by Elva M. Coffey-Sears, CRCM, CRP
As 2017 winds to a close, Compliance Officers are focused on confirming readiness for the revised HMDA rule and implementing processes for the 2018 Customer Due Diligence requirements (including Beneficial Ownership). While the CFPB deals with issues relating to Mulvaney’s appointment and his 30-day moratorium on new regulations, the President, Congress, and other Federal agencies are continuing “business as usual” with respect to banking laws and regulations. Here are some of the more recent actions.
On December 12, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018. Section 557 of the Act extends for two years, until December 31, 2019, the sunset on the temporary change from 90 days to one year relating to legal action to enforce a debt against a servicemember’s real estate. As a result, HUD’s current Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Notice Disclosure (form HUD-92070) remains accurate. Absent further clarification from HUD, the current form can be used past the 12-31-2017 disclosed expiration date.
In November, the House passed the 21st Century Flood Reform Act (H.R. 2874) to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through fiscal year 2022. The Act has been received in the Senate, read twice, and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Just in case the NFIP does lapse, FEMA released guidance for insurance companies issuing and renewing policies.
Revisions to the interpretive rule issued in 2016 by the Department of Defense (DOD) were also released in December. These revisions are designed to provide further clarification to the scope, coverage and requirements of the Military Lending Act.
On December 18, 2017 the Federal Reserve issued a final rule to repeal its Regulation C covering the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Thus far, this is the only “alphabet reg”, transferred to the CFPB in 2011 under Dodd-Frank, that has been repealed by the Federal Reserve. In separate but HMDA-related news, a bill designed to prevent regulatory enforcement or judicial action and to prohibit reporting data collected until 2020 under the new HMDA rules was introduced in early December. On December 21, 2017 the FDIC and the OCC issued statements (FIL-63-2017 and OCC Bulletin 2017-62) indicating that examinations of 2018 HMDA data will be diagnostic to help institutions identify compliance weaknesses; examiners will credit good faith compliance efforts; penalties will not be assessed with respect to 2018 data reported in 2019; and data resubmissions will only be required for material data errors. The CFPB followed suit with a similar announcement on December 22, 2017 and added that it will be re-evaluating certain aspects of the HMDA rule for potential future rulemaking.
A final rule to align the Community Reinvestment Act implementing regulations with the new HMDA rule was jointly released on November 24, 2017 by the OCC, FRB, and FDIC. This rule is effective concurrent with the new HMDA requirements going into effect on January 1, 2018.
Consistent with regulatory requirements to publish annual adjustments to thresholds in various regulations, numerous thresholds were published during 2017. The final two threshold adjustments are due out any day now. Visit our blog again in early January for a complete listing of the new 2018 thresholds.
Questions on these or other regulatory actions? ABS is here to assist with your compliance needs! Contact us at (405)607-7000.
