Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, a moment that passed with almost no fanfare.  The most public event was the release of staff report by the House Financial Services that is critical of the provisions in Titles I and II that purport to end the too-big-to-fail phenomenon.The Committee will hold a hearing on the report tomorrow, July 23.

For community banks, there were somewhat more mundane, but nevertheless important developments from the FDIC: proposed changes to the deposit insurance risk-based assessment process, and guidance for state nonmember banks on agricultural lending, the reporting of international remittances, and dividend payments by S-corporations.  The FDIC also published a report on minority-owned depository institutions, which will be a subject of the meeting tomorrow of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Community Banking.

The full set of developments over the past week was as follows:

The Economy

  • Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress (July 15, 16).
  • Federal Reserve Beige Book released (July 16).
    • "All twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity continued to expand since the previous report. The pace of economic growth was characterized as moderate in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco, while the remaining Districts reported modest expansion. Compared to the previous reporting period, Boston and Richmond noted a slightly slower pace of growth. Most Districts were optimistic about the outlook for growth."
    • "Overall consumer spending increased in every District. Retail sales grew modestly in most Districts, with increases that were generally similar to the previous reporting period."
    • "Activity in the nonfinancial services sector continued to grow across all Districts at a modest to moderate pace."
    • "Reports on real estate activity varied across the Districts. Many Districts reported low inventories and increasing home prices, but demand was mixed."
    • "Loan volumes rose across the nation, with slight to moderate increases reported in most Districts. Credit quality remained stable or improved slightly in most Districts, while San Francisco noted a slight decline."
    • "Labor market conditions improved, as all twelve Districts reported slight to moderate employment growth."
    • Available at http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beigebook/default.htm.

Agricultural Loans

  • FDIC releases Prudent Management of Agricultural Credits Through Economic Cycles, FIL-39-2014(July 16).
    • "Agricultural lenders are reminded to maintain practices that focus on a borrower's cash flow across a range of future conditions."
    • "Management should consider, but not rely unduly on, secondary repayment sources and collateral positions."
    • "Lenders should carefully consider and closely monitor cyclical factors, such as land values, before and after making credit decisions."
    • "Management should be cognizant of speculation in agricultural land or commodities."
    • "Management should identify and effectively manage credit concentrations."
    • "Lenders should work constructively with borrowers experiencing financial difficulties."
    • FIL-39-2014 available at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2014/fil14039.html.
    • Replaces FIL-85-2010.

Call Reports

Capital

CFPB

Dodd-Frank Anniversary

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac

  • FHFA Inspector General releases Recent Trends in the Enterprises' Purchases of Mortgages from Smaller Lenders and Nonbank Mortgage Companies (July 17).
    • Reduced concentration risk; increased counterparty credit risk.
    • Evaluation Report, EVL-2014-010, available at http://fhfaoig.gov/.

Fees and Assessments

  • FDIC issues proposal to revise risk-based assessment system for deposit insurance to reflect new regulatory capital rules.
    • Conforms capital ratios and ratio thresholds in assessment system to new prompt corrective action capital ratios and ratio thresholds.
    • Conforms assessment base calculation for custodial banks to new asset risk weights using standardized approach.
    • Requires that all highly complex institutions measure counterparty exposure for assessment purposes using standardized approach.
    • FIL-37-2014 (July 15), available at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2014/fil14037.html.
    • Comment deadline: 60 days from publication in Federal Register.
  • OCC releases interim calendar year 2014 fees and expenses structure (July 14).

Minority-Owned Banks

  • Minority Depository Institutions: Structure, Performance, and Social Impact, FDIC Report (July 21).
    • "While the report notes that MDIs underperform non-MDI institutions in terms of standard industry measures of financial performance, it concludes that these organizations often promote the economic viability of minority and underserved communities, that is, populations that are underserved by mainstream financial institutions."  (FDIC press release.)
    • Part of FDIC Community Banking Initiative.
    • To be included in FDIC Quarterly 2014, vol. 8, no. 3; available now at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2014/pr14059.html.

Mortgage Servicing

Prepaid Cards

  • CFPB begins accepting consumer complaints (July 21).

S-corporations

  • FDIC issues guidance (FIL-40-2014) on dividends to cover tax payments where dividends not otherwise permitted.  See Capital above.  Prerequisites: dividend may not exceed 40% of net income; bank must be rated CAMELS 1 or 2, with no written supervisory directive; and bank must remain at least adequately capitalized after dividend.

Swaps and Derivatives

  • Keynote address by CFTC Commissioner O'Malia, see Dodd-Frank Anniversary above.

Bank Closings

  • Eastside Commercial Bank (Conyers GA) (July 18).
    • All deposits assumed by Community & Southern Bank (Atlanta GA).

Congressional Hearings

Upcoming Events

  • July 22
    • Senate Banking Committee hearing.
      • "Building Economically Resilient Communities: Local and Regional Approaches."
  • July 22-23
    • OCC bank director workshops, "Compliance Risk" and "Risk Assessment" (Minneapolis MN).
  • July 23
    • SEC full Commission open meeting.
    • House Financial Services Committee hearing.
      • "Assessing the Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act Four Years Later."
    • FDIC Advisory Committee on Community Banking open meeting.
    • OCC Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee public meeting.
  • July 23-24
    • Joint Mutual Forum hosted by FDIC and OCC.
  • July 24
    • House Financial Services Committee hearing.
      • "Oversight of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance."
  • July 25
    • SEC full Commission open meeting.
  • July 28-30
    • OCC bank director workshop, "Mastering the Basics: A Director's Challenge" (Columbus OH).
  • July 29-30
    • FOMC meeting.
  • July 29
    • Don't Forget About Deposit Regulations, FDIC Chicago Region regulatory conference call.
  • July 31
    • Model Approaches to Community Bank/CDFI Partnerships, FDIC webinar.
  • Aug. 5-6
    • OCC workshops, Compliance Risk and Risk Assessment, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations, Syracuse NY.
  • Aug. 21
    • Risk Management – Corporate Governance, teleconference by FDIC San Francisco Regional Office.
  • Sept. 23-24
    • Community Banking in the 21st Century, Federal Reserve System/CSBS Second Annual Community Banking Research Conference. 
  • Oct. 16-17
    • FDIC annual Consumer Research Symposium.

Regulatory Comment Deadlines

  • Aug. 4 – FHFA: Fannie and Freddie guarantee fees.  
  • Aug. 4 – CFTC: position limits on physical commodity derivatives and aggregation.  
  • Aug. 11 – OCC: integration of national bank and federal savings association rules on corporate activities and transactions.  
  • Aug. 11 – Federal Reserve: shift in 12-month cycle for capital planning and stress testing.  
  • Aug. 22 – Federal Reserve/FDIC/OCC: changes to Schedules RC-R and RC-L of call report.  
  • 30 days from publication in Federal Register – CFPB: expansion of consumer complaint database to include personal narratives.  
  • Sept. 2 – Federal Reserve/FDIC/OCC: regulatory burden with respect to applications and reporting, powers and activities, and international operations.  
  • Sept. 2 – OCC/FDIC: shift in 12-month cycle for capital planning and stress testing.  
  • Sept. 10 – CFPB: request for information on mobile financial services.  
  • 60 days from publication in Federal Register – FDIC: changes to risk-based deposit insurance assessment system.