Proposed Regulations

On May 16, 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) published a notice and request for comments regarding proposed modifications to the Federal Reserve Banks' (Reserve Banks) payment services to facilitate adoption of a later same-day automated clearinghouse (ACH) processing and settlement window.

On May 13, 2019, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to solicit comments on whether to make changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) transactional and institutional thresholds that exempt smaller lenders from data reporting requirements under Regulation C.

On May 8, 2019, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comments on whether to make changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data points that credit unions are required to report.

On May 15, 2019, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) published a request for comments in connection with its required review of the 2009 Overdraft Rule under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The RFA requires the Bureau to consider whether a significant rule should be continued without change, amended, or rescinded to minimize any significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, the Bureau seeks comment not only on burdens to credit unions but also consumer benefits associated with the rule.

On April 29, 2019, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) published a request for information (RFI) regarding three principle issues related to the remittance transfer rule: (1) how the Bureau can mitigate the expiration of a useful statutory exception for providing estimates in prepayment disclosures, (2) whether to change the safe harbor threshold in the rule that determines whether a credit union makes remittance transfers in the normal course of business, and (3) whether an exception for small financial institutions may be appropriate.

On April 23, 2019, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comments on ways to improve the NCUA’s regulations limiting a credit union official’s and employee’s compensation in connection with loans to members and lines of credit to members.

On March 22, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that amends overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by increasing the minimum salary level for the “white collar” overtime exemption. The practical effect of this change would be that workers making under $35,308 annually—and not otherwise exempt from the overtime rules—would be eligible for overtime pay.

On March 8, 2019, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to gather feedback on how it should apply new underwriting requirements—consistent with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)—to residential property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing.

The NCUA published a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the agency’s regulations governing supervisory committee audits and verifications. The proposed rule amends the alternative options for complying with the annual audit requirement if a federally-insured credit union (FICU) has elected not to voluntarily obtain a financial statement audit.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) has proposed delaying from August 19, 2019 to November 19, 2020 the compliance date for the 2017 final rule governing Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans (Payday Rule).

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the 2017 final rule governing Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans (Payday Rule). The proposed rule rescinds all mandatory underwriting requirements and other related requirements for making an ability-to-repay (ATR) determination. The proposed rule retains the definition of a covered loan, and exceptions and exemptions from the rule. The rule also retains the payment provisions and still requires lenders to develop compliance programs.

On January 31, 2019, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or BCFP) published a notice and request for information (RFI) regarding the consumer credit card market as required by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act). The Bureau is seeking commentary from the public on how the credit card market is functioning.

On December 13, 2018, the Bureau published proposed policy guidance to streamline and revise the agency’s NAL policy, which allows individual institutions to apply for regulatory relief in connection with a specific product or service offering. The proposal also introduces the Product Sandbox, which grants relief similar to that available through NALs, and includes two new forms or relief: approvals under statutory safe harbor provisions and exemptions from certain statutory or regulatory requirements.

In order to implement Section 310 of S. 2155, the FHFA has proposed a rule to establish a validation and approval process for credit score models. The proposed rule would establish the following four-phase process: (1) solicitation of applications from credit score model developers; (2) initial review of submitted applications; (3) Credit Score Assessment; and (4) Enterprise Business Assessment.

On December 10, 2018, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board)—collectively, “the Agencies”—published a proposed rule to amend Regulation CC’s funds availability schedules. Specifically, the Agencies intend to implement Section 607(f) of the EFA Act by proposing a new calculation methodology for adjusting the dollar amounts in the EFA Act by the aggregate annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) rounded to the nearest multiple of $25.

On November 23, 2018, the NCUA published a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the regulations under Parts 704 and 713 regarding fidelity bonds. The proposed rule would strengthen a credit union board of directors’ (BOD) oversight of fidelity bond coverage by requiring the BOD to review all applications and renewals.

On November 13, 2018, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the federal credit union bylaws (FCU Bylaws). In addition to substantive changes, the proposed rule adds staff commentary to clarify provisions, updates provisions to conform to legal opinions issued, and provides stylistic and grammatical changes throughout.

On September 28, 2018, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP or Bureau) published a request for information (RFI) to solicit input on the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the Bureau’s Data Governance Program and data collection activities. The RFI coincides with the release of a lengthy report on the Bureau’s current data governance program, collection activities, and data sharing procedures.

On October 3, 2018, the Board published a request for comments (RFC) regarding the potential creation of a new service to facilitate real-time interbank settlement of faster payments. In general, the RFC seeks input regarding the development of a 24x7x365 RTGS settlement service and a liquidity management tool. In addition, the Board poses a series of operational questions—such as how interoperability with private settlement services might influence participation.

On September 28, 2018, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule regarding its Business Loan Programs. The proposed rule affects the following SBA lending programs: 7(a) Loan Program, Business Disaster Loan Program, Microloan Program, Intermediary Lending Pilot (ILP) Program, Surety Bond Guarantee Program, and Development Company Program (504 Loan Program).

On October 3, 2018, the NCUA published a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comment to amend the agency’s regulation requiring real estate appraisals for certain transactions. The proposal increases the threshold at which appraisals are required for non-residential real estate transactions to $1 million from the current threshold of $250,000.