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Advocacy
ICBA-Backed “Qualified Mortgage” Accommodations Make News
Accommodations
for community banks in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final “qualified mortgage” rule have been making news. Exemptions from the ability-to-repay rule for community banks with less than $2 billion in assets were featured in The Washington Post, The Washington Times, CNNMoney, The Hill and other news outlets.
The Post reported that ICBA fought hard to exempt community banks from the rule, while CNNMoney noted that the legal protection is a significant win for ICBA members.
The CFPB’s final rule, which takes effect Jan. 10, 2014, provides a safe harbor for loans that satisfy the definition of a qualified mortgage and are not deemed to be “higher-priced” loans, which will help avoid unnecessary litigation. Further, the rule treats balloon-payment loans as qualified mortgages if they are originated and held in portfolio by small creditors operating predominantly in rural or underserved areas.
The CFPB is also seeking comment on modifications to the final rule that would extend the safe harbor designation to additional loans originated and held in portfolio by community banks with less than $2 billion in assets.
In
a national news release, ICBA said provisions of the rule structuring the qualified mortgage standard as a legal safe harbor and treating certain balloon-payment loans as qualified mortgages will help Main Street lenders continue meeting the needs of their customers.
At a CFPB field hearing on the rule, ICBA Senior Executive Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations Karen Thomas said that the association repeatedly urged the CFPB and other regulators to tailor the rules to prevent community banks from ceasing or significantly curtailing mortgage lending.
Regulation
Feds Order JPMorgan Corrective Actions After Trading Losses
Federal regulators issued two cease-and-desist orders against JPMorgan Chase following the megabank’s $6 billion trading loss last year. The first order requires JPMorgan to take corrective action to enhance its risk management and compliance programs, as well as its finance and internal audit functions, particularly in regard to its Chief Investment Office. JPMorgan announced last May that it lost billions due to trading in credit default swaps out of the institution’s London investment office.
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Regulation
OCC Names New Chief Counsel
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
named Amy Friend as the agency’s chief counsel. She succeeds Julie L.Williams, who retired from the OCC at the end of 2012. Friend served as chief counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, where she helped develop the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Friend, a former assistant chief counsel at the OCC, will return to the agency next month.
Regulation
FDIC Board Meeting Today on Higher-Risk Mortgage Appraisals
The
FDIC board of directors will meet at 10 a.m. (Eastern time) today to consider a final rule to establish new appraisal requirements on higher-risk mortgages. The agenda also includes a notice of proposed rule on retaining records of an insured depository institution in receivership.
Tomorrow, the National Association of Home Builders releases its December builder-confidence index, followed by the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book of regional economic conditions.
Poll
This Week’s Quick Poll
Take this week’s Quick
Poll on the regulatory environment, and review the previous poll on the 2013 community banking outlook. View the Archive.
Education
Advanced BIS Auditing Seminar in April
ICBA
is hosting a hands-on, interactive course on auditing Windows workstations and servers to identify missing security patches, common weak configurations, unsupported operating systems and more. Advanced BIS Auditing, scheduled for April 22-23 in Minneapolis, will methodically walk through how to use available tools to identify vulnerabilities and the configuration settings needed to harden weak configurations.
Products and Services
Bank Valuation Webinar: Why and How to Value Your Stock—Now
Whether
banks are privately held or publicly traded, a new year typically brings with it transactions involving the fair market value of their stock, such as stock options, stock offerings and acquisition opportunities. Too often, critical decisions about valuations are loaded with questions and guesses. Get practical answers at 2 p.m. (Eastern time) Wednesday, Jan. 16, at a webinar hosted by QwickRate, an ICBA Preferred Service Provider. Experts will discuss the key factors that determine a bank’s value and explain the valuation process using a privately held bank as an example. Register Online.
Products and Services
Webinars This Week on Investing in Time Management
Investment Centers of America Inc., an ICBA Preferred Service Provider, is hosting a free webinar, “It’s Your Time: Are You Spending it or Investing it?” Senior Vice President of Practice Management Jim Komoszewski will provide a comprehensive overview of time management. Attendees will receive strategies to leverage their time and manage their priorities to help uncover opportunities and optimize business plans. Register online for 11 a.m. (Eastern time) today and 4:30
p.m. (Eastern time) this Thursday.
Products and Services
Latest
ICBA Compliance Newsletter Now Available
ICBA Compliance and Risk Management released the latest edition of its compliance newsletter in conjunction with strategic ally Chartwell Compliance. The latest Chartwell Compass publication features articles on social media, the Bank Secrecy Act, recent rulemakings and more.
ICBA
also recently announced new enhancements to its ICBA Compliance HelpDesk to provide member bank subscribers with Web-based access to seasoned consultants from Chartwell Compliance. ICBA Compliance HelpDesk members will have access to critical services such as review and preparation of compliance policies; assistance with regulatory relationships and examinations; and help with enforcement and corrective actions. Learn More.
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