Links in “Final Rules”

At yesterday’s board meeting, NCUA approved a final rule that will permit federally insured credit unions to modify or refinance a mortgage loan without obtaining a new appraisal if no new funds are being advanced or if there is a new advance with adequate collateral protection. The Board also approved a budget of $4+ million for the Stabilization Fund, which represents an 8.9% reduction over the 2014 budget and the establishment of an agency working to review membership and secondary capital issues. [12/12/14]

The FDIC will be hosting a free teleconference on October 22 relevant to all FDIC-supervised institutions. The focus will include regulatory and compliance issues centered on ability to repay, qualified mortgages, and loan officer compensation final rules. [10/9/14]

The CFPB has amended its final rule regarding international money transfer markets and includes a definition of “larger participants” that are subject to the CFPB. [9/23/14]

The Federal Reserve and CFPB have published rules which amend Regulation Z exemption threshold from $50,000 to $54,600. The same adjustment was made to Regulation M. These adjustments will take effect January 1, 2015. [9/22/14]

OCC's final rule replaces "duty" of boards to "ensure" their banks are following risk management rules to "actively oversee" and "require" banks to take appropriate steps. The shift is subtle, but is designed to avoid scaring off potential board members due to heightened liabilities. [9/5/14]

The SEC has adopted new rules related to NRSROs (nationally recognized statistical rating organizations) originally proposed in May 2011. Among other things, the rules will require issuers and underwriters of asset-backed securities that are rated by NRSROs to provide a form on EDGAR to describe any third-party due diligence report obtained. The rules contain broad definitions that will be implemented nine months after being published in the Federal Register. [9/3/14]

The IRS has released guidance and draft forms for employers to use to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Employers with more than 1oo employees must offer insurance by January 1, 2015 or face a fine of $2,000 per employee. Employers with 50 through 99 employees have until January 2016 to comply and employers with less than 50 employees are exempt from the insurance mandate. [9/2/14]

NACHA has announced amendments to its Operating Rules that it believes will reduce the number of ACH transactions that result in exceptions and returns. Among other changes, the new rules lower the existing threshold for unauthorized transactions and expand NACHA’s authority to enforce rules related to unauthorized transactions. Furthermore, they've adopted fraud detection rules for investigating "outlier" transactions. See more coverage on the story here and here. [8/27/14]

A final rule was released that revises the previous approach to RBC that applies to all banks, savings associations, bank holding companies, etc. The rule, effective October 1, 2014, eliminates the requirement that eligible guarantees be made by eligible guarantors in order to calculate the risk-weighted assets of an exposure. [7/30/14]

Institutions originating fewer than 25 mortgages annually would not be subject to HMDA reporting requirements. But for other institutions, the reporting burden is going up, including a quarterly reporting requirement for certain institutions. [7/29/14]