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Tag Archive for: Comment Letters

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Advocacy, Community, Compliance

A Year in Comment Letters

June 1, 2021–May 31, 2022

This year, attorneys Heather MacKinnon, Scott Birrenkott, and President/CEO Rose Oswald Poels submitted 16 comment letters in response to requests for comment on rulemaking affecting the banking industry.

Through this process, the WBA Legal Team was able to advocate on behalf of all WBA members for the betterment of the banking industry. From digital assets to examinations and fees, comment letters are a great opportunity for members of the banking industry to inform agencies about the impact of rulemaking and provide examples.

As part of the rulemaking process within the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), all agencies are required to allow the public an opportunity to comment on proposed rules for a prescribed period (minimally 30 days). All WBA members are encouraged to share their comments with federal and state agencies as requested. Information regarding comment letters, or WBA-created letter templates — when available — are typically shared with the membership in the Wisconsin Banker Daily. Additional rulemaking developments at the federal level are compiled in the monthly WBA Compliance Journal.

Once the public has commented, each agency must determine how to proceed given the feedback received. This year, the WBA Legal Team addressed five federal agencies and further helped inform said agencies on the impact of their proposed rulemaking.

Six Comment Letters Filed with the FDIC

Over the past year, WBA filed six comment letters with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Two of WBA’s letters commented on FDIC’s actions regarding examinations. In the first, WBA commented on the FDIC’s proposed hybrid approach to bank examinations and in the second, WBA commented on the post-examination surveys related to FDIC Safety and Soundness and Consumer Compliance examinations. In each letter, WBA emphasized the importance of the FDIC establishing consistent coordination and communication with banks.

Three Comment Letters Filed with the CFPB

WBA wrote three letters this year to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Most recently, WBA responded to CFPB’s concerns regarding products which feature “junk fees,” assuring CFPB that the Wisconsin financial services marketplace is competitive, featuring a diverse range of high-quality, convenient, innovative, and competitively priced products and services. Additionally, WBA highlighted that, despite CFPB’s concerns, the market is highly regulated, and that further rulemaking is unnecessary as fees are already subject to disclosure requirements.

Four Comment Letters Filed with the FRB

This year, WBA also filed four comment letters with Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB). In one of the letters, WBA addressed FRB’s request for comment regarding the evaluation of account and services requests. WBA acknowledged FRB’s attempt to create consistency, but ultimately expressed concern with allowing access to the payment system by entities with little or no regulatory oversight, lack of protection, and minimal capital and liquidity requirements, among others. WBA proposed that FRB establish standards or requirements for users, maintain ongoing review of those involved, as well as coordinate an FRB-led evaluation committee.

One Comment Letter Filed with the HUD

In late May, WBA expressed support of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposal to extend a term for loan modifications. The modification would allow mortgagees to modify Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured mortgage loans by recasting the total unpaid amount due for a new term limit of 480 months — an increase from a term limit of 360 months; allow FHA-loan borrowers similar flexibility and benefits as is available for Fannie-/Freddie-loan borrowers; and  creates yet another tool for Wisconsin’s financial institutions to use in their continued work to help find solutions for struggling borrowers to retain their homes.

One Comment Letter Filed with the OCC

In a letter filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), WBA was able to comment on a final rule to adopt a new Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) framework. This regulation facilitated the issuance of joint CRA to an interagency basis which would allow for greater coordination on all CRA ruling between the OCC, FRB, and FDIC for the benefit of banks serving low- and moderate-income communities.

One Interagency Comment Letter Filed

Some rulemakings are issued on an interagency basis. This year, WBA commented on the FRB, FDIC, and OCC’s proposed interagency guidance on third-party relationships related to risk management. In the letter, WBA commented that this effort would promote consistency in their guidance as well as clearly articulate risk-based principles. In addition, WBA identified several ways Wisconsin banks will be impacted by the new guidance during final implementation.

Conclusion

Industry comment is a critical aspect to the rulemaking process. It is an opportunity for the industry’s voice to be heard, and it is important that the agencies hear from banks about how rulemaking affects you. WBA welcomes feedback on comment letters because it is key that we, and the agencies, hear directly from members.

For more information on the rulemaking process, comments, and upcoming rules, contact the WBA Legal Department at wbalegal@wisbank.com. For a full list of the comment letters filed during the 2021–22 fiscal year, visit www.wisbank.com/advocacy/comment-letter-library.

*This article has been updated from previous published editions

June 20, 2022/by Hannah Flanders
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/bigstock-compliance-rules-law-regulatio-256532227-scaled.jpg 1454 2560 Hannah Flanders https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Hannah Flanders2022-06-20 07:00:482022-06-20 08:32:20A Year in Comment Letters
Compliance, News, Uncategorized

Draft Comment Letter Coming Soon: Section 1071 Dodd-Frank Act Proposal

Earlier this year the CFPB issued its long-awaited proposal for implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires collection of credit application data for small businesses, including women-owned and minority-owned small businesses. Comments on the proposal are due January 6, 2022. WBA will be creating a draft comment letter for use by members to reply to CFPB regarding concerns and impact of the proposal on banks. WBA encourages each bank to consider submitting its own letter reflecting bank-specific information. In preparation for these comments, WBA has prepared the following considerations regarding the rule.

What specific burdens will your institution face as a result the proposal? Some examples might include:

  • Costs, technology, training, staffing, customer-facing educational information needs.
  • Review of application process (based upon the rule’s definition of application).
  • Is the proposed “firewall” process workable for the bank?
  • What sort of implementation period will be necessary?

More specifically you might consider:

  • Will bank need to hire new staff (compliance, processor, etc.)?
  • Technology costs, such as a new platform, or 1071 data software.
  • Costs associated with updating existing systems, testing, applications, training, development of new policies and procedures, legal consultation, review of implementation, etc.
  • New annual costs related to collection such as customer service, data management, resolution of errors, exam prep, etc.

In preparation for filing comments, banks should plan to provide specific estimates where possible. For example, if bank predicts new software will be necessary to capture the data, be prepared to provide CFPB with a specific cost if possible.

As mentioned above, WBA will be creating a draft comment letter for use by members to reply to CFPB. The letter will be released shortly to allow banks time to personalize their letter with bank-specific information. For more information about CFPB’s Section 1071 proposal, please see the WBA Toolkit and PowerPoint materials.

December 9, 2021/by Cassandra Krause
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Triangle-Backgrounds_Light-Blue-on-Green.jpg 972 1920 Cassandra Krause https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Cassandra Krause2021-12-09 14:56:462021-12-10 14:14:09Draft Comment Letter Coming Soon: Section 1071 Dodd-Frank Act Proposal
Advocacy, Compliance

WBA Comments on Proposed Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships

By Scott Birrenkott

WBA filed comments this week with FRB, FDIC, and OCC (agencies) on their proposed guidance on managing risks associated with third-party relationships (proposal).

Over the years, the agencies have issued guidance on third-party management for their respective supervised institutions. The agencies have issued the proposal in an effort to promote consistency in their third-party risk management guidance and to clearly articulate risk-based principles on third-party risk management. The proposal is based on the OCC’s existing third-party risk management guidance from 2013.

WBA commented that the proposal presents a welcome opportunity to consolidate and update each agency’s individual existing guidance, and generally supported the effort. In addition to general comments reflecting member experiences in third-party management, WBA did recommend that the agencies consider specific examination procedures in accordance with the guidance, and provide banks with sufficient time to adapt to any final guidance.

Click here to view the letter.

October 20, 2021/by Cassandra Krause
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Untitled-3_Blue.jpg 972 1920 Cassandra Krause https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Cassandra Krause2021-10-20 13:42:292021-10-20 13:44:14WBA Comments on Proposed Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships
Advocacy

WBA Comments on Changes to Deposit Insurance Coverage Calculations for Trusts

WBA filed comments yesterday with FDIC regarding proposed amendments to its regulation governing deposit insurance coverage, Part 330. WBA offered general support to FDIC to provide depositors and bankers with a rule for trust account coverage that is easy to understand and to facilitate the prompt payment of deposit insurance in accordance with the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

FDIC has proposed to change rules for informal revocable trusts (a/k/a payable on death, POD), formal revocable trust, and irrevocable trusts. In particular, FDIC has proposed to combine these two sections of regulation, Part 330.10 and 330.13, to create a new “trust account” category. The proposal also provides uniform insurance calculation rules across the two categories for trusts. The number of “eligible beneficiaries” for purposes of calculating deposit insurance for such trusts would be limited to no more than five natural persons, charitable organizations, or other non-profit entities recognized under the Internal Revenue Code. If a trust were to have more than five beneficiaries, the deposit insurance available for such trust would be computed on the basis of a maximum of five without regard to the actual number of beneficiaries.

WBA recommended a substantial implementation period for banks to incorporate changes to operating and infrastructure systems, train staff, and update policies and procedures —recommending no less than two years before mandatory compliance with new Part 330 rules and no Part 370 examinations until at least three years after initial certification.

Read comment letter here.

October 5, 2021/by Hannah Flanders
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg 0 0 Hannah Flanders https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Hannah Flanders2021-10-05 14:57:062021-10-05 14:57:06WBA Comments on Changes to Deposit Insurance Coverage Calculations for Trusts

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