STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Register Today for 2021 IBA Regional Meetings
Register today and join us for a series of regional meetings around the state. The IBA has implemented these meetings in an effort to facilitate grassroots communication between the bankers we serve and the legislators who serve our state. The meetings include an hour-long update on the IBA, including legislative information and advocacy opportunities. Following the update, local legislators from the Indiana General Assembly will meet for lunch with bankers from the community. This year, four regional meetings remain, each beginning at 11:00 a.m. local time. Follow the links below for your preferred location and register today!
Indianapolis
The Columbia Club
Thursday, September 16
Click here to register
Fair Oaks
The Farmhouse Restaurant at Fair Oaks Farms
New Date! Monday, October 4
Click here to register
Evansville
The Bauerhaus
Tuesday, October 5
Click here to register
Fort Wayne
The Landmark Centre
New Date! Monday, October 25
Click here to register
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Action Alert: Urge Lawmakers to Oppose New IRS Reporting Rules
The Biden Administration is proposing a sweeping expansion of tax information reporting aimed at raising revenue to help offset the cost of additional spending programs in the American Families Plan. Congress is poised to vote on inclusion of that proposal in the budget reconciliation package in the next few days. Contact your lawmakers today and express your opposition to any new IRS reporting that leads to increased compliance costs, damages your customer relationships, and threatens customer privacy.
In addition to the current action alert seeking bank employee participation, we have created an action alert with messaging specifically designed for bank customer engagement. Please consider sharing this unique action alert link so they may urge Congress protect their financial privacy!
Biden Order Would Require Workers at Firms Employing 100+ to Be Vaccinated
President Biden announced a wide-ranging set of policies to address COVID-19, including a requirement that private-sector businesses with 100 or more employees to “ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated” or require unvaccinated workers to be tested weekly for COVID-19.
The requirement would come under a rule to be developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the White House indicated. “OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard to implement this requirement. This requirement will impact over 80 million workers in private sector businesses with 100+ employees.” OSHA is also developing a rule to require employers to provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated and to recover from any potential side effects, according to the White House.
The White House indicated that a separate executive order would require “employees of contractors that do business with the federal government” to be vaccinated.
Fed Issues Paper on Bank/Fintech Partnerships
The Federal Reserve yesterday published a paper highlighting how community banks can partner effectively with fintech companies. The paper is intended to be a resource for community banks as they plan their innovation journeys. Among other provisions, it provides an overview of the banking and fintech landscape, discusses benefits and risks of bank/fintech partnerships and key considerations for engaging in these partnerships.
The paper is the latest of several initiatives the Fed has undertaken to help promote responsible innovation for community banks. Other initiatives included the joint publication of a vendor due diligence guide with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a request for comment on interagency third-party risk management guidance and a request for information on banks’ use of artificial intelligence.
Bankers may engage in an upcoming “Ask the Fed” program that will focus on community banks and services providers and in an “innovation office hours” event later this month that will be hosted jointly by the Fed and the Kansas City Reserve Bank.
OCC Formally Proposes to Rescind 2020 CRA Rules
As expected, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday formally proposed to rescind the OCC’s 2020 Community Reinvestment Act rule with rules based on the 1995 CRA rules that were jointly adopted by the OCC, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu earlier this summer signaled that he would rescind the 2020 changes and pursue a joint rulemaking to modernize the CRA with the other banking agencies.
“The issuance of the OCC’s NPR today is an important step toward strengthening and modernizing the CRA,” Hsu said. “The OCC is committed to working with the Federal Reserve and FDIC on a future joint rulemaking to develop a consistent framework across all banks that encourages higher levels of responsible lending, investments, services, and greater community engagement, particularly focused on helping to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income and other underserved communities across the nation.”
Comments on the proposal will be due by Oct. 29.
CFPB Withdraws Extension for Debt Collection Final Rules
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has formally withdrawn a proposal that would extend the effective date of two final rules issued under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which governs the activity of third-party debt collectors. The rules will take effect as originally planned on Nov. 30.
The FDCPA does not generally apply to creditors collecting their own debts and thus does not generally apply to banks; however, banks routinely oversee the activity of third-party collectors. The first rule –issued in October 2020 – addressed the use of text messaging and email to contact consumers regarding debts, and provided for consumer opt-out of these contact methods. It also included provisions on disputes, as well as record retention requirements for FDCPA debt collectors. The second final rule – issued in December 2020 – covered passive debt collection, time-barred debt and required validation notices to consumers.
FDIC Releases Latest Summary of Deposits Data
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last Friday released results of its annual Summary of Deposits, which provides deposit totals for each of the more than 81,000 domestic offices operated by more than 4,900 FDIC-insured banks. The summary includes historical data going back to 1994 that may be analyzed using online reports, tables and downloads.
Agencies Extend Comment Period on Third-Party Guidance
Federal regulators announced they will extend the comment period on proposed guidance designed to help banks manage risks associated with third-party relationships. The agencies extended the comment deadline by 30 days to Oct. 18, as requested by both the Independent Community Bankers of America and American Bankers Association in a joint letter. The proposed guidance is designed to offer a framework of sound risk management principles and would replace each agency’s existing guidance on this topic.