Policy & Regulation

One of the biggest subprime auto lenders agreed to pay $550 million to settle predatory lending charges; the bank regulator has largely completed his goal of overhauling the Community Reinvestment Act.

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting says the revised Community Reinvestment Act will provide more credit access to communities in need and won't, as some had feared, create new thresholds for grading banks.

Recent tweaks to Reg D have blurred the line between checking and savings accounts, opening up the possibility for new innovation in those products.

The final regulation will significantly revise a December proposal, responding to concerns from stakeholders. Meanwhile, in a surprising move, the regulator who had championed the reforms is expected to resign this week.

Director Mark Calabria, who abandoned the Fannie and Freddie capital proposal written by his predecessor, said he expects a revised framework to be ready “very soon.”

Members of the Banking Committee pressed the Treasury secretary and Fed chief to ensure CARES Act funds are deployed as Congress intended. They also debated the need for more stimulus to ease the economic effects of the coronavirus.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency clarified that borrowers with Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgages who have entered into forbearance plans can be eligible for a refi or new purchase once they are considered “current” on their mortgage.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Federal Reserve to hold corporate executives personally liable if they take bailout money intended to bolster credit markets and fail to meet all the certification requirements.

The agency has freed companies from reporting requirements and provided flexibility on exams to help them deal with COVID-19 fallout. It has also finished other regulatory relief efforts that were in the pipeline before the pandemic hit.

With rates so low — after steep emergency Federal Reserve cuts in response to the pandemic’s fallout — banks will struggle to generate bread-and-butter interest income and asset-sensitive lenders will face substantial net interest margin contraction this year and next, analysts say.