Compliance Blog

Written by Brandy Bruyere, Vice President of Regulatory Compliance, NAFCU

Twice a year, the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs releases a consolidated agenda of the various federal regulators’ ongoing and new initiatives. The agenda can be a peek at what rulemaking activities are planned in the near future for agencies like the NCUA, Bureau, FinCEN and others are working on.

NCUA

NCUA has the following items listed as in the proposed rule stage. The first item on supervisory committee audits is the only proposal appearing for the first time on the unified agenda. Also several of these proposals have already been published:

• Supervisory Committee Audits and Verifications, which will be a proposal “to amend…regulations governing the responsibilities of the Supervisory Committee to obtain an annual audit of its credit union.” This is part of NCUA’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and “will provide added flexibility.”
• Alternative Capital (an advance notice of proposed rulemaking was published in February 2017; the agenda estimates publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in December 2018)
• Real Estate Appraisals (proposal approved at the September 2018 Board meeting)
• FCU Bylaws (proposal issued at last week’s NCUA Board meeting)
• Fidelity Bond and Insurance Coverage for FCUs
• Loans to Members and Lines of Credit to Members (Proposed on August 2, 2018)

NCUA has the following items as being in the final rule stage, all of which have appeared on past regulatory agendas:

• Loans in Areas Having Special Flood Hazards – Private Flood Insurance (the agenda estimates publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in February 2019)
• Payday Alternative Loans (the agenda estimates publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in December 2018)
• Technical amendments to various regulations to “correct minor errors and update and clarify definitions and other outdated provisions.”

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

The Bureau also has a few things worth noting on its agenda. Some relate to implementation of S.2155, others follow up on past indications by the agency to revisit rulemakings like HMDA and the payday lending rule.

Prerule activity:

• Implementing S.2155’s amendments to the higher priced mortgage loan rule’s escrow requirement (the agenda estimates “prerule activity” in June 2019)
• Property Assessed Clean Energy Loans (also implements S.2155, the agenda estimates an advance notice of proposed rulemaking or request for information in February 2019)
• Public Release of HMDA Data (the agenda estimates publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in May 2019)

Proposed Rule Stage

• HMDA, following up on a December 2017 announcement that the Bureau “intends to…reconsider various aspects of” the 2015 HMDA rule which largely went into effect on January 1, 2018)
• Debt Collection Rule (the agenda estimates publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in March 2019)

• Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans (the agenda estimates publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in January 2019)
• The Expedited Funds Availability Act (Regulation CC – note, this item has been on the Bureau’s rulemaking agenda since 2011)

Final Rule Stage

• Technical Specifications for Submissions to the Prepaid Account Agreements Database (the agenda estimates publication of a final rule in February 2019)

FinCEN

FinCEN also has a couple of items on its rulemaking agenda that may be worth watching:

• Notice of proposed rulemaking on Cross-Border Electronic Transmittals of Funds (the agenda estimates publication in approximately January 2019, and this follows up on a prior notice of proposed rulemaking from September 2010)
• Advance notice of proposed rulemaking on Anti-Money Laundering Program Requirements for Persons Involved in Real Estate Closings and Settlements (the agenda estimates publication in approximately November 2018)

Department of Labor – Fiduciary Duty Rule

Finally, while some may have seen the DOL held listening sessions related to its overtime pay rule, the DOL has on its agenda the fiduciary duty rule which was struck down by a federal appellate court in March 2018. This item is labeled as “deregulatory” with an approximate final rule date of September 2019.

As usual, NAFCU's team will be monitoring various regulators' rulemaking activities as we turn the corner into another year. If you are not already subscribed, our news publication NAFCU Today can be a helpful addition to your list, providing up-to-the-minute information on key legislative, regulatory and compliance issues facing credit unions.