Regulatory guidance

The regulator's extension for first-quarter documents applies to BHCs with less than $5 billion in assets.

Sen. Mark Warner led a group of Democratic senators in calling on bank, credit union and GSE regulators to give detailed instructions on helping consumer and commercial borrowers hurt by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The agencies recommend steps financial institutions should take to proactively prevent disruption of operations, minimize contact between staff and consumers, and plan for how affected employees reenter the workplace, among other things.

The agencies recommend steps banks should take to proactively prevent disruption of operations, minimize contact between staff and customers, and plan for how affected employees reenter the workplace, among other things.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told senators that the central bank is willing to explore a credit-sensitive interest benchmark in addition to the secured overnight financing rate, which some banks say could cause problems during economic stress.

In a letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the Democratic senators argue that task force members cannot be trusted to protect consumers because they have represented payday lenders or Wall Street banks, or worked at law firms that did so.

The central bank’s top regulatory official laid out a comprehensive set of proposals to update how the agency supervises banks — particularly large institutions — with an eye toward improving transparency.

Todd Zywicki, a law professor who has sharply criticized the CFPB as an unaccountable bureaucracy, has been named chair of an agency task force identifying potential conflicts and inconsistencies in consumer finance law.

The two agencies have delayed the deadline for the public to respond to a request for information on the rating system used to score banks' overall health.

The two Democratic senators said the bureau's policy could allow companies to circumvent consumer finance laws.

A report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council cited a bigger share of originations and servicing by nonbanks as a potential vulnerability in the financial system.

Recent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac activities are “not the kind of day-to-day behavior that you would expect from companies” under federal control, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

Facebook CEO says the company won’t purse Libra anywhere if U.S. regulators disapprove; the agency says “guidance” was actually “rules.”

The Government Accountability Office determined that three Obama-era letters from the central bank related to large-bank supervision should have been submitted for congressional review.

The two agencies requested comment on the scorecard regulators use to assess a bank's overall health as some question whether ratings are consistently applied.

CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger announced the creation of a task force to research and identify potential conflicts in consumer finance law.

As part of an effort to reduce regulatory burden, the agency will retire policy statements from the 1980s and '90s dealing with securities subsidiaries, failed-bank receiverships and other matters.

Regulators are letting banks choose from among four security frameworks, but some observers are urging a more prescriptive approach.

Congress is in session, but actions at NCUA, FASB and more will dominate the upcoming week in Washington for credit unions.

The chairman of the National Credit Union Administration gave CU Journal more details on the agency’s forthcoming rule providing guidance for credit unions purchasing banks.