New versions of the exam fairness legislation, strongly supported by the IBA and ABA, have been reintroduced as H.R. 1553 and S. 727. The bills allow banks to view the information used to make decisions during examinations, create an ombudsman within the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, and institute an independent administrative-law process for examination…

The U.S. House last week passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 624), which updates and clarifies the National Security Act to facilitate and increase cyber intelligence information-sharing between the private and public sectors. The IBA and ABA supported this measure as another step to combat online crime.

The CFPB recently activated a public database of consumer complaint data with over 90,000 individual complaints involving financial products. The database, which includes tools to organize and filter the data, only covers complaints involving institutions under its direct enforcement jurisdiction, but there already has been considerable discussion about whether the primary federal banking regulators ultimately will…

A CFPB press release has announced enforcement actions against four mortgage insurers (Genworth, Mortgage Guaranty, Radian Guaranty and United Guaranty) to end improper kickbacks paid to lenders. For now, the enforcement actions are focused on the mortgage insurers, but the CFPB's next actions may target financial institutions that allegedly accepted improper payments from these insurers.

The CFPB has released a final rule that limits the application of the Credit Card Act's cap on credit card fees. It implements a Credit Card Act provision that limits credit card fees charged during an account's first year to 25% of the account's credit limit when first opened. The CFPB's final rule clarifies that…

The FRB, FDIC, and OCC have updated their Interagency Guidance on Leveraged Lending to address what the agencies see as deteriorating underwriting standards for leveraged loans, in which a borrower's leverage exceeds industry norms. The guidance states that it will not affect the vast majority of community banks, which largely do not participate in leveraged finance…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a bulletin and fact sheet warning that indirect auto lenders could be held responsible for discriminatory pricing imposed on borrowers by car dealerships when lenders have reasonable notice of a dealership's discriminatory policies or conduct. The bulletin reinforces that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) applies to indirect auto lending…

The USDA Farm Service Agency has issued an interim rule that amends the regulation determining maximum interest rates on guaranteed farm loans. The interim rule ties pricing on these loans to the 3-month LIBOR or the 5-year Treasury note rate, unless the lender uses a formal written risk-based pricing practice for loans, in which case the…

On February 22, the Internal Revenue Service chief counsel issued a legal memorandum concluding that certain expenses a bank incurs to maintain foreclosed property before its disposition are deductible for tax purposes.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an Advisory last week to help banks identify tax refund fraud. The Advisory lists several red flags on this type of fraud and provides guidance on when to file a Suspicious Activity Report. The ABA offers a resource page on tax refund fraud that, among other things, can help…