District Circular Letters

On December 23, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board issued CA Letter 13-26 to clarify the Board’s supervisory expectations in light of guidance issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on November 8, 2013, relating to one of its new mortgage rules under Regulation X, 12 CFR Part 1024.

On Friday, December 27, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board issued SR 13-25, Interagency Statement Regarding the Treatment of Certain Collateralized Debt Obligations Backed by Trust Preferred Securities under the Volcker Rule.

On Monday, December 23, 2013, the Federal Reserve Board invited public comment on proposed amendments to Regulation A (Extensions of Credit by Federal Reserve Banks) to implement section 1101 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Section 1101 amended the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending authority in section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act.

On December 19, 2013, the federal bank regulatory agencies announced the annual adjustment to the asset-size thresholds used to define small bank, small savings association, intermediate small bank, and intermediate small savings association under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations.

Federal banking regulators are seeking comment on supplemental guidance on income tax allocation agreements involving holding companies and insured depository institutions. An aim of the proposed guidance is to reduce confusion regarding ownership of any tax refunds.

On December 19, 2013, six federal financial regulatory agencies announced that they are extending the comment period for their proposed policy statement for assessing diversity policies and practices of the institutions they regulate to allow the public more time to analyze the issues and prepare their comments.

On Friday, December 13, 2013, the Federal Reserve issued SR 13-20 / CA 13-23, which transmits the attached interagency statement that clarifies safety-and-soundness expectations and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) considerations for regulated institutions engaged in residential mortgage lending in light of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (Bureau) Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Standards Rule (Ability-to-Repay Rule).

On Wednesday, December 11, 2013, the Federal Reserve issued the attached interagency guidance, Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance (Guidance) through CA 13-22, to address the applicability of federal consumer protection and compliance laws, regulations, and policies to activities conducted via social media by financial institutions.

On Thursday, December 12, 2013, six federal financial regulatory agencies issued a final rule that creates exemptions from certain appraisal requirements for a subset of higher-priced mortgage loans. The exemptions are intended to save borrowers time and money while still ensuring that the loans are financially sound.

On December 10, 2013, five federal agencies issued final rules developed jointly to implement section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Volcker Rule”).