Federal Reserve System November 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Recordkeeping Provisions Associated with the Guidance on Sound Incentive Compensation Policies (FR 4027; OMB No. 7100-0327).

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is publishing final amendments to Regulation J. The amendments clarify and simplify certain provisions Regulation J, remove obsolete provisions, and align the rights and obligations of sending banks, paying banks, and Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) with the Board's recent amendments to Regulation CC to reflect the virtually all-electronic check collection and return environment. The final rule also amends Regulation J to clarify that terms used in financial messaging standards, such as ISO 20022, do not confer legal status or responsibilities.

The Board is requesting comment on a proposed rule that would establish risk-based categories for determining prudential standards for large U.S. banking organizations, consistent with section 401 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The proposal would also amend certain prudential standards, including standards relating to liquidity, risk management, stress testing, and single-counterparty credit limits, to reflect the risk profiles of banking organizations under each proposed category of standards and would apply prudential standards to certain large savings and loan holding companies using the same categories. In addition, the proposal would make corresponding changes to reporting forms. Separately, the Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC, and together with the Board and the OCC, the agencies), are proposing amendments to the agencies' capital and liquidity requirements based on the same categories. The proposal would not apply to foreign banking organizations, including to an intermediate holding company of a foreign banking organization.

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) issued joint 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, 2018, the exemption threshold will increase from $26,000 to $26,700, effective January 1, 2019.

The Board and the Bureau are finalizing amendments to the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies' regulations that implement the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA). The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the CLA by requiring that the dollar threshold for exempt consumer leases be adjusted annually by the 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 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, 2018, the exemption threshold will increase from $55,800 to $57,200 effective January 1, 2019. Because the Dodd-Frank Act also requires similar adjustments in the Truth in Lending Act's threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions, the Board and the Bureau are making similar amendments to each of their respective regulations implementing the Truth in Lending Act elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

The Board is adopting a new rating system for large financial institutions in order to align with the Federal Reserve's current supervisory programs and practices for these firms. The final rating system applies to bank holding companies and non-insurance, non- commercial savings and loan holding companies with total consolidated assets of $100 billion or more, and U.S. intermediate holding companies of foreign banking organizations established under Regulation YY with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more. The rating system will assign component ratings for capital planning and positions, liquidity risk management and positions, and governance and controls, and introduces a new rating scale. The Federal Reserve will assign initial ratings under the new rating system in 2019 for bank holding companies and U.S. intermediate holding companies subject to the Large Institution Supervision Coordinating Committee framework and in 2020 for all other large financial institutions. The Board is revising provisions in Regulations K and LL so they will remain consistent with certain features of the new rating system.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Disclosure Requirements Associated with the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Loan/Application Register (LAR) required by Regulation C (FR HMDA LAR, OMB No. 7100-0247).

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 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) is proposing to revise and expand its equal employment opportunity regulation to adopt recent changes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had made to its rules. The Board's proposed rule is intended to provide Board employees, applicants for employment, and others with the same substantive and procedural rights generally guaranteed to others under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Rehabilitation Act and thus to comply with the spirit of those laws. The Board's proposed rule also clarifies provisions related to Board employees' right to bring a claim before the Merit System Protection Board and the Federal Labor Relations Board.

The Board has determined that it will apply the RFI/C(D) rating system to certain savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs). This is the same supervisory rating system that the Board currently applies to bank holding companies (BHCs). SLHCs that are engaged in significant commercial or insurance activities will continue to receive indicative supervisory ratings. SLHCs with $100 billion or more in assets will receive ratings under the RFI/C(D) rating system until the Board applies the Large Financial Institution Rating System to them.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the Consolidated Holding Company Report of Equity Investments in Nonfinancial Companies (FR Y-12; OMB No. 7100-0300) and the Annual Report of Merchant Banking Investments Held for an Extended Period (FR Y-12A; OMB No. 7100-0300).