Transmittal Archive

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 26, 2019, the total consolidated asset threshold will be $10,715,000,000 through December 31, 2020. The final rule is effective January 15, 2020 (Regulation I, Docket R-1689) and was published in the Federal Register on December 16, 2019.

The Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, “the federal banking agencies”) issued on December 27, 2019, Statement Regarding Status of Certain Investment Funds and Their Portfolio Investments for Purposes of Regulation O and Reporting Requirements under Part 363 of FDIC Regulations. More... The statement announces that the federal banking agencies will exercise discretion to not take enforcement action against banks or asset managers, which become principal shareholders of banks, with respect to certain extensions of credit by banks that otherwise would violate Regulation O. The agencies are providing this temporary relief while the Board, in consultation with the other federal banking agencies, considers whether to amend Regulation O. The interagency statement also sets forth the eligibility criteria for this relief (Regulation O).

The Board, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the FDIC, the OCC, and the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the regulations implementing section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act. More... Section 13 contains certain restrictions on the ability of a banking entity and nonbank financial company supervised by the Board to engage in proprietary trading and have certain interests in, or relationships with, a hedge fund or private equity fund. These final amendments are intended to provide banking entities with clarity about what activities are prohibited and to improve supervision and implementation of section 13. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation VV, Docket R-1608) and was published in the Federal Register on November 14, 2019.

The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC amended 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.” More... 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). The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Regulation BB, Docket R-1690) and was published in the Federal Register on December 30, 2019.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is 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. More... Based on the 1.6 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2019, the exemption threshold is adjusted to $47 million from $46 million. Therefore, banks, savings associations, and credit unions with assets of $47 million or less as of December 31, 2019, are exempt from collecting data in 2020. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C) and was published in the Federal Register on December 20, 2019.

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. More... This amendment is based on the annual percentage change in the average of the CPI-W. Based on the 1.6 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2019, the exemption threshold is adjusted to $2.202 billion from $2.167 billion. Therefore, creditors with assets of less than $2.202 billion (including assets of certain affiliates) as of December 31, 2019, are exempt, if other requirements of Regulation Z also are met, from establishing escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans in 2020. The final rule is effective January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z) and was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2019.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, notice was given that the Board proposes to modify existing system of records BGFRS-23 “FRB—Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Case Tracking and Reporting System.” More... This system of records permits Board staff to track Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests, input processing data, and produce reports. The modified system of records will become effective January 27, 2020, without further notice, unless comments dictate otherwise (Rules Regarding Access to Personal Information under the Privacy Act of 1974, Systems of Records of the Federal Reserve System). The modified system of records was published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2019.