The Fed chairman said he has not given up on the central bank agreeing with other regulatory agencies on a plan to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act, but admitted, "I don’t know whether that will be possible or not.”
Chairman Jelena McWilliams previewed a proposal to update the agency’s definition of brokered funds, but also suggested steps lawmakers could take to improve the rule’s underlying statute.
The banking industry could finally have answers soon on the degree of agreement between regulators reforming the Community Reinvestment Act, how they envision CRA zones of the future and other key matters.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to require CFPB approval for certain bank merger applications in the wake of regulators' approval of a deal between BB&T and SunTrust.
Lawmakers blasted an apparent decision by the OCC and FDIC to move forward with a proposal to reform the Community Reinvestment Act without the support of the Fed.
Her comments signaled cooperation between the two agencies on a coming proposal to revamp the Community Reinvestment Act, but she raised questions about CRA assessment areas and developing a single compliance metric.
The agency said it plans to make its cost-benefit process “more structured” and incorporate “a number of analytical practices identified in standard references.”
The agency announced changes meant to reduce compliance costs and allow some institutions to provide estimates rather than disclose exact prices for international money transfers.
