What's New? 2016 Cost-of-Living Adjustments

The Internal Revenue Service announced cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2016. In general, the pension plan limitations will not change for 2016 because the increase in the cost-of-living index did not meet the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment.

However, other limitations will change because the increase in the index did meet the statutory thresholds.

See the following sections in The Gold Book for updates:

Income phase-out for IRA deductions, click here.

Roth IRA contribution phase-out, click here.

AGI limit for Saver's Credit, click here.

Cost-of Living Chart, click here.

What's New? Chip Card POS Technology

Most credit card issuers in the United States and over 80 countries worldwide have adopted chip card technology, also known as EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa). 

Beginning today, banks and other card issuers may be liable for fraudulant credit or debit card activity if this technology has not been adopted. 

Read more in The Gold Book.

What's New?: ATR/QM Rule & High Cost Mortgage Rule Updates

The CFPB has updated the loan amounts for points and fees calculations under the Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortage rule and High-Cost Mortgage Rule. These amounts have been updated for inflation and are effective beginning January 1, 2016. 

See Qualified Mortgages: Limitations and High-Cost Mortgages in The Gold Book.

Free FDIC Seminars

The FDIC will conduct live seminars on FDIC deposit insurance coverage for bank employees and bank officers between September 24, 2015, and December 2, 2015.

In addition, the FDIC has developed three separate Deposit Insurance Coverage Seminars for bank officers and employees, which are now available on FDIC's YouTube channel.

Both the live and the YouTube deposit insurance coverage seminars will provide bank employees with an understanding of how to calculate deposit insurance coverage. The live seminars each provide a comprehensive overview of FDIC deposit insurance. The three YouTube seminars cover: Fundamentals of Deposit Insurance Coverage; Deposit Insurance Coverage for Revocable Trust Accounts; and Advanced Topics in Deposit Insurance Coverage.

Click here for more information.

What's New? Final Rule for Loans in Areas Having Special Flood Hazards

The FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Farm Credit Administration approved the issuance of a joint final rule to amend their respective regulations regarding loans in special flood hazard areas. The final rule amends the FDIC's flood insurance regulation, at Part 339 of Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to incorporate and implement certain provisions in the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW Act) and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA) regarding detached structures, force placement of flood insurance, and escrowing of flood insurance premiums and fees.

Read more in The Gold Book:

Flood Insurance Escrow Requirements

Force Placed Insurance

Detached Structures

Federal Reserve announces steering committees of new Payments Task Forces

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced the members of the steering committees of both the Faster Payments Task Force and Secure Payments Task Force described in the Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System paper released in January 2015. Representatives were elected by the membership to represent stakeholder categories within each task force. Three appointments were made by the Federal Reserve task force chair to ensure that stakeholder perspectives were sufficiently represented.

The steering committees will advise the Federal Reserve task force chair on meeting agendas and assist in prioritizing the various task force activities. The committees will also assist in establishing and recommending the scope of work groups, synthesizing task force perspectives and determining items in need of task force deliberation.

More information may be found at www.fedpaymentsimprovement.org

What's New? Flood Insurance Escrow Requirements

On June 22, the federal banking agencies issued a joint final rule that modifies the mandatory purchase of flood insurance regulations to implement some provisions of the Biggert-Waters and Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Acts.

Notable highlights include that the final rule, among other things: (i) expands escrow requirements for lenders who do not qualify for a small lender exception, (ii) clarifies the detached structure exemption, (iii) introduces new and revised sample notice forms and clauses relating to the escrow requirement and the availability of private flood insurance, and (iv) clarifies the circumstances under which lenders and servicers may charge borrowers for lender-placed flood insurance coverage.

The escrow provisions and sample notice forms will become effective on January 1, 2016, and all other provisions will become effective October 1, 2015. The agencies reminded that the escrow provisions in effect on July 5, 2012, the day before Biggert-Waters was enacted, will remain in effect and be enforced through December 31, 2015.

Read more in The Gold Book, chapter Flood Insurance Escrow Requirements.

What's New? Host Loan-to-Deposit Ratios

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently issued the host state loan-to-deposit ratios that they will use to determine compliance with section 109 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. These ratios update data released on July 2, 2014.

In general, section 109 prohibits a bank from establishing or acquiring a branch or branches outside of its home state primarily for the purpose of deposit production. Section 109 also prohibits branches of banks controlled by out-of-state bank holding companies from operating primarily for the purpose of deposit production.

Section 109 provides a process to test compliance with the statutory requirements.

The host state loan-to-deposit ratio information may be found in The Gold Book. 

What's New? ABLE Accounts

IRS recently issued a news release announcing Proposed Regulations that offer guidelines for new state-sponsored ABLE Accounts for People with Disabilities. The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act recognizes the special financial burdens faced by families raising children with disabilities. ABLE accounts are designed to enable people with disabilities and their families to save for and pay for disability-related expenses. It also permits a state to establish and maintain a new type of tax-advantaged savings program (under Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code) for a qualified disabled person. Read more in The Gold Book, chapter ABLE Accounts.

What's New? Updated Flood Insurance Rules

On June 22, 2015, five federal regulatory agencies announced the approval of a joint final rule that modifies regulations that apply to loans secured by properties located in special flood hazard areas.  The final rule implements provisions of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA) relating to the escrowing of flood insurance payments and the exemption of certain detached structures from the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement.  The final rule also implements provisions in the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (the Biggert-Waters Act) relating to the force placement of flood insurance.

The Gold Book has been updated accordingly here.

CFPB Concern About Overdraft Practices

On June 11, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report on bank and credit union overdraft practices that raises concerns about whether the overdraft costs on consumer checking accounts can be anticipated and avoided. The report shows big differences across financial institutions when it comes to overdraft coverage on debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals, drawing into question how banks sell this account feature. The report also finds that consumers who opt in for overdraft coverage end up with more costs and more involuntary account closures.

As part of an on-going study, this month the CFPB asked Fiserv, a worldwide provider of financial services technology, to provide anonymous overdraft data for research purposes.  If the CFPB finds that policies or practices do not protect consumers in accordance with federal consumer protection law, it will use its authorities to provide such protection. The goal is to make checking accounts more fair, transparent, and competitive and to ensure consumers are empowered to take control over their economic lives.

The CFPB, which has been raising issues over banks’ overdraft practices since 2012, is soon expected to announce new regulations to address the concerns.

Additional information may be found on the CFPB website here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-report-raises-concerns-about-impact-of-overdraft-practices-on-consumers/

Bank Domain Names

The .bank domain is open to federally and state chartered financial institutions and provides marketing opportunities and enhanced security features such as better encryption and authentication.

Financial institutions owning federally-registered trademarks have only a few days left to secure their .bank domain before the general registration period opened on June 18, 2015. At that time domains can be purchased on a "first come, first served" basis and there is no guarantee a bank may be able to secure a .bank domain, even if it has a trademark for its name.

Qualified financial institutions must be registered with the Trademark Clearinghouse prior to seeking registration of a .bank domain. Once a mark has been registered with the Clearinghouse, the owner can register for other new top-level domains.

Banks with federally registered trademarks seeking to secure their .bank domain must act quickly to ensure that they can obtain .bank domains corresponding to their marks.

To read more on the topic, visit http://www.aba.com/Tools/Function/Cyber/Pages/dotbankfaq.aspx

What's New? Your Home Loan Banking Toolkit

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a toolkit, "Your Home Loan Banking Toolkit" to replace the Special Information Booklet prepared by HUD to assist borrowers in understanding the nature and cost of real estate settlement. The toolkit is designed to be used in connection with the new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms that will be effective on August 1, 2015. Creditors must provide the toolkit to mortgage applicants as a part of the application process. Read more in The Gold Book here.

Final Rule Integrating National Bank and Federal Savings Association Licensing Activities

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a final rule integrating policies and procedures for corporate activities and transactions of national banks and federal savings associations.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act transferred the former Office of Thrift Supervision’s functions relating to Federal savings associations to the OCC. Therefore, the OCC has been responsible for ongoing examination, supervision and regulation of Federal savings associations. Prior to issuing this final rule, the OCC had been maintaining one set of rules applicable to national banks and another set of rules for Federal savings associations.  The rule eliminates unnecessary requirements, promotes fairness in supervision, and furthers the safe and sound operation of the institutions the OCC supervises.

Read more in the Federal Register.

What's New? Privacy Notices

The alternative delivery method for annual privacy notices may be found at: Annual Privacy Notice.

What's New? Exempt Income Protection Act Increases

New York’s Exempt Income Protection Act (“EIPA”) permits certain funds in deposit accounts to be exempt from most restraining notices and levies. The amount of the exemption is set by statute, and increases every three years based on changes in the Consumer Price Index. The exemption amount has increased to $2,750 for 2015. See Exemptions in The Gold Book.

What's New? Elder Financial Exploitation

Federal and State regulators emphasize that financial institutions can play a key role in preventing elder financial exploitation.  Bank tellers and other staff, including those overseeing investment accounts or offering investment advice, are on the frontlines of combating elder financial exploitation.  These individuals frequently work directly with elderly customers and are in a unique position to observe potential “red flags” of abuse.  

See new section of The Gold Book, Elder Financial Exploitation for more information. 

What's New? Suspicious Activity Reports Completion Instructions

In accordance with recent changes made to the filing of Suspicious Reports and the release of the March 2015 FinCEN SAR Electronic Filing Requirements guide, several area of The Gold Book have been updated.

See: 

Suspicious Activity Reports Requirements Summary

Suspicious Activity Reports Completion Instructions

What's New? Checks for Forward Collection

Forward collection is the process by which a bank sends a check to a collecting bank for settlement or to a paying bank for payment. While domestic items are subject to Regulation CC, foreign items are subject to rules established by the International Chamber of Commerce. Read more in the new Gold Book section titled, Checks for Forward Collection.

What's New? Reg. Z Notice of Rescission

The United States Supreme Court recently handed down a very important decision for lenders and borrowers regarding the timeliness of a borrower’s right to rescission under Regulation Z, Truth in Lending Act. The decision provides clarification of a provision regarding the timeliness of a borrower’s right to rescind a mortgage. For further information see Rescission and Notices in the Truth in Lending (Regulation Z) section of The Gold Book.