Transmittal Archive

The Board is amending Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) to reflect the annual indexing of the reserve requirement exemption amount and the low reserve tranche for 2020. More... The Regulation D amendments set the amount of total reservable liabilities of each depository institution that is subject to a 0 percent reserve requirement in 2020 at $16.9 million (up from $16.3 million in 2019). This amount is known as the reserve requirement exemption amount. The Regulation D amendments also set the amount of net transaction accounts at each depository institution (over the reserve requirement exemption amount) that is subject to a 3 percent reserve requirement in 2020 at $127.5 million (up from $124.2 million in 2019). This amount is known as the low reserve tranche. The adjustments to both of these amounts are derived using statutory formulas specified in the Federal Reserve Act.

The Board is also announcing changes in two other amounts, the nonexempt deposit cutoff level and the reduced reporting limit, that are used to determine the frequency at which depository institutions must submit deposit reports. More... The final rule is effective December 26, 2019 (Regulation D, Docket R-1686) and was published in the Federal Register on November 25, 2019.

The Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, “the agencies”) are adopting a final rule that permits insured depository institutions and depository institution holding companies not subject to the advanced approaches capital rule to implement certain provisions of the final rule titled Regulatory Capital: Simplifications to the Capital Rule Pursuant to the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, which was issued by the agencies on July 22, 2019, (capital simplifications final rule) on January 1, 2020, rather than April 1, 2020, as initially provided. More... Consistent with this approach, the transitions provisions of the regulatory capital rule are being amended to provide that banking organizations not subject to the advanced approaches capital rule will be permitted to implement the capital simplifications final rule as of its revised effective date in the quarter beginning January 1, 2020, or to wait until the quarter beginning April 1, 2020. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation Q, Docket R-1576) and was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2019.

The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC are adopting a final rule that provides for a simple measure of capital adequacy for certain community banking organizations, consistent with section 201 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA). More... Under the final rule, depository institutions and depository institution holding companies that have less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets and meet other qualifying criteria, including a leverage ratio (equal to tier 1 capital divided by average total consolidated assets) of greater than 9 percent, will be eligible to opt into the community bank leverage ratio framework. Qualifying community banking organizations that elect to use the community bank leverage ratio framework and that maintain a leverage ratio of greater than 9 percent will be considered to have satisfied the generally applicable risk-based and leverage capital requirements in the agencies’ capital rules and, if applicable, will be considered to have met the well-capitalized ratio requirements for purposes of section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The final rule includes a two-quarter grace period during which a qualifying community banking organization that temporarily fails to meet any of the qualifying criteria, including the greater than 9 percent leverage ratio requirement, generally would still be deemed well-capitalized so long as the banking organization maintains a leverage ratio greater than 8 percent. At the end of the grace period, the banking organization must meet all qualifying criteria to remain in the community bank leverage ratio framework or otherwise must comply with and report under the generally applicable rule. Similarly, a banking organization that fails to maintain a leverage ratio greater than 8 percent would not be permitted to use the grace period and must comply with the capital rule’s generally applicable requirements and file the appropriate regulatory reports. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation Q, Docket R-1638) and was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2019.

The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC are adopting a final rule to revise the criteria for determining the applicability of regulatory capital and liquidity requirements for large U.S. banking organizations and the U.S. intermediate holding companies of certain foreign banking organizations. More... The final rule establishes four risk-based categories for determining the applicability of requirements under the agencies’ regulatory capital rule and liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) rule. Under the final rule, such requirements increase in stringency based on measures of size, cross-jurisdictional activity, weighted short-term wholesale funding, nonbank assets, and off-balance sheet exposure. The final rule applies tailored regulatory capital and liquidity requirements to depository institution holding companies and U.S. intermediate holding companies with $100 billion or more in total consolidated assets as well as to certain depository institutions. Separately, the Board is adopting a final rule that revises the criteria for determining the applicability of enhanced prudential standards for large domestic and foreign banking organizations using a risk-based category framework that is consistent with the framework described in this final rule, and makes additional modifications to the Board’s company-run stress test and supervisory stress test rules. In addition, the Board and the FDIC are separately adopting a final rule that amends the resolution planning requirements under section 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) using a risk-based category framework that is consistent with the framework described in this final rule. The final rule is effective December 31, 2019 (Regulation Q and Regulation WW, Docket R-1628) and was published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2019.

The Board is adopting a final rule that establishes risk-based categories for determining prudential standards for large U.S. banking organizations and foreign banking organizations, consistent with section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act, as amended by EGRRCPA, and with the Home Owners’ Loan Act. More... The final rule amends certain prudential standards, including standards relating to liquidity, risk management, stress testing, and single-counterparty credit limits, to reflect the risk profile of banking organizations under each category; applies prudential standards to certain large savings and loan holding companies using the same categories; makes corresponding changes to reporting forms; and makes additional modifications to the Board’s company-run stress test and supervisory stress test rules, consistent with section 401 of EGRRCPA. Separately, the FDIC and the OCC are adopting a final rule that revises the criteria for determining the applicability of regulatory capital and standardized liquidity requirements for large U.S. banking organizations and the U.S. intermediate holding companies of foreign banking organizations, using a risk-based category framework that is consistent with the framework described in this final rule. In addition, the Board and the FDIC are separately adopting a final rule that amends the resolution planning requirements under section 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act using a risk-based category framework that is consistent with the framework described in this final rule. The final rule is effective December 31, 2019 (Regulation Q, Regulation Y, Regulation LL, Regulation PP, and Regulation YY, Docket R-1658) and was published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2019.

The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC are adopting a final rule to amend the agencies’ regulations requiring appraisals of real estate for certain transactions. More... The final rule increases the threshold level at or below which appraisals are not required for residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. The final rule defines a residential real estate transaction as a real estate-related financial transaction that is secured by a single 1-to-4 family residential property. For residential real estate transactions exempted from the appraisal requirement as a result of the revised threshold, regulated institutions must obtain an evaluation of the real property collateral that is consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The final rule makes a conforming change to add to the list of exempt transactions those transactions secured by residential property in rural areas that have been exempted from the agencies’ appraisal requirement pursuant to EGRRCPA. The final rule requires evaluations for these exempt transactions. The final rule also amends the agencies’ appraisal regulations to require regulated institutions to subject appraisals for federally related transactions to appropriate review for compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation Y, Docket R-1639) and was published in the Federal Register on October 8, 2019.

The Board and the FDIC are jointly adopting a final rule that implements the resolution planning requirements of section 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act. More... This final rule is intended to reflect improvements identified since the agencies finalized their joint resolution plan rule in November 2011 and to address amendments to the Dodd-Frank Act made by EGRRCPA. Through this final rule, the Board is also establishing risk-based categories for determining the application of the resolution-planning requirement to certain U.S. and foreign banking organizations, consistent with section 401 of EGRRCPA. The final rule also extends the default resolution plan filing cycle, allows for more focused resolution plan submissions, and improves certain aspects of the resolution-planning rule. The final rule is effective December 31, 2019 (Regulation QQ, Docket R-1660) and was published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2019.

The Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized amendments to the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies’ regulations that implement the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA). More... The 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 CFPB 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, 2019, the exemption threshold will increase from $57,200 to $58,300, effective January 1, 2020. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation M and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation M, Docket R-1676) and was published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2019.

The Board, the CFPB, and the OCC finalized amendments to the official interpretations for their regulations that implement section 129H of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). More... Section 129H of TILA establishes special appraisal requirements for “higher-risk mortgages,” termed “higher-priced mortgage loans” or HPMLs in the agencies’ regulations.

The Board, the CFPB, the FDIC, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the National Credit Union Administration, and the OCC issued joint final rules implementing these requirements, effective January 18, 2014. More... 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 CPI-W. If there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the Board, the CFPB, and the OCC 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, 2019, the exemption threshold will increase from $26,700 to $27,200, effective January 1, 2020. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation Z and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, Docket R-1678) and was published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2019.

The Board and the CFPB published final rules amending the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies’ regulations that implement TILA. The Dodd-Frank Act amended TILA by requiring that the dollar threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions be adjusted annually by the annual percentage increase in the CPI-W. More... If there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the Board and the CFPB 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, 2019, the exemption threshold will increase from $57,200 to $58,300, effective January 1, 2020. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation Z and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, Docket R-1677) and was published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2019.

The CFPB is issuing this final rule amending the regulation text and official interpretations for Regulation Z, which implements TILA. More... The CFPB is required to calculate annually the dollar amounts for several provisions in Regulation Z; this final rule revises, as applicable, the dollar amounts for provisions implementing TILA and amendments to TILA, including under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994, and the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB is adjusting these amounts, where appropriate, based on the annual percentage change reflected in the CPI-W in effect on June 1, 2019. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z) and was published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2019.

The CFPB is amending Regulation C to adjust the threshold for reporting data about open-end lines of credit by extending to January 1, 2022, the current temporary threshold of 500 open-end lines of credit. More... The CFPB is also incorporating into Regulation C the interpretations and procedures from the interpretive and procedural rule that the CFPB issued on August 31, 2018, and implementing further the EGRRCPA. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C, Docket CFPB-2019-0021) and was published in the Federal Register on October 29, 2019.

The CFPB is amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). More... The CFPB is required to calculate annually the dollar amount of the maximum allowable charge for disclosures by a consumer reporting agency to a consumer pursuant to section 609 of the FCRA (15 U.S.C. 1681g); this final rule establishes the maximum allowable charge for the 2020 calendar year. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation V) and was published in the Federal Register on November 27, 2019.

On October 24, 2019, the Board published in the Federal Register a proposal to establish risk-based capital requirements for depository institution holding companies that are significantly engaged in insurance activities. The Board has determined that an extension of the comment period until January 22, 2020, is appropriate (Docket R-1673).

The Board, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the FDIC, the FHFA, the OCC, and the Securities and Exchange Commission are providing notice of the commencement of the review of the definition of qualified residential mortgage; the community-focused residential mortgage exemption; and the exemption for qualifying three-to-four unit residential mortgage loans, in each case as currently set forth in the credit risk retention regulations as adopted by the agencies. More... Comments on the review must be received by February 3, 2020 (Docket OP-1688).