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, the IBA will be hosting 5 regional meetings, each beginning at 11:00 a.m. local time. Follow the links below for your preferred location and register today!
Columbus
Hotel Indigo Columbus Architectural Center
Tuesday, September 7
Click here to register
Indianapolis
The Columbia Club
Thursday, September 16
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Fair Oaks
The Farmhouse Restaurant at Fair Oaks Farms
New Date! Monday, October 4
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Evansville
The Bauerhaus
Tuesday, October 5
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Fort Wayne
The Landmark Centre
New Date! Monday, October 25
Click here to register
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Action Alert: Urge Congress Now to Oppose Burdensome, Unnecessary IRS Reporting Proposal
The Biden administration is proposing requiring community banks and other financial institutions to report to IRS on all business and personal accounts worth more than $600. This will create an enormous burden on community banks and an unnecessary invasion of privacy for our customers. Contact members of Congress today to urge them to oppose this ill-conceived proposal.
New CDC Order Temporarily Suspends Evictions Through Oct. 3
As COVID-19 cases – including those connected to the Delta variant – continue to spike, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a new order directing evictions to be suspended through Oct. 3 “in counties with heightened levels of community transmission.”
The CDC indicated that the order is “intended to target specific areas of the country where cases are rapidly increasing, which likely would be exacerbated by mass evictions.”
The CDC’s earlier nationwide eviction moratorium expired on July 31. The order had been upheld by a 5-4 decision in the Supreme Court early in July, although one justice voting to uphold it said he agreed with a lower court ruling overturning the moratorium but allowing it to continue, since it would expire in a few weeks. The new moratorium – coming after Congress failed to pass a bill authorizing it – is expected to face legal challenges.
Mosier to Step Down as FinCEN Acting Director, New Acting Director Announced
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network acting director Michael Mosier stepped down on Tuesday, the agency announced. Mosier has been acting director of FinCEN since April. Himamauli “Him” Das has assumed the role of acting director, and Treasury has launched a public search for a permanent FinCEN director.
Das most recently was senior managing director at K2 Integrity and previously served as counselor to Treasury’s general counsel, assistant general counsel for international affairs, and acting deputy assistant secretary for trade and investment at the Treasury Department.
USDA, HUD, VA and FHFA Announce Extension of Eviction Moratoria
The Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced late last Friday that at the request of the Biden administration, they would extend their foreclosure-related eviction moratoria until Sept. 30, 2021. This announcement came just ahead of the expiration of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium on July 31.
The agencies encouraged owners and operators of federally assisted and financed rental housing to “make every effort to access Emergency Rental Assistance resources to avoid evicting a tenant for non-payment of rent. These resources are available in every state, and many counties and cities are also running local programs.”
FHFA Extends REO Eviction Moratoriums to Sept. 30
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced last Friday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are extending through Sept. 30 a moratorium on single-family real estate owned evictions. The moratorium applies to properties acquired by an enterprise through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions. The moratorium was set to expire on July 31.
FHFA Names Acting Inspector General
Phyllis Fong was named as Acting Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Fong will continue to serve as the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a post she assumed in 2002.
Financial Services Committee Passes Several Industry-Backed Bills
By a voice vote last week, the House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 4590, the Promoting New and Diverse Depository Institutions Act, introduced by Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.). The bill would require regulators to conduct a study about the challenges faced by proposed depository institutions seeking de novo bank charters.
The committee also advanced by voice vote H.R. 4616 Adjustable Interest Rate (Libor) Act of 2021. Introduced by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), the bill addresses “tough legacy” contracts that currently reference Libor but lack adequate fallback language and can’t be amended to add it.
Regulators Provide State of the Industry Report to Congress
Agency heads from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the National Credit Union Administration provided a state of the industry update during testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. The panel covered a broad range of topics including CRA reform, consolidation in the banking industry, overdraft fees, rate cap proposals, climate risk, and bank-fintech collaborations.
- On climate risk: Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said the agency’s newly created Climate Change Risk Officer will work with industry stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of climate risk management practices within banks. FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said that its regulated banks take into account weather-related risks, and they are examined for how they plan for those risks.
- On bank-fintech partnerships: Hsu also said OCC staff are gathering and analyzing data on bank-fintech partnerships that will inform the development of future options to protect consumers and expand financial inclusion.
Fed Extends Funds Transfer Comment Period
The Federal Reserve Board extended the comment period for its proposed rulemaking to amend Regulation J governing funds transfer over its FedNow Service by 30 days until Sept. 9, 2021. The FedNow Service supports instant payments in the United States and is expected to be available in 2023.
OCC, SEC Discuss the State of Cryptocurrency
In separate events, Securities and Exchange Chairman Gary Gensler and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu discussed efforts underway to adapt to the digitization of banking and finance and determine how fintechs, payment platforms, and digital assets fit into the regulated system.
In remarks before the Aspen Security Forum, Gensler voiced concern about “a crypto market now where many tokens may be unregistered securities, without required disclosures or market oversight.”