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 2018. 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 2018 at $16.0 million (up from $15.5 million in 2017). 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 2018 at $122.3 million (up from $115.1 million in 2017). 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 8, 2017 (Regulation D at 2-122, Docket OP-1582) and was published in the Federal Register on November 8, 2017.

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 strengthens the agencies’ supplementary leverage ratio standards for large, interconnected U.S. banking organizations. More... The final rule applies to any U.S. top-tier bank holding company (BHC) with more than $700 billion in total consolidated assets or more than $10 trillion in assets under custody (covered BHC) and any insured depository institution (IDI) subsidiary of these BHCs (together, covered organizations). In the revised regulatory capital rule adopted by the agencies in July 2013, the agencies established a minimum supplementary leverage ratio of 3 percent, consistent with the minimum leverage ratio adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, for banking organizations subject to the agencies’ advanced approaches risk-based capital rules. The final rule establishes enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for covered BHCs and their subsidiary IDIs. Under the final rule, an IDI that is a subsidiary of a covered BHC must maintain a supplementary leverage ratio of at least 6 percent to be well capitalized under the agencies’ prompt corrective action framework. The Board also is adopting in the final rule a supplementary leverage ratio buffer for covered BHCs of 2 percent above the minimum supplementary leverage ratio requirement of 3 percent. The leverage buffer functions like the capital conservation buffer for the risk-based capital ratios in the 2013 revised capital rule. A covered BHC that maintains a leverage buffer of tier 1 capital in an amount greater than 2 percent of its total leverage exposure is not subject to limitations on distributions and discretionary bonus payments under the final rule. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Regulation H at 3-150 and Regulation Q at 3-2100, Docket R–1460) and was published in the Federal Register on May 1, 2014.

The Board published a final rule that applies an inflation adjustment to the threshold for total consolidated assets in Regulation I. More... Federal Reserve Bank stockholders that have total consolidated assets above the threshold receive a different dividend rate on their Reserve Bank stock than stockholders with total consolidated assets at or below the threshold. The Federal Reserve Act requires that the Board annually adjust the total consolidated asset threshold to reflect the change in the Gross Domestic Product Price Index, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Based on the change in the Gross Domestic Product Price Index as of September 28, 2017, the total consolidated asset threshold will be $10,283,000,000 through December 31, 2018. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Regulation I at 3-460, Docket R-1560) and was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2017.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, issued this final rule to prohibit covered U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining a correspondent account for, or on behalf of, Bank of Dandong Co., Ltd. as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern pursuant to section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act. More... The rule further requires covered U.S. financial institutions to take reasonable steps not to process transactions for the correspondent account of a foreign banking institution in the United States if such a transaction involves Bank of Dandong. It also requires covered institutions to apply special due diligence to their foreign correspondent accounts that is reasonably designed to guard against their use to process transactions involving Bank of Dandong. The final rule is effective December 8, 2017 (Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at 3-1700) and was published in the Federal Register on November 8, 2017.

The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC are adopting a final rule to extend the regulatory capital treatment applicable during 2017 under the regulatory capital rules for certain items. These items include regulatory capital deductions, risk weights, and certain minority interest limitations. More... The relief provided under the final rule applies to banking organizations that are not subject to the capital rules’ advanced approaches. Specifically, for these banking organizations, the final rule extends the current regulatory capital treatment of mortgage servicing assets, deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences that could not be realized through net operating loss carrybacks, significant investments in the capital of unconsolidated financial institutions in the form of common stock, non-significant investments in the capital of unconsolidated financial institutions, significant investments in the capital of unconsolidated financial institutions that are not in the form of common stock, and common equity tier 1 minority interest, tier 1 minority interest, and total capital minority interest exceeding the capital rules’ minority interest limitations. Under the final rule, advanced approaches banking organizations continue to be subject to the transition provisions established by the capital rules for the above capital items. Therefore, for advanced approaches banking organizations, their transition schedule is unchanged, and advanced approaches banking organizations are required to apply the capital rules’ fully phased-in treatment for these capital items beginning January 1, 2018. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Regulation Q at 3-2100, Docket R-1571) and was published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2017.

The Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are finalizing amendments to the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies’ regulations that implement the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA). More... 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 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, 2017, the exemption threshold will increase from $54,600 to $55,800 effective January 1, 2018. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Regulation M at 6-500 and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation M at 6-5500, Docket R-1579) and was published in the Federal Register on November 9, 2017.

The Board, the CFPB, and the OCC 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. More... The Board, the CFPB, the FDIC, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the OCC (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 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, 2017, the exemption threshold will increase from $25,500 to $26,000 effective January 1, 2018. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Regulation Z at 6-600 and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z at 6-5600, Docket R-1580) and was published in the Federal Register on November 9, 2017.

The Board and the CFPB are publishing 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, 2017, the exemption threshold will increase from $54,600 to $55,800 effective January 1, 2018. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Regulation Z at 6-600 and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z at 6-5600, Docket R-1581) and was published in the Federal Register on November 9, 2017.

The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC are amending their regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act. The agencies are modifying the existing definitions of “home mortgage loan” and “consumer loan,” related cross references, and the public file content requirements to conform to recent revisions made by the CFPB to Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. More... This final rule also removes obsolete references to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Regulation BB at 6-1220, Docket R-1574) and was published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2017.

The CFPB is issuing a final rule that amends Regulation B to permit creditors additional flexibility in complying with Regulation B in order to facilitate compliance with Regulation C, adds certain model forms and removes others from Regulation B, and makes various other amendments to Regulation B and its commentary to facilitate the collection and retention of information about the ethnicity, sex, and race of certain mortgage applicants. More... The final rule is effective on January 1, 2018, except for amendments to Appendix B to Part 1002 that become effective January 1, 2022 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation B at 6-5001, Docket CFPB-2017-0009) and was published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2017.

The CFPB is amending Regulation C to implement amendments to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act made by section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Consistent with section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB is adding several new reporting requirements and clarifying several existing requirements. More... The CFPB is also modifying the institutional and transactional coverage of Regulation C. The final rule also provides extensive guidance regarding compliance with both the existing and new requirements. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018, except for several amendments that become effective January 1, 2019 and January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C at 6-5200, Docket CFPB-2014-0019) and was published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2015.

The CFPB is amending Regulation C (Home Mortgage Disclosure) to make technical corrections to and to clarify certain requirements adopted by the CFPB’s final rule published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2015. More... The CFPB is also amending Regulation C to increase the threshold for collecting and reporting data about open-end lines of credit for a period of two years so that financial institutions originating fewer than 500 open-end lines of credit in either of the preceding two years would not be required to begin collecting such data until January 1, 2020. The CFPB also is adopting a new reporting exclusion. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018, except for several amendments that become effective January 1, 2019 and January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C at 6-5200, Docket CFPB-2017-0010 and CFPB-2017-0021) and was published in the Federal Register on September 13, 2017.

The CFPB is issuing this final rule amending the 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 Consumer Price Index in effect on June 1, 2017. The final rule is effective January 1, 2018 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z at 6-5600) and was published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2017.

The Board has amended its definition of a quorum of the Board in the Board’s Rules of Organization. The amendment is designed to facilitate the Board’s ability to continue to function efficiently during periods of substantial vacancies on the Board. More... The amendment does not alter the number of Board members required to constitute a quorum in normal operating environments. The amendment also addresses Board member recusals and disqualifications. In addition, the Board has provided a modified definition of a quorum during exigent circumstances. In connection with this modification, the Board is amending its Rules Regarding Delegation of Authority to authorize the Chair (or Vice Chair, if the Chair is unavailable) to determine when an emergency situation exists. The amendment to the Board’s Rules of Organization is effective October 25, 2017 (Procedural and Organizational Rules, Board of Governors—Rules of Organization at 8-001, Docket OP-1578) and was published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2017.

The Board is amending its Rules Regarding Delegation of Authority, in connection with the amendment to the Board’s Rules of Organization to provide a modified quorum procedure during exigent circumstances. More... The amendment to the Rules Regarding Delegation of Authority is effective November 22, 2017 (Procedural and Organizational Rules, Rules Regarding Delegation of Authority at 8-102, Docket R-1578) and was published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2017.

On August 17, 2017, the Board published in the Federal Register a proposed new rating system for its supervision of large financial institutions. To facilitate effective public comment on the proposal, the Board previously extended the comment period from October 16, 2017, to November 30, 2017. More... The Board has determined that a further extension of the comment period until February 15, 2018, is appropriate. This action will allow interested persons additional time to analyze the proposal and prepare their comments. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by February 15, 2018 (Docket R-1569).

The Board is proposing to amend its Regulation A to revise the provisions regarding the establishment of the primary credit rate in a financial emergency, and to delete the provisions relating to the use of credit ratings for collateral for extensions of credit under the former Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). More... The proposed amendments are intended to allow the regulation to address circumstances in which the Federal Open Market Committee has established a target range for the federal funds rate rather than a single target rate, and to reflect the expiration of the TALF program. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by January 8, 2018 (Docket R-1585).

The Board is inviting comment on an enhanced disclosure of the models used in the Federal Reserve’s supervisory stress test conducted under the Board’s Regulation YY pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and the Board’s capital plan rule. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by January 22, 2018 (Docket OP-1586).

The Board is inviting comment on a proposed policy statement on the approach to supervisory stress testing conducted under the Board’s Regulation YY pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and the Board’s capital plan rule. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by January 22, 2018 (Docket OP-1587).

The Board is requesting public comment on amendments to its policy statement on the scenario design framework for stress testing. More... The proposed amendments to the policy statement would clarify when the Board may adopt a change in the unemployment rate in the severely adverse scenario of less than 4 percentage points; institute a countercyclical guide for the change in the house price index in the severely adverse scenario; and provide notice that the Board plans to incorporate wholesale funding costs for banking organizations in the scenarios. The Board would continue to use the policy statement to develop the macroeconomic scenarios and additional scenario components that are used in the supervisory and company-run stress tests conducted under the Board’s stress test rules and the Board’s capital plan rule. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by January 22, 2018 (Docket OP-1588).

The Board is requesting comment on proposed changes to part II of the Federal Reserve Policy on Payment System Risk (PSR policy) related to procedures for determining the net debit cap and maximum daylight overdraft capacity of a U.S. branch or agency of a foreign banking organization (FBO). More... Under the PSR policy, an FBO’s strength of support assessment (SOSA) ranking can affect its eligibility for a positive net debit cap, the size of its net debit cap, and its eligibility to request a streamlined procedure to obtain maximum daylight overdraft capacity. Additionally, an FBO that is a financial holding company (FHC) can generally receive a higher net debit cap than an FBO that is not an FHC, and is generally eligible to request a streamlined procedure to obtain maximum daylight overdraft capacity. The proposed changes to the PSR policy would remove references to the SOSA ranking; remove references to FBOs’ FHC status; and adopt alternative methods for determining an FBO’s eligibility for a positive net debit cap, the size of its net debit cap, and its eligibility to request a streamlined procedure to obtain maximum daylight overdraft capacity. The Board recognizes that the proposed changes would reduce net debit caps for some FBOs, but the Board believes that the adjusted FBO net debit caps would be better tailored to FBOs’ actual usage of intraday credit and would not constrain FBOs’ U.S. operations. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by February 12, 2018 (Docket OP-1589).