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Each month the Ncontracts team of compliance pros breaks down the hottest regulatory trends and changes. What’s the latest subject to attract the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) attention? What lawsuits are making waves? Read on and find out!
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Here are the highlights from the Regulatory Brief covering June 2022:
CFPB eyeing “rent-a-bank” lending. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Zixta Martinez called out rent-a-bank agreements between banks and high-cost lenders in a recent speech noting that “some lenders attempt to use these relationships to evade state interest rate caps and licensing laws by making claims that the bank, rather than the non-bank, is the lender.” The CFPB complaints database also suggests there are other consumer protection concerns with these loans. The CFPB is taking a close look at this issue, she said.
If your institution is making loans in partnership with fintechs or other third-party vendors, make sure you’re conducting extensive due diligence and ongoing monitoring so you know exactly what’s going on and can explain it to examiners.
CFPB targets credit card fees. CFPB issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to learn more about what they call “excessive credit card company penalty policies” which account for $12 billion each year. The CFPB is focused on whether its current credit card protections are effective (ex: caps on late fees and additional protections created by the Credit CARD act of 2009.)
The comment period is set to close July 22 unless extended by the Bureau.
Reg E insights from a Wells Fargo/Zelle class action lawsuit. A class action lawsuit filed against Wells Faro and Zelle (and dropped for unknown reasons a few weeks later) claims the companies are violating the EFTA (Reg E) and California’s Unfair Competition Law by failing to reimburse defrauded customers. The lawsuit also argued that Zelle’s user agreement didn’t address the potential for fraud.
Tune in for more discussion of Reg E and its complexities where innovation is outpacing regulation and what FinCEN has to say fraud and protecting the elderly.
FFIEC releases 2021 HMDA data. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) released 2021 mortgage HMDA data. Overall, HMDA shows statistical significance in denial rates across all or most prohibited factors like race, age, majority-minority areas and low-to-moderate income areas.
FDIC’s proposed rule on assessments & deposit insurance rates. The FDIC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to increase deposit insurance assessment rates by two basis points for all insured depository institutions.
Harper confirmed as NCUA chairman. Todd M. Harper has been confirmed to a full term to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Harper is an advocate for increased focus on fair lending and compliance exams at credit unions.
Want more details about June’s regulatory trends, including FinCEN’s update on BSA due diligence on independent ATM owners, Maryland’s adoption of Model Standards for Mortgage Servicers and Lenders, the latest on a house bill modernizing credit union fields of membership, and Tennessee’s ruling on credit union-banks deals, check out our Regulatory Update Hub.