The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

CFPB Issues Interpretive Rule on Mortgage Loan Originator Training Requirements

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a new interpretive rule, clarifying that an employer is not responsible for the training of loan originators with temporary authority. The state will perform this training when the loan originator applies for a state loan originator license.

CFPB Announces Regulation Z and M Dollar Thresholds

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Reserve Board announced dollar thresholds that will determine exempt consumer credit and lease transactions under Regulation M and Regulation Z. These thresholds are reviewed annually as specified by the Truth in Lending Act and the Consumer Leasing Act and adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Based on that, the Truth in Lending Act and the Consumer Leasing Act will apply to credit transactions and consumer leases of $58,300 or less in 2020.

Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC)

OCC and Other Agencies Make Changes to Supplementary Leverage Ratio

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the other federal bank regulatory agencies finalized changes to Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA) requirements for banking entities that mostly engage in custodial activities. The changes modified a capital requirement of the EGRRCPA, which requires regulatory agencies to allow banking organizations mostly involved in custody, safekeeping, and asset servicing activities to dismiss some deposits at central banks from their supplementary leverage ratio.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

SEC Stops Ponzi Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently put a stop to an alleged $6 Million Ponzi scheme targeting seniors and small business owners. The SEC filed an emergency action and a restraining order and asset freeze on two people, Neil Burkholz and Frank Bianco, and the two companies they run. The SEC’s complaint states that the two defrauded investors by promising investors high returns from their trading strategies when in reality the investments resulted in almost total losses. They also misappropriated investments to repay other investors and transferring $880,000 to themselves and their spouses for personal use.

 

The Federal Reserve Board (FRB)

FRB and other Agencies Issue Final Rule on Treatment of High Volatility Real Estate

The Federal Reserve Board and other agencies issued a final rule on the treatment of high volatility commercial real estate (HVCRE) exposures as it relates to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The final rule clarifies terms in the HRVCE exposure definition and clarifies how to treat credit facilities that finance one- to four-family residential properties and the development of land.