February 2025Transmittal 528
Effective: 2/1/2025
The
Board, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation,
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit
Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
recognize the serious impact of the California wildfires and straight-line
winds on the customers and operations of many financial institutions
and will provide appropriate regulatory assistance to affected institutions
subject to their supervision.
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The agencies encourage institutions
operating in the affected areas to meet the financial services needs
of their communities. For more information, see the press release
and related information on the Board’s website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20250114a.htm.Monetary Policy and Reserve Requirements
Regulation A
The Board has adopted
final amendments to its Regulation A to reflect the Board’s approval
of a decrease in the rate for primary credit at each Federal Reserve
Bank.
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The
secondary credit rate at each Reserve Bank automatically decreased
by formula as a result of the Board’s primary credit rate action.
The final rule is effective January 15, 2025 (Regulation A, Docket R–1862), the same day it was published
in the Federal Register. The rate changes
for primary and secondary credit were applicable on December 19, 2024.Regulation D
The Board is amending Regulation
D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) to revise the
rate of interest paid on balances (IORB) maintained at Federal Reserve
Banks by or on behalf of eligible institutions.
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The final amendments specify
that IORB is 4.4 percent, a 0.25 percentage point decrease from its
prior level. The amendment is intended to enhance the role of IORB
in maintaining the federal funds rate in the target range established
by the Federal Open Market Committee. The final rule is effective
January 15, 2025 (Regulation D, Docket R–1863), the same day it was published
in the Federal Register. The IORB rate change
was applicable on December 19, 2024.Consumer and
Community Affairs
Regulation BB
Under their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations,
the Board and the FDIC annually adjust the asset-size thresholds used
to define “small bank” and “intermediate small bank.”
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As required by the CRA regulations,
the adjustment to the threshold amounts is based on the annual percentage
change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers (CPI–W). Applying this annual inflation adjustment methodology,
the agencies announced that, from January 1, 2025, through December
31, 2025, “small bank” will mean a bank that, as of December 31 of
either of the prior two calendar years, had assets of less than $1.609
billion; and “intermediate small bank” will mean a small bank with
assets of at least $402 million as of December 31 of both of the prior
two calendar years and less than $1.609 billion as of December 31
of either of the prior two calendar years. These asset-size thresholds
are in effect from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025 (Regulation BB) and were published in the Federal Register on December 30, 2024.CFPB’s Regulation C
The Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) amended the official commentary that interprets
the requirements of 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.
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Based on the 2.9 percent increase in the average of the CPI–W for
the 12-month period ending in November 2024, the exemption threshold
is adjusted to $58 million from $56 million. Institutions with assets
of $58 million or less as of December 31, 2024, are exempt from collecting
data in 2025. The final rule is effective January 1, 2025 (Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation C) and was published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2024.CFPB’s Regulation Z
The CFPB amended the
official commentary to its Regulation Z in order to make annual adjustments
to the asset-size thresholds exempting certain creditors from the
requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage
loan.
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The
exemption threshold for creditors and their affiliates that regularly
extended covered transactions secured by first liens is adjusted to
$2.717 billion and the exemption threshold for certain insured depository
institutions and insured credit unions with assets of $10 billion
or less is adjusted to $12.179 billion. The final rule is effective
January 1, 2025 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z) and was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2024.Procedural and Organizational Rules
Rules
of Practice for Hearings
The Board issued a
final rule amending its rules of practice and procedure to adjust
the amount of each civil money penalty provided by law within its
jurisdiction to account for inflation as required by the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.
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The final rule
is effective January 13, 2025 (Procedural and Organizational Rules, Rules of Practice for Hearings, Docket R–1864), the same day
it was published in the Federal Register.Systems of
Records of the Federal Reserve System
Pursuant
to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, notice was given that
the Board proposes to modify existing system of records,
BGFRS–25 “FRB—Multi-Rater Feedback Records.”
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This system of records, which
will now be called “FRB—360 Assessment Records,” includes 360 Assessment
questionnaires completed by the employee being evaluated and his or
her evaluators, analyses of the questionnaires, and associated feedback
reports. The modified system of records is effective January 9, 2025,
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 10, 2024.