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Due to evolving legal landscape & changes in the framework of administrative law, Federal Reserve Board will soon seek public comment on significant changes to improve transparency of bank stress tests & reduce volatility of resulting capital requirements
December 23, 2024 / Source: FRB
In view of the evolving legal landscape, the Federal Reserve Board will soon seek public comment on significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank stress tests and to reduce the volatility of resulting capital buffer requirements. The Board’s stress test evaluates the resilience of large banks by estimating their losses, revenue, and capital…
CFPB Sues Walmart and Branch Messenger for Illegally Opening Deposit Accounts for More Than One Million Delivery Drivers
December 23, 2024 / Source: CFPB
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Walmart and Branch Messenger for forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to get paid and for deceiving workers— “last mile” drivers in Walmart’s Spark Driver program—about how they could access their earnings. The CFPB’s lawsuit alleges that Walmart and Branch opened Branch accounts…
FHFA Releases 3rd Quarter 2024 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report
December 22, 2024 / Source: FHFA
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its third quarter 2024 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report. The report shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 43,459 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 7,047,721 since the start of conservatorships…
FHFA Finalizes 2025–2027 Housing Goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
December 22, 2024 / Source: FHFA
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a final rule today that establishes new affordable housing goals for the loan purchases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) over the next three years, and updates the process for requiring an action plan when an Enterprise misses certain goals. The housing goals, generally…
OCC Issues Annual Report for 2024
December 22, 2024 / Source: OCC
WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today published its 2024 Annual Report. The OCC Annual Report provides Congress with an overview of the condition of the federal banking system, discusses the OCC’s strategic priorities and initiatives, and shares the agency’s financial management and condition. The report highlights the OCC’s work to advance…
CFPB Sues JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo for Allowing Fraud to Fester on Zelle
December 20, 2024 / Source: CFPB
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued the operator of Zelle and three of the nation’s largest banks for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud on America’s most widely available peer-to-peer payment network. Early Warning Services, which operates Zelle, along with three of its owner banks—Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and…
Agencies release annual asset-size thresholds under Community Reinvestment Act regulations
December 19, 2024 / Source: FRB
The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today announced the 2025 updated Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) “small bank” and “intermediate small bank” asset-size thresholds. The CRA regulations establish the framework and criteria by which the relevant agencies assess a financial institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including…
Treasury Releases Report on the Uses, Opportunities, and Risks of Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services
December 19, 2024 / Source: Treasury
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released a report following the issuance of its 2024 Request for Information (RFI) on the Uses, Opportunities, and Risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Financial Services, which summarizes key themes from respondent feedback and recommends several next steps. The report highlights increasing AI use throughout the financial sector…
Biden-Harris Administration Awards $225 Million To Preserve and Revitalize Housing
December 19, 2024 / Source: HUD
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the award of $225 million in competitive grant funding for 17 awardees with proposed projects across 26 states through the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program. PRICE is an innovative grant program – providing funding to preserve and revitalize manufactured…
New tactics from companies trying to charge illegal junk fees
December 19, 2024 / Source: CFPB
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is working to combat junk fees across the consumer financial marketplace. As companies are stopped from charging many of these fees, people are facing new risks as companies experiment with new sketchy fee tactics, which are often illegal. Some junk fees – like surprise overdraft fees – are charged by the company the…
HUD Invests $12 Million to Strengthen Rural Communities
December 18, 2024 / Source: HUD
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded $12 million in capacity-building grants to five national non-profit organizations through the FY 23-24 Rural Capacity Building program which will fund rural housing development organizations, Community Development Corporations (CDCs), Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), local governments, and Indian tribes (eligible beneficiaries) to carry…
CFPB Takes Action on Bait-and-Switch Credit Card Rewards Tactics
December 18, 2024 / Source: CFPB
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced major actions today to protect consumers from illegal credit card practices and help people save money on interest and fees. In a circular to other law enforcement agencies, the CFPB warned that some credit card companies operating rewards programs may be breaking the law, including by illegally devaluing…
FinCEN Warns of Fraud Schemes That Abuse Its Name, Insignia, and Authorities for Financial Gain
December 18, 2024 / Source: FinCEN
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert today to raise awareness of fraud schemes abusing FinCEN’s name, insignia, and authorities for financial gain. These FinCEN-specific fraud schemes include scams that exploit beneficial ownership information reporting; misuse FinCEN’s Money Services Business Registration tool; or involve the impersonation of, or misrepresent affiliation…
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement
December 18, 2024 / Source: FRB
Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated. The Committee seeks to achieve maximum…
OCC Reports Mortgage Performance for Third Quarter of 2024
December 17, 2024 / Source: OCC
WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported on the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the third quarter of 2024. The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Third Quarter 2024 showed that 97.4 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, a slight…
Treasury Disrupts North Korean Digital Assets Money Laundering Network
December 17, 2024 / Source: Treasury
WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning two individuals and one entity involved in a network that launders millions of dollars of illicit funds generated by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) information technology (IT) workers and cybercrime to support the DPRK Government. Based in…
CFPB Report Finds Mortgage Companies Create Obstacles for Homeowners After Death or Divorce
December 17, 2024 / Source: CFPB
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report on the experiences of homeowners dealing with their mortgage company after divorce or the death of an original borrower. Many homeowners report that their servicers push them to take on new, higher-interest loans instead of keeping their existing mortgage. Homeowners also report recurring requests from…
CFPB Finalizes Rule to Protect Homeowners on Solar Panel Loans and Other Home Improvement Loans Paid Back Through Property Taxes
December 17, 2024 / Source: CFPB
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule mandated by Congress that applies existing residential mortgage protections to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans. PACE loans are used by homeowners for clean energy upgrades and disaster readiness that are paid back through their property tax bills. Because of concerns about subprime-style lending that…
Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies Release 2023 Small Business, Small Farm, and Community Development Lending Data
December 16, 2024 / Source: FFIEC
The federal bank regulatory agencies, as members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), today released data on small business, small farm, and community development lending during 2023. The Community Reinvestment Act regulations require the agencies to annually disclose these data.The FFIEC also prepared aggregate disclosure statements of small business and small farm lending…
OCC Reports on Key Risks in Federal Banking System
December 16, 2024 / Source: OCC
WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today reported the key issues facing the federal banking system in its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Fall 2024. The OCC reported that the strength of the federal banking system remains sound. The OCC expects banks to remain diligent and adhere to prudent risk management practices across all…
CFPB Uncovers Illegal Practices Across Student Loan Refinancing, Servicing, and Debt Collection
December 16, 2024 / Source: CFPB
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights describing a range of unlawful activities identified by CFPB examiners across student loan markets. The report covers violations related to student loan refinancing, private lending and servicing, debt collection, and federal loan servicing. “Companies break the law when they mislead…
Data Spotlight: Credit card cash advance fees spike after legalization of sports gambling
December 16, 2024 / Source: CFPB
Sports gambling, particularly through online sports betting platforms, is now legal in 38 states, with nearly $120 billion wagered last year . Some consumers placing bets may be in for a shock, finding their credit card issuer charged $10 or more in “cash advance” fees and added interest for each sports gambling transaction made with a credit…
CFPB Report Finds Significant Drop in Annual Mortgage Applications and Originations in 2023
December 15, 2024 / Source: CFPB
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual report on trends in the residential mortgage lending market. 2023 showed a significant decline in mortgage lending activities, with loan applications and originations dropping by about a third from 2022. The decline was more prominent in refinancing activity than home purchase, with single-family…
2023 Mortgage Market Activity and Trends
December 15, 2024 / Source: CFPB
This Report provides an overview of residential mortgage lending in 2023 based on the data collected under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). HMDA is a data collection, reporting, and disclosure statute enacted in 1975. HMDA data are used to assist in determining whether financial institutions are serving the housing credit needs of their local…
CFPB Closes Overdraft Loophole to Save Americans Billions in Fees
December 12, 2024 / Source: CFPB
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action to close an outdated overdraft loophole that exempted overdraft loans from lending laws. The agency’s final rule on overdraft fees applies to the banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets that dominate the U.S. market. The reforms will allow large banks several…