What's New? Fair Hiring in Banking Act (FHBA)

The FDIC has finalized a rule easing restrictions on bank hiring of job candidates with criminal histories, to conform its rules with the Fair Hiring in Banking Act (FHBA). This rule is effective October 1, 2024.

Read more about Fair Hiring in Banking Act in The Gold Book, Human Resources chapter.

Remittance Transfers Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E)

The CFPB has issued guidance to prevent banks from charging overdraft fees to a consumer where the banks have no evidence that they obtained the consumer’s consent for the overdraft. The CFPB’s guidance released on September 17 clarifies that a bank can be found in violation of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and its federal implementing rule, Regulation E, if the bank cannot produce evidence that it obtained affirmative consent from a consumer to enroll in covered overdraft services that resulted in charging overdraft fees to the consumer. The requirement to obtain the affirmative consent of a consumer for covered overdraft services applies to fees for overdraft loans to cover ATM and one-time debit transactions. The requirement does not apply to overdraft fees charged on paper checks, recurring debit transactions, or ACH transactions. Banks found to have violated the EFTA’s opt-in requirement can be liable for refunding affected consumers and paying monetary penalties. Click here for a copy of the CFPB’s guidance.

What's New? Exemptions for Appraisal Requirements for Higher-priced Mortgage Loans

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that the 2025 threshold for higher-priced mortgage loans that are subject to special appraisal requirements will increase from $32,400 to $33,500.

The threshold amount will be effective January 1, 2025, and is based on the 3.4 percent annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as CPI-W, as of June 1, 2024.

Read more in the Truth in Lending (Reg Z) chapter of The Gold Book under Higher Priced Mortgage Loans >> Appraisal Rule.

What's New? FDIC Official Sign and Advertising Q&As

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently published a series of Questions and Answers (Q&As) related to the final rule governing FDIC Official Signs and Advertising Requirements, False Advertising, Misrepresentation of Insured Status, and Misuse of the FDIC Name or Logo (part 328). The Q&As are a collection of the most frequently asked questions that the FDIC has received to date from stakeholders, including banks, trade associations, technology companies, vendors, and other entities. The Q&As provide clarifying information on the final rule to support stakeholders in the implementation of part 328.

Read more in The Gold Book in the FDIC chapter, Official Sign, and the Q&As in the Federal Decisions and Opinions chapter.

What's New? Guidance on Third Party Delivery of Deposit Products and Services

On July 25, 2024, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a joint statement to banks regarding risks associated with working with third parties to provide bank deposit products and services to customers. 

Read more here in The Gold Book under sections Federal Decisions and Opinions, Federal Joint Agency Guidance.

RMD Final Regulations Issued

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations updating the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules. The final regulations reflect changes made by the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act impacting retirement plan participants, IRA owners and their beneficiaries. While certain changes were made in response to comments received on the proposal, the final regulations generally follow the original plan. 

Read more in The Gold Book under Mandatory Distributions.

CFPB Proposes Rules to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently proposed new rules to make it easier for homeowners to get help when they are struggling to pay their mortgage. The proposal, if finalized, would require mortgage servicers to focus on helping borrowers, not foreclosing, when a homeowner asks for help. The proposed changes would also make it simpler for servicers to offer assistance by reducing paperwork requirements, improve communication with borrowers, and ensure critical information is provided in languages borrowers understand. 

The new provisions would not apply to small servicers. All existing requirements remain in effect until the effective date of a final rule.

What's New? Final RMD Rules Effective 1/1/25

On July 18, 2024, the IRS released final regulations updating the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules for retirement plans. The final regulations, which reflect certain changes made by the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act, largely follow proposed regulations issued in 2022 (the 2022 proposed regulations). The final regulations are effective January 1, 2025. Read more in The Gold Book under Mandatory Distributions. 

What's New? 2025 Increase to NY Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in New York State is scheduled to increase by 50 cents in 2025.

The raise is set to take effect on Jan. 1, according to the State Labor Department. The increase will bring the minimum wage to $16.50 an hour in New York City, Westchester County and on Long Island. In the rest of the state, including Upstate New York, the new minimum wage will be $15.50 an hour. See more in The Gold Book under New York Minimum Wage.

What's New? Guide to HMDA Reporting Updated.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has revised “A Guide to HMDA Reporting: Getting it Right!” for 2024. This updated guide assists banks in complying with the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Regulation C, incorporating changes to the asset-size exemption threshold effective January 1, 2024. It is specifically relevant to community banks subject to HMDA data collection and reporting requirements.

The Guide is a valuable resource for assisting all institutions in their HMDA reporting. It includes a summary of responsibilities and requirements, directions for assembling the necessary tools, and instructions for reporting HMDA data. Read more in The Gold Book.

A Guide to HMDA Reporting: Getting It Right!

What's New? Final Rule for Automated Valuation Models (AVMs)

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today approved a final rule to implement quality control standards for automated valuation models used by mortgage originators and secondary market issuers in valuing residential real estate collateral securing mortgage loans. Read more about the final AVM rule here. 

What's New? 23 BOI Filing Exemptions

On January 1, 2021, Congress enacted the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. Within that act and as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, Congress enacted what we now know as the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The CTA requires certain entities, both domestic and foreign, to file a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report, which provides information about their owners, management, and individuals who assisted in the creation of the entities, with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The CTA issued a Small Entity Compliance Guide providing an overview of the CTA, guidance on how one might go about determining whether a company is, or is not, a reporting company for CTA purposes, an explanation of the process of determining who is deemed a beneficial owner under the CTA, and finally, the 23 exemptions provided in the CTA and addresses key points to note.

Read more about BOI Filing Exemptions in Beneficial Ownership section of The Gold Book. 

What's New? Small Business Lending Rule

The CFPB is extending compliance deadlines for the small business lending rule. After the CFPB issued this rule on March 30, 2023, some lenders filed challenges against it in federal court. The compliance dates have been extended accordingly. Read more about the Small Business Lending Rule and the extended compliance dates in The Gold Book. 

What's New? Reg CC Threshold Adjustments

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are amending Regulation CC, which implements the Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFA Act), to adjust for inflation dollar amounts relating to availability of funds. In 2019, the Board and the CFPB finalized a rule that formally set a methodology for inflation adjustments which occur every five years. The new threshold amounts may be found in The Gold Book, Electronic Funds Availability Act chapter.

NACHA Rule Update

On March 18, Nacha, the organization that governs the ACH network, announced that its members approved a new set of rules aimed at reducing the incidence of frauds, such as business email compromise (BEC), that exploit credit-push payments. These rules establish a base level of ACH payment monitoring for all parties in the ACH Network, excluding consumers. While these rules do not alter the liability for ACH payments, they do, for the first time, assign a defined role to receiving depository financial institutions (RDFIs) in monitoring the ACH payments they receive.

The first amendment becomes effective October 1, 2024 and does the following:

• Allows an RDFI to use return reason code R17 to return an entry that it thinks is fraudulent.
• Expands the use of request for return (R06) for the originating depository financial institution (ODFI) to request a return from the RDFI for any reason.
• Provides RDFIs with an additional exemption from the funds availability requirements to include credit entries that the RDFI suspects are originated under false pretenses.
• Provides that a written statement of unauthorized debit (WSUD) may be signed and dated by the receiver on or after the date on which the entry is presented to the receiver (either by posting to the account or by notice of a pending transaction), even if the debit has not yet been posted to the account.
• Requires the RDFI to return a consumer debit that has been claimed to be unauthorized by the opening of the sixth banking day following the completion of its review of the consumer’s signed WSUD.

The second phase of amendments becomes effective on March 20, 2026.

The Gold Book will be updated accordingly as the compliance date(s) approaches.

What's New? Risk Management: Third Party Relationships

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued joint interagency guidance in 2023 to all banking organizations supervised by the agencies on managing risks associated with third-party relationships. Read more under Risk Management: Third Party Relationships in the Compliance chapter of The Gold Book. 

What's New? New FLSA Overtime Exemption Regulations

On April 23, the Biden Administration released final regulations which significantly limit overtime exemptions for financial institutions. The regulations, effective July 1, raise the salary requirement to $43,888 per year. Then the required salary payment increases further to $58,656 effective January 1, 2025. That is a dramatic change to the current $35,568 requirement. The new regulations include other changes such as automatic salary updates, which will also create compliance obstacles. Read more under Overtime Pay in the Human Resources chapter of The Gold Book. 

What's New? NYS Exemption for Restraining Notices and Levies Increased

Under New York’s Exempt Income Protection Act (“EIPA”), certain funds in deposit accounts are exempt from most restraining notices and levies. One exemption under the EIPA is for the direct deposit or electronic payment of certain statutorily exempt funds (such as social security) into a deposit account, with the amount of the exemption adjusted every three years based on inflation. That amount has increased to $3,425 as of April 1, 2024. See Exemptions to Adverse Claims, New York Rules in The Gold Book for further details.

Beneficial Ownership Small Entity Compliance Guide

FinCEN has publishing a Small Entity Compliance Guide to help small entities comply with the requirements of the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Rule. In particular, small entities may have new requirements under the Reporting Rule.

Click here for the Small Entity Compliance Guide.

Click here to read more about the Beneficial Ownership Rules in The Gold Book. 

CFPB Proposes Rule to Stop New Junk Fees on Bank Accounts

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed to block banks and other financial institutions from one potential source of new junk fee revenue – fees on transactions declined right at the swipe, tap, or click. The proposed rule would prohibit non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees on transactions that financial institutions decline in real time. These types of transactions include declined debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals, as well as some declined peer-to-peer payments. The CFPB’s proposal is part of the agency’s proactive approach to protect consumers, and it would cover banks, credit unions, and certain peer-to-peer payment companies.