Regulatory Roundup: Open for Comment

CAPITAL RULES: Proposal by the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision to update the 1988 international risk-based capital accords. Rather than basing capital requirements on the type of asset a bank holds, capital would be based on the riskiness of the bank's borrowers as determined by a rating agency such as Standard & Poor's. Published by the Basel Committee June 3. A copy is available on the Bank for International Settlements' Web site at www.bis.org. Comments due March 31, 2000.

CRA COMPLIANCE: The four federal bank and thrift agencies have recalculated the Community Reinvestment Act's reporting burden. New estimates range from less than 10 hours a year for banks under $250 million of assets that do not belong to a holding company up to 634 hours a year for holding companies with more than $1 billion of assets. The industry's total reporting burden is estimated at 1.25 million hours. The agencies are seeking comment on the accuracy of its new estimates. Published May 28 in the Federal Register. Comments due July 27.

Y2K CASH: Proposal by the Federal Reserve Board to create a special liquidity facility to extend credit to institutions needing extra cash to meet year-2000-related withdrawals. Unlike discount window lending, institutions would not have to seek credit elsewhere first, could use the money for a variety of purposes, and would not have to repay it right away. Published May 27. Comments due July 2.

ACH SERVICES: Proposal by the Fed to modify the 12 Federal Reserve banks' pricing practices and deposit deadlines for automated clearing house transactions they exchange with private-sector ACH operators. Published May 21. Comments due Aug. 6.

COMMUNITY BANKS: An advanced notice of proposed rulemaking by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to ease the regulatory burden on banks with less than $1 billion of assets. Areas targeted for change include lending limits, capital requirements, and the applications process. Published May 12. Comments due July 12.

CU CAPITAL: Proposal by the National Credit Union Administration to create a prompt corrective action system for undercapitalized credit unions. To be considered well capitalized, a credit union would need a net worth of 7% of assets. New credit unions would be evaluated under a separate structure. Published May 18. Comments due Aug. 18.

CREDIT RISK: The Basel Committee issued a paper questioning whether credit-risk models are sophisticated enough to be used to set regulatory capital requirements. Published May 3. Comments due Oct. 1.

CRA REPORTING: Proposal by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to resolve lingering questions over whether small- business loan refinancings and renewals must be reported under the Community Reinvestment Act. One option would count both renewals and refinancings, while the other would include neither. Published May 3. Comments due July 2.

FANNIE/FREDDIE CAPITAL: Proposal by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to create risk-based capital standards for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Published April 13. Comments due Aug. 11.

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