All in Regulatory Update

On March 21, 2024, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC issued a supplemental rulemaking that includes a joint interim final rule which extends the applicability date of certain provisions in their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) final rule issued in October 2023. The agencies' notice also serves to issue a correction to the preamble to the 2023 CRA Final Rule regarding the OCC’s Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) regulatory analysis.

On March 8, 2024, the CFPB published an article regarding the Appraisal Subcomittee’s’ (ASC) recent hearing on appraisal bias where the committee examined how state and federal regulators can address appraisal bias and increase diversity in the profession. The ASC of the provides federal oversight of state appraisal regulatory programs, and is chaired by CFPB Deputy Director Zixta Martinez.

On March 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a settlement with EFG International AG to settle its potential civil liability for apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs administered by OFAC. EFG International AG is a Switzerland-based global private banking group with approximately 40 global subsidiaries, providing a range of financial services, including banking, investment, asset management, and securities brokering, to institutional customers and individuals worldwide.

On March 8, 2024, the CFPB published a blog post highlighting the recent increase in closing costs in residential lending. Therefore, the Bureau is urging consumers to file complaints regarding unresolved mortgage or closing costs or share their experiences with mortgage companies as part of its initiative to analyze how issues like mortgage closing costs affect households and families.

On February 29, 2024, the CFPB issued a circular to law enforcement agencies and regulators explaining how companies operating comparison-shopping tools can break the law when they steer consumers to certain products or lenders because of kickbacks. The CFPB found some comparison-shopping tools manipulate results or use digital dark patterns because of incentive payments from lenders. The circular explains how these practices may violate federal law and highlights examples of illegal arrangements.