Statutory and technical amendments have been made to the Federal Reserve Act (at 1-048) by the following:

The Board is adopting amendments to Regulation A (Extensions of Credit by Federal Reserve Banks) to implement the emergency lending authorities provided under the third undesignated paragraph of section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act as amended by sections 1101 and 1103 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). More... These provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act require the Board, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, to establish by regulation policies and procedures with respect to emergency lending under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. The final rule became effective January 1, 2016 (Regulation A at 2-001, Docket R-1476) and was published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2015.

The Board is adopting final amendments to its Regulation A to reflect the Board’s approval of an increase in the rate for primary credit at each Federal Reserve Bank. More... The secondary credit rate at each Reserve Bank automatically increased by formula as a result of the Board’s primary credit rate action. The final rule became effective December 23, 2015 (Regulation A at 2-001, Docket R-1528), the same day it was published in the Federal Register.

The Board is amending Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) to revise the rate of interest paid on balances maintained to satisfy reserve balance requirements (IORR) and the rate of interest paid on excess balances (IOER) maintained at Federal Reserve Banks by or on behalf of eligible institutions. The final amendments specify that IORR is 0.50 percent and IOER is 0.50 percent, a 0.25 percentage point increase from their prior levels. More... The amendments are intended to enhance the role of such rates of interest in moving the federal funds rate into the target range established by the Federal Open Market Committee. The IORR and IOER rate changes were applicable on December 17, 2015, as specified in 12 CFR 204.10(b)(5), as amended. The final rule became effective December 22, 2015 (Regulation D at 2-122, Docket R-1527), the same day it was published in the Federal Register.

The Board released guidance to its examiners and banking institutions that consolidates the capital planning expectations for all large financial institutions and clarifies differences in those expectations based on firm size and complexity. The guidance is designed to tailor the Federal Reserve’s expectations for large financial institutions and is effective for the 2016 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) cycle.

Federal Reserve Supervisory Assessment of Capital Planning and Positions for LISCC Firms and Large and Complex Firms clarifies expectations that have been previously communicated to firms, including through past CCAR exercises and related supervisory reviews. More... These firms are bank holding companies and intermediate holding companies of foreign banks subject to the Board’s Large Institution Supervision Coordinating Committee (LISCC) framework, or firms with $250 billion or more in total consolidated assets or $10 billion or more in foreign exposures.

Federal Reserve Supervisory Assessment of Capital Planning and Positions for Large and Noncomplex Firms clarifies the supervisory expectations to be applied to the capital planning processes of firms with more than $50 billion, but less than $250 billion in total consolidated assets, as well as less than $10 billion in foreign exposures. In general, the guidance is tailored to reflect the lower systemic risk profile and less complex operations of these firms, as compared to the largest and most complex firms.

Bank holding companies with more than $50 billion in total consolidated assets are subject to the Board’s CCAR, which evaluates the capital planning processes and capital adequacy of the largest U.S.-based bank holding companies, including the firms’ planned capital actions such as dividend payments and share buybacks and issuances. More... Strong capital levels absorb losses and help ensure that banking organizations have the ability to lend to households and businesses even in times of financial and economic stress. The guidance became effective December 18, 2015 (Guidance, Capital at 3-1506.311 and 3-1506.312).

The Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, “the agencies”) issued a statement on December 18, 2015 to reinforce prudent risk-management practices related to commercial real estate (CRE) lending. More... The agencies have observed substantial growth in many CRE asset and lending markets, increased competitive pressures, rising CRE concentrations in banks, and an easing of CRE underwriting standards. Financial institutions should maintain underwriting discipline and exercise prudent risk-management practices to identify, measure, monitor, and manage the risks arising from CRE lending. Financial institutions should have risk-management practices and maintain capital commensurate with the level and nature of their CRE concentration risk. The statement reinforces existing guidance for CRE risk management and contains a table that lists interagency regulations and guidance related to CRE lending activities. For more information, see the press release and related information on the Board’s public website: www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/20151218a.htm.

The Board, FDIC, and OCC are amending their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to adjust the asset-size thresholds used to define “small bank” or “small savings association” and “intermediate small bank” or “intermediate small savings association.” As required by the CRA regulations, the adjustment to the threshold amount is based on the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). More... The agencies also propose to make technical edits to remove obsolete references to the Office of Thrift Supervision and update cross-references to regulations implementing certain federal consumer financial laws in their CRA regulations. The final rule became effective January 1, 2016 (Regulation BB at 6-1220, Docket R-1526) and was published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2015.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule amending the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the CFPB’s Regulation C (Home Mortgage Disclosure) to reflect the asset-size exemption threshold for banks, savings associations, and credit unions based on the annual percentage change in the average of the CPI-W. The exemption threshold will remain at $44 million. More... This amendment is based on the 0.4 percent decrease in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2015. Therefore, banks, savings associations, and credit unions with assets of $44 million or less as of December 31, 2015, are exempt from collecting data in 2016. The final rule became effective January 1, 2016 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C at 6-5200) and was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2015.

The CFPB is amending the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the CFPB’s Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to reflect a change in the asset size threshold for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan based on the annual percentage change in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November. The exemption threshold is adjusted to decrease to $2.052 billion from $2.060 billion. More... The adjustment is based on the 0.4 percent decrease in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2015. Therefore, creditors with assets of less than $2.052 billion (including assets of certain affiliates) as of December 31, 2015, are exempt, if other requirements of Regulation Z also are met, from establishing escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans in 2016. This asset limit will also apply during a grace period, in certain circumstances, with respect to transactions with applications received before April 1 of 2017. The adjustment to the escrows exemption asset-size threshold will also decrease a similar threshold for small-creditor portfolio and balloon-payment qualified mortgages. Balloon-payment qualified mortgages that satisfy all applicable criteria, including being made by creditors that have (together with certain affiliates) total assets below the threshold, are also excepted from the prohibition on balloon payments for high-cost mortgages. The final rule became effective January 1, 2016 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z at 6-5600) and was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2015.

The CFPB is making technical corrections to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and the official interpretations of Regulation Z. These corrections republish certain provisions of Regulation Z and the official interpretations that were inadvertently removed from or not incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations by the “Integrated Mortgage Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z)” final rule (TILA-RESPA final rule). These corrections became effective December 24, 2015 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z at 6-5600), the same day they were published in the Federal Register.