The Board published a final rule that applies an inflation adjustment to the threshold for total consolidated assets in Regulation I. 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. More... 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 27, 2018, the total consolidated asset threshold will be $10,518,000,000 through December 31, 2019. The final rule is effective January 1, 2019 (Regulation I, Docket R-1635) and was published in the Federal Register on November 20, 2018.

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 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, 2018, the exemption threshold will increase from $55,800 to $57,200, effective January 1, 2019. The final rule is effective January 1, 2019 (Regulation M and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation M, Docket R-1632) and was published in the Federal Register on November 23, 2018.

The Board, the CFPB, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (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 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (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, 2018, the exemption threshold will increase from $26,000 to $26,700, effective January 1, 2019. The final rule is effective January 1, 2019 (Regulation Z and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, Docket R-1634) and was published in the Federal Register on November 23, 2018.

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, 2018, the exemption threshold will increase from $55,800 to $57,200, effective January 1, 2019. The final rule is effective January 1, 2019 (Regulation Z and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z, Docket R-1633) and was published in the Federal Register on November 23, 2018.

The CFPB issued 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 (CARD Act), the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA), 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, 2018. The final rule is effective January 1, 2019 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z) and was published in the Federal Register on August 27, 2018.

The CFPB is amending Regulation C to implement amendments to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act made by section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Act. More... Consistent with section 1094 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB is adding several new reporting requirements and clarifying several existing requirements. 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, 2019, except for several amendments that became effective January 1, 2018 and several amendments that will become effective January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C, 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, 2019, except for several amendments that became effective January 1, 2018 and several amendments that will become effective January 1, 2020 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C, Docket CFPB-2017-0010 and CFPB-2017-0021) and was published in the Federal Register on September 13, 2017.

The Board published a final rule that amends subpart C of Regulation CC to address situations where there is a dispute as to whether a check has been altered or was issued with an unauthorized signature, and the original paper check is not available for inspection. More... This rule adopts a presumption of alteration for disputes between banks over whether a substitute check or electronic check contains an alteration or is derived from an original check that was issued with an unauthorized signature of the drawer. The final rule is effective January 1, 2019 (Regulation CC, Docket R-1620) and was published in the Federal Register on September 17, 2018.

The Board published final amendments to Regulation J (Collection of Checks and Other Items by Federal Reserve Banks and Funds Transfers Through Fedwire). More... The amendments clarify and simplify certain provisions of Regulation J, remove obsolete provisions, and align the rights and obligations of sending banks, paying banks, and Federal Reserve Banks with the Board’s recent amendments to Regulation CC to reflect the virtually all-electronic check collection and return environment. The final rule also amends Regulation J to clarify that terms used in financial messaging standards, such as ISO 20022, do not confer legal status or responsibilities. The final rule is effective January 1, 2019 (Regulation J, Docket R-1599) and was published in the Federal Register on November 30, 2018.

The Board is requesting comment on a proposed rule that would establish risk-based categories for determining prudential standards for large U.S. banking organizations, consistent with section 401 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. More... The proposal would also amend certain prudential standards, including standards relating to liquidity, risk management, stress testing, and single-counterparty credit limits, to reflect the risk profiles of banking organizations under each proposed category of standards and would apply prudential standards to certain large savings and loan holding companies using the same categories. In addition, the proposal would make corresponding changes to reporting forms. Separately, the Board, the FDIC, and the OCC are proposing amendments to the agencies’ capital and liquidity requirements based on the same categories. The proposal would not apply to foreign banking organizations, including to an intermediate holding company of a foreign banking organization. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by January 22, 2019 (Docket R-1627).

The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC are inviting comment on a proposed rule to amend the agencies’ regulations requiring appraisals for certain real estate-related transactions. The proposed rule would increase the threshold level at or below which appraisals would not be required for residential real estate-related transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. More... Consistent with the requirement for other transactions that fall below applicable thresholds, regulated institutions would be required to obtain an evaluation of the real property collateral that is consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The proposed rule would make conforming changes to add transactions secured by residential property in rural areas that have been exempted from the agencies’ appraisal requirement pursuant to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act to the list of exempt transactions. The proposed rule would require evaluations for these exempt transactions. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the proposed rule would amend 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. Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received by February 5, 2019 (Docket R-1639).