STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Indiana House and Senate Announce Committee Chairs
Both House and Senate Republican leadership have announced their picks for committee chairs. There have been a few changes of note for committees that influence the banking industry.
Sen. Andy Zay (R-Huntington) has been tabbed to chair the Senate Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee. Zay has served on the committee in years past and will bring that historical knowledge to his chairmanship.
On the House side, Speaker Todd Huston combined the Financial Institutions and Insurance committees to create the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee. Rep. Martin Carbaugh (R-Fort Wayne) has been selected to lead that committee, after recently chairing the Insurance Committee.
The IBA GR Team has worked well with both Sen. Zay and Rep. Carbaugh in the past and looks forward to continuing that work into the future.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
ABA Webinar on COVID-19
The IBA, in partnership with the American Bankers Association, will host a webinar on Dec. 8, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET, during which Paul Benda will provide an update on COVID-19 and ways to navigate the virus during the winter. Paul is the Senior Vice President of Risk & Cybersecurity Policy and is the leading expert on the virus at the ABA. The presentation will go over COVID-19 including transmission, risks of exposure, the latest vaccine timeline and much more! To RSVP, email Lizzie Ketzenberger.
SBA Releases PPP Loan Data
The Small Business Administration on Tuesday released names, addresses, loan amounts and names of lenders for all Paycheck Protection Program borrowers. The release came after a court order in a lawsuit brought by media organizations seeking the data.
After the data release, the industry has heard that some third-party businesses were using the publicly released data to solicit business from PPP borrowers, specifically referencing the name of the lending institution – in some cases not disclosing that they are unaffiliated with the PPP lender, and in others implying a business relationship where none exists.
SBA Issues Instructions on ‘Loan Necessity’ Questionnaires
The Small Business Administration has issued to lenders a letter and instructions on the agency’s “loan necessity” questionnaire for Paycheck Protection Program loans of $2 million or more.
The instruction guide details how lenders receive notice of a questionnaire, what to do after being notified, what to do with borrower responses, and how to submit the questionnaires. The SBA letter clarifies that requests to complete the questionnaire do not mean the SBA is challenging a borrower’s certification.
Lenders are required to upload the completed form and supporting documents via the SBA’s lender platform and to separately input borrower responses to each question, though they aren’t required to re-enter narrative comments from the questionnaire.
Further, lenders are not required to verify or validate borrower responses, though they should confirm that all required responses, supporting documents, signatures, and certifications have been received.
FHFA Extends Foreclosure, Eviction Moratoriums
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has indicated that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend the moratoriums on single-family foreclosures and real-estate-owned evictions from Dec. 31 until at least Jan. 31, 2021.
The foreclosure moratorium applies to enterprise-backed, single-family mortgages. The REO eviction moratorium applies to properties that have been acquired by an enterprise through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions.
Agencies Encourage End of LIBOR-Based Contracts
Federal regulators have issued a joint statement encouraging banks to cease entering into new contracts that use U.S. dollar LIBOR as a reference rate as soon as practicable and no later than Dec. 31, 2021, to facilitate the transition away from LIBOR.
Also, LIBOR’s administrator, ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, proposed to cease publication of the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on Dec. 31, 2021, and the remaining USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on June 30, 2023.
The statements, which were welcomed by the Fed, reaffirmed the regulators’ position that new contracts entered into before Dec. 31, 2021, should use either a reference rate other than LIBOR or have robust fallback language that includes a clearly defined alternative reference rate after LIBOR’s discontinuation.
Fed Extends Facilities as Main Street Program Deadlines Near
The Federal Reserve has extended the expiration date for several of its lending facilities from Dec. 31 to March 31, 2021. The extensions apply to the Commercial Paper Funding, Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity, Primary Dealer Credit, and Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity facilities.
CFPB Issues Final Policy on Advisory Opinions
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued its final policy on advisory opinions, which are designed to provide guidance to entities on outstanding regulatory uncertainty. Under the policy, entities seeking to comply with regulatory requirements can submit a request to the CFPB where uncertainty exists. The bureau also issued two advisory opinions, on earned wage access products and certain education loan products.
FDIC Issues CRA Exam Lists
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has issued the lists of institutions scheduled for Community Reinvestment Act exams during the first and second quarters of 2021. The schedules are subject to change.
USDA Modifies Hemp Crop Insurance Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has indicated it is expanding the pilot Multi-Peril Crop Insurance plan for hemp, starting in the 2021 crop year. The changes include expanding the program to new states and counties, allowing broker contracts for hemp grain, and adjusting reporting and billing dates.
OCC Reduces Assessments for 2021
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has indicated it is reducing rates in all fee schedules by 3% for the 2021 calendar year. The reduced assessments go into effect Jan. 1 and will be reflected in assessments paid on March 31 and Sept. 30. The 2021 reduction follows the 10% reduction to all fee schedules in 2020 and to the General Assessment Fee Schedule in 2019.
OCC Announces New Executives
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced several new executive assignments taking effect by the end of the year: Karen Boehler will become the deputy comptroller of the Western District upon the retirement of Kay Kowitt; Joel Denkert will become deputy comptroller for midsize bank supervision; and Enice Thomas will become the deputy comptroller for credit risk policy.
IBA COVID-19 Updates
The IBA has several COVID-19 resources and updates available at our website.