FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
OCC: Court should reverse Illinois interchange fee decision
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is urging a federal court to reverse its decision upholding Illinois restrictions on interchange fees in light of recent agency actions finding that federal law preempts the state law in question.
Trump administration proposes nondisclosure agreement for all government employees
The Trump administration is proposing the creation of a government-wide nondisclosure agreement for new and existing federal employees that agencies could elect to adopt.
Banking agencies publish ‘living will’ feedback
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Federal Reserve recently published their feedback letters for the resolution plans submitted by the largest banks, although FDIC board member and Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould abstained from voting for the letters’ release, as he believes there are problems with the current resolution planning process.
FDIC issues BSA proposal for payment stablecoin issuers
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released a proposed rule to implement Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance standards applicable to FDIC-supervised permitted payment stablecoin issuers, or PPSIs, under the GENIUS Act.
The proposed rule would:
- Require FDIC-supervised issuers to comply with applicable anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism-financing regulations, economic sanctions programs and reporting requirements.
- Establish and align supervision and enforcement provisions for issuer AML/CFT programs with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network requirements.
Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
As authorized by the GENIUS Act, the FDIC is the primary federal regulator of PPSIs that are subsidiaries of insured state nonmember banks and state savings associations approved by the FDIC to issue payment stablecoins.
The proposal is the latest in a series of GENIUS Act rulemakings underway at federal regulators, including:
- A FinCEN/OFAC proposed rule to implement the GENIUS Act’s anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance program requirements.
- An FDIC proposed rule to establish a prudential framework for FDIC-supervised payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act.
- A Treasury Department proposed rule to implement GENIUS Act policies on state-level regulatory regimes.
Warsh sworn in as Federal Reserve chair
Kevin Warsh was sworn in as chairman of the Federal Reserve during a ceremony at the White House.
HUD to keep tri-merge credit report requirement for FHA loans
The Federal Housing Administration will continue to require three credit reports for single-family loans, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced.
Consumer groups, vendors sue CFPB over changes to fair lending enforcement
A coalition of consumer groups and fair lending compliance firms has filed a lawsuit to prevent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from removing disparate impact as a prohibited practice from Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.