|
|
|
View all ACB Services and Products
|
|
|
|
| |
Bill to Simplify Volcker Rule, Exempt Smaller Banks Passed
A bipartisan House vote of 300 to 104 passed H.R. 4790, a bill introduced by  Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) that would simplify the Volcker Rule. The bill designates the Federal Reserve as the rulemaking agency over all affiliates in a banking group and delegates examination and enforcement authority to a bank's primary federal banking agency. It also provides a clear exemption from the Volcker Rule for banks that have $10 billion or less in consolidated assets.
|
Phase-in for Regulatory Capital Effects of CECL Proposed
A new joint proposal from the Federal Reserve, FDIC and the OCC will give  banks the option to phase in the regulatory capital effects of the Current Expected Credit Loss standard, the Federal Reserve announced today. The agencies will accept comments on the proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The CECL standard, which goes into effect in 2020 for SEC registrants and 2021 for other banks, requires an estimate of expected credit losses over the life of the portfolio to be effectively recorded upon origination. However, under the proposal, banks will have the option of phasing in the day-one regulatory capital effects of CECL over three years.
In addition to technical changes related to large banks, the agencies also proposed to exclude consideration of CECL within stress testing until the 2020 cycle. This would avoid splitting two different accounting standards within the nine-quarter forecasting horizon.
The Proposal >
|
CFPB 'Opening' Rules in Search of 'Unnecessary Burden'
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is revisiting several rules as it  considers whether they impose "unnecessary burden or restrict consumer choice," Acting Director Mick Mulvaney told the House Financial Services Committee today. Specifically, he said, the bureau is revisiting the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data expansion and its small-dollar loan rule.
"Regarding HMDA, the bureau intends to open a rulemaking to reconsider various aspects of the 2015 HMDA rule, such as reporting thresholds and transactional coverage and reconsider data points not mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act," Mulvaney said. He also explained that the federal banking agencies' goal with supervising HMDA compliance is "to help companies identify any weaknesses" and that they "will credit good-faith efforts to comply."
Mulvaney Testimony >
|
House Ag Committee Chairman Releases Farm Bill
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-Texas) introduced  a draft farm bill, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2).
The legislation would make modest changes to current programs while protecting crop insurance and reauthorizing the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs.
The draft bill would raise guaranteed farm loan limits to $1.75 million from $1.4 million, less than advocated by ICBA. ICBA is reviewing the language.
Democrats are expected to oppose the legislation due to changes to the nutrition title, which could make passage on the House floor difficult.
The House Agriculture Committee intends to begin marking up the bill this week. The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to hold a markup next month.
ICBA recently released a "Focus on Farm Policy" white paper outlining principles and proposed solutions for the new multi-year farm bill. The current bill expires Sept. 30.
Bill Text and Summary >
ICBA White Paper >
|
The Federal Open Market Committee agreed that a strengthening economy  supported "future gradual increases," according to the minutes from the March 20-21 meeting. During the meeting, committee members decided to lift rates to 1.5 to 1.75 percent, after previously holding rates in January. They penciled in two more rate hikes in 2018 and three in 2019. The Committee will next meet in early May.
Committee members unanimously "viewed the recent data and other developments bearing on real economic activity as suggesting that the outlook for the economy beyond the current quarter had strengthened in recent months." As a result, the Committee strengthened their view that inflation would increase and stabilize around their stated 2 percent goal in the coming months. A tight labor market, new federal spending, tax cuts and weaker dollar should lead to greater price pressures.
The Committee noted concern as the Administration's recent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum increase the risk of retaliatory trade actions by other countries. "Contacts in the agricultural sector reported feeling particularly vulnerable to retaliation," the minutes read.
FOMC Minutes >
|
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) members issued a  joint statement to describe matters that financial institutions should consider if they are determining whether to use cyber insurance as a component of their risk management programs.
The FFIEC members do not require financial institutions to maintain cyber insurance. The evolving cyber insurance market and the shifting cyber threat landscape may, however, prompt financial institutions to consider whether cyber insurance would be an effective part of their overall risk management programs.
The joint statement notes that cyber attacks are increasing in volume and sophistication and that traditional general liability insurance policies may not provide effective coverage for all potential exposures caused by cyber events. Cyber insurance could offset financial losses from a variety of exposures-including data breaches resulting in the loss of confidential information-that may not be covered by more traditional insurance policies. Financial institution management should assess the scope of coverage of current insurance and consider how cyber insurance may fit into the institution's overall risk management framework.
As with any insurance coverage, cyber insurance does not diminish the importance of a sound control environment. Rather, cyber insurance may be a component of a broader risk management strategy that includes identifying, measuring, mitigating, and monitoring cyber risk exposure.
Joint Statement >
|
Record Number of College Students Enter Nationwide Community Bank Competition
Case Studies Evaluate How Community Banks Approach Technology
CSBS has announced a record number of college student teams have submitted  case studies for the 2018 Community Bank Case Study Competition. This year's competition focuses on how community banks are using technology.
Fifty-one student teams from 45 colleges and universities across the nation met the April 9 deadline. Last year, 33 teams participated. Students from the University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University (4 teams) are included in the competition. This is the fourth year of the competition, which is open to undergraduate students in all fields of study as an opportunity to gain valuable first-hand knowledge of the banking industry.
"We are very excited to see such a strong interest in community banking from students and academics," said CSBS Senior Executive Vice President Michael Stevens. "These case studies tell valuable stories about community banks and the role they play in the economy, and we are very interested in what they say about financial innovations."
The case studies will undergo three rounds of judging by three separate panels of banking experts. The top three scoring teams will be announced on May 10 during the CSBS State-Federal Supervisors Symposium in Jacksonville, Fla. The announcement will be streamed live on the competition website at www.csbs.org/bankcasestudy.
The student teams compete for an academic scholarship, a chance to get their work published in an academic journal and an opportunity to attend the sixth annual CSBS-Federal Reserve Community Banking Research Conference, held in St. Louis this October.
|
The U.S. Secret Service recently warned financial institutions about a new scam  involving the theft of chip-based debit cards issued to large corporations.
According to an alert that was sent to banks last month and picked up by the Krebs on Security blog, the scheme involves fraudsters who intercept new debit cards in the mail and replace the chips with those from old cards.
When the unsuspecting business receives and activates the modified card, thieves can start draining funds from the account.
More >
|
|
|
|
|
