needs and challenges facing mutual savings associations and minority depository institutions, respectively. The OCC is seeking nominations of individuals who are officers and/or directors of federal mutual savings associations, or officers and/or directors of federal stock savings associations that are part of a mutual holding company structure, to be considered for selection as MSAAC members. The OCC also is seeking nominations of individuals who are officers and/or directors of OCC-regulated minority depository institutions, or officers and/or directors of other OCC- regulated depository institutions with a commitment to supporting minority depository institutions, to be considered for selection as MDIAC members.

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In accordance with the requirements of the PRA, the OCC may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, ``Release of Non-Public Information.'' The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.

The OCC, Board, FDIC, SEC, and CFTC (individually, an ``Agency,'' and collectively, the ``Agencies'') are requesting comment on a proposal that would amend the regulations implementing section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act (BHC Act). Section 13 contains certain restrictions on the ability of a banking entity and nonbank financial company supervised by the Board to engage in proprietary trading and have certain interests in, or relationships with, a hedge fund or private equity fund. The proposed amendments are intended to provide banking entities with clarity about what activities are prohibited and to improve supervision and implementation of section 13.

The OCC announces a meeting of the Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee (MSAAC).

The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the renewal of its information collection titled, ``Procedures to Enhance the Accuracy and Integrity of Information Furnished to Consumer Reporting Agencies under Section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.'' The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to OMB for review.

The OCC and the FDIC (``Agencies'') are adopting a final rule to shorten the standard settlement cycle for securities purchased or sold by national banks, federal savings associations, and FDIC- supervised institutions. The Agencies' final rule is consistent with an industry-wide transition to a two business-day settlement cycle, which is designed to reduce settlement exposure and align settlement practices across all market participants.

On April 19, 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published in the Federal Register a proposal to modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for U.S. top-tier bank holding companies identified as global systemically important bank holding companies, or GSIBs, and certain of their insured depository institution subsidiaries. The proposal also included conforming modifications to the Board's total-loss absorbing capacity and long- term debt rules. The Board and the OCC have determined that an extension of the comment period until June 25, 2018, is appropriate.