Regulation CC; This and That

Posted by Anthony Demangone

Oh, that Reg Reform Law is going to be the end of me.  

Buried within the 2,000+page reg reform bill was a simple change.  The reg reform law amended the Expedited Funds Availability Act regarding the "first $100" availability provision.  That amount has been bumped to $200.  And the change is effective as we speak.  But Regulation CC has not changed, and it continues to contain the $100 language. 

I say it was a "simple" change with a great deal of sarcasm, because such a change likely will require changes to core processor programming, disclosures, websites, and policies.  There is no mention of the need for the Fed or CFPB to write regulations to implement the change.  

Ugh.

NAFCU contacted the Fed, and this is roughly what we heard.  

The Fed will issue new regulations regarding the change to the Expedited Funds Availability Act.  The effective date for that provision is whatever date the CFPB officially becomes effective, so the Fed doesn't know exactly when that will be.  The Fed is trying to get a better feel for when that date will be before they move forward on Regulation CC, but right now they are looking at two different options.  

1. First, the Fed may wait until they know when the CFPB will go into effect and then update the regulation with an effective date that matches the CFPB.  If they just update those changes required by the Act, the Fed indicated that the regulation will have a very short comment period or possibly, none at all.
2. The second option would be for the Fed to look at some other changes to Reg CC and do a more comprehensive proposed rule encompassing the changes required by the Act as well as other issues the Fed has been looking at.  What those issues are were unclear from our conversation. 

Keep in mind that this was an informal conversation, and that "things are fluid" in Washington, D.C.  For now, though, it does appear the Fed will issue regulations to update Regulation CC based on the reg reform law.  So, what to do?  It seems reasonable for credit unions to wait until a final regulation is issued that mandates changes to policies, disclosures, etc. That being said, the reg reform law is already effective, including the $200 language. Perhaps the Fed will issue some clarification in the near future to clear things up.

And in other news...

Interchange.  Last week, I wrote how another threat to interchange income surfaced during the appropriates process.  Well, that threat has ended. 

Mortgage fraud. FinCEN has released a report regarding mortgage fraud activity in 2009. 

Corporate credit unions.  NCUA announced plans to release a three-part series to address the current situation facing corporate credit unions.  The complete set is now available. 

Comments

[James Pannabecker]

Don't fret. Section 1086 doesn't take effect until the designated transfer date (Jan. 17, 2011, at the earliest). Check Section 1100H.

[Anthony Demangone]

James - many thanks for the clarification.