Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

CFPB Details Challenges COVID-19 Continues to Place on Mortgage Borrowers  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued two reports that reveal mortgage borrowers are in need of more help coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent downturn in the economy. One report issued stated that overall complaints to the CFPB are higher than they’ve been in three years. The other reports that Black and Hispanic mortgage borrowers are more likely to be delinquent or in forbearance programs. Acting CFPB Director, Dave Uejio, said “More borrowers are behind on their mortgage payments than any time since the height of the Great Recession.”  

  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) 

OCC Published Final Rule Establishing Exception to Withdrawal Period Requirement for CIFs        

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency finalized a rule that creates an exception to the requirement for banks that administer collective investment funds for real estate or other assets that aren’t readily marketable. The new rule codifies the time a bank has for withdrawing an account from a covered CIF and the bank may receive and extension to the usual time window with OCC approval, if certain requirements are met.  

 

National Credit Union Administration

NCUA Approves Final Rule Regarding Derivatives and Requests Comment on the Share Insurance Fund Normal Operating Level Policy  

The Board of the National Credit Union Administration held its fifth open meeting of 2021, unanimously approving a final rule that modernizes the administration’s derivatives rule by shifting it to an approach based more on principles while still retaining safety and soundness components. The Board also approved a notice requesting comment on the Share Insurance Fund Normal Operating Level Policy.   

 

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC Names New Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis  

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Jessica Wachter was appointed the Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA). Dr. Wachter comes to the SEC after 23 years as a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  

 

FDIC Begins Gathering Information on Digital Assets  

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that it was requesting information and asking for comments from those interested about the digital asset activities of insured depository institutions. Recognizing the unique factors associated with digital assets, the FDIC is requesting this information to better understand the interest in digital assets from an institution’s standpoint and that of consumers.