Top Stories

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday voted to end its defense of its rules requiring disclosure of climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions.

The rules, adopted by the Commission on March 6, 2024, create a detailed and extensive special disclosure regime about climate risks for issuing and reporting companies. States and private parties have challenged the rules. The litigation was consolidated in the Eighth Circuit (Iowa v. SEC, No. 24-1522 (8th Cir.)), and the Commission previously stayed effectiveness of the rules pending completion of that litigation. Briefing in the cases was completed before the change in Administrations.

Following yesterday’s Commission vote, SEC staff sent a letter to the court stating that the Commission withdraws its defense of the rules and that Commission counsel are no longer authorized to advance the arguments in the brief the Commission had filed.

• SEC press release, 3/27/2025

The U.S. Small Business Administration yesterday announced it has restored lender fees to its 7(a) loan program. These fees were waived under the Biden Administration in response to the COVID emergency.

The agency sent SBA Information Notice 5000-865775 to all 7(a) lenders with its revised fee schedule, which became effective at 12:00 a.m. EDT March 27, 2025, for the balance of the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025.

Yesterday, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood spoke at the 2025 Just Economy Conference of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. His remarks encouraged innovative thinking to foster greater financial inclusion in economically disadvantaged communities for both consumers and small businesses, particularly using financial technology tools.

Hood also highlighted the importance of homeownership in building generational wealth and the work of the OCC's Project REACh to support financial inclusion.

Yesterday, in its first press release since February 3, 2025, the CFPB reported that its Acting Director, Russ Vought, is seeking to vacate the settlement the CFPB extracted from Townstone Financial. According to its press release, the CFPB used a “redlining screen” based on an arbitrary number of mortgages to destroy a small Midwest firm with about ten employees and a radio program called Townstone Financial.

After a thorough review, the CFPB is seeking to make Townstone whole by returning the six-figure penalty they were forced to pay.

See also:

• CFPB sues non-bank mortgage creditor for redlining, July 16, 2020
• CFPB proposes settlement with Townstone Financial, November 4, 2024

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has announced the establishment of a Forum on Cross-Border Payments Data. This initiative is a key outcome from the FSB’s Recommendations for data frameworks related to cross-border payments that were published in December 2024, and forms part of the FSB’s increasing emphasis on promoting implementation of its policy recommendations.

The FSB said that "differences in laws, regulations, and practices between countries can create unnecessary frictions in cross-border payments, increasing costs and risks for businesses and individuals. By bringing together experts in payments, anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing, sanctions, and data privacy and protection, the Forum will work to strengthen cooperation on data-related issues in cross-border payments, such as the way data is collected, stored and managed across borders."

The forum will serve as a platform for dialogue, information exchange, and research, helping to identify and address inconsistencies in global data frameworks. An advisory body comprised of private sector representatives will also be created to provide industry perspectives and expertise to the forum.

Fintech Chime has introduced a new "instant Loan" product via its partner, The Bancorp Bank, N.A. Pre-approved Chime members can obtain instant access to up to $500 with a fixed interest rate. Instant Loans offers three-month installment loans up to $500 to pre-approved Chime members who receive direct deposits to their Chime Checking Account. Members are pre-approved for a loan and notified of their eligibility within the Chime app.

Chime’s Instant Loans have no late fees or compound interest, just a fixed interest rate of $5 for every $100 borrowed, paid back in three monthly payments of $35.00 per $100 borrowed (29.76% annual percentage rate). For greater ease, repayments can be automated and are designed to not exceed 10% of monthly member cash inflows to ensure affordability. Chime's news release says Chime also reports on-time payment history to credit reporting agencies, allowing members to build credit.

The NCUA has announced that Valwood Park Federal Credit Union of Carrollton, Texas, is once again under the control and direction of its members.

“The recovery of Valwood Park reflects the extraordinary efforts of its leadership team, staff, and members,” NCUA Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman said. “Working in collaboration with the NCUA, the new management team saved the credit union from failure by enhancing controls and mitigating risks. Valwood Park is now in a stronger position to provide vital financial services and enhance the financial well-being of residents in Dallas’s Metrocrest communities.”

The NCUA placed Valwood Park Federal Credit Union into conservatorship on January 20, 2023, because of unsafe and unsound practices at the credit union.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reported that non-permanent residents will no longer be eligible for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages.

HUD’s revised residency requirements for FHA-backed loans, which take effect on May 25, will apply to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients as well as individuals who are pending asylum or pending refugee status, according to HUD, since there is no guarantee that their residency status will be renewed under the current administration. The new policy eliminates the ‘non-permanent resident’ category entirely from the FHA’s Single Family Title I and Title II programs, and reverses a Biden-era policy which allows FHA loans for DACA recipients who provide a valid Social Security Number and work eligibility status.

President Trump has issued an Executive Order, "Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account," calling for a review and update of federal government disbursements practices to phase out, to the extent possible, disbursements by paper check, including tax refunds, vendor payments, benefit payments and intergovernmental transfers.

The Order also encourages payments to the federal government to be made electronically.

• White House Fact Sheet
• Link to and title of Executive Order updated.

The Treasury Department reported that OFAC, in coordination with the FBI, has imposed sanctions on three Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security officials who were involved in the abduction, detention, and probable death of former FBI Special Agent Robert A. “Bob” Levinson. The individuals designated today, Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, and Taqi Daneshvar, all played a role in Mr. Levinson’s abduction, probable death, and Iran’s efforts to cover up or obfuscate their responsibility.

Yesterday’s action was taken under Executive Order 14078, which implements the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and holds to account terrorist organizations, criminal groups, and other malicious actors who take hostages for financial, political, or other gain—as well as foreign states that engage in the practice of wrongful detention, including for political leverage or to seek concessions from the United States.

For a link to identification information on the three designated individuals, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced disaster aid financial flexibility for residents of Kentucky and West Virginia.

A 90-day moratorium was issued on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), along with a 90-day extension granted automatically for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, effective in each case as of the president's disaster declaration date.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has reported U.S. house prices rose 0.2 percent in January, and increased 4.8 percent from January 2024 to January 2025. The previously reported 0.4 percent price growth in December was revised upward to 0.5 percent.

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly home price changes ranged from -0.8 percent in the South Atlantic division to +1.0 percent in the West North Central division. The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +2.4 percent in the West South Central division to +8.2 percent in the Middle Atlantic division.

• FHFA HPI Monthly - March 2025

FinCEN has posted a series of 19 Frequently Asked Questions on its March 11, 2025, Geographic Targeting Order Involving Certain Money Services Businesses in California and Texas on the Southwest Border.

Editor's Note: The FAQs are numbered from 1 to 21, but numbers 16 and 19 are omitted.

The OCC has reported that Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood discussed financial inclusion in his remarks yesterday at the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals' Homeownership and Housing Policy Conference.

Mr. Hood's written remarks in support of his presentation discussed the work of the OCC's Project REACh to support affordable homeownership.

The OCC has reported on the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the fourth quarter of 2024.

The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2024 showed that 97.3 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter, an increase from 97.2 percent one year earlier.

The percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages – mortgages that are 60 or more days past due and all mortgages held by bankrupt borrowers whose payments are 30 or more days past due – decreased from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Servicers initiated 6,647 new foreclosures in the fourth quarter of 2024 showing a decrease from the previous quarter and a decrease from a year earlier.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced it is requiring operators of a deceptive business opportunity to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle allegations they misled consumers with false promises of big returns selling goods through Amazon and Walmart.

Under the settlement orders entered by the court, Trevor Duffy Young and Wessam Baiz, along with two companies associated with Baiz, will turn over the profits they made from the alleged scam, which operated under the names Lunar Capital Ventures, Ecom Genie and Profitable Automation, and before that as Valiant Consultants.

The court orders ban Young, Baiz, and Baiz’s companies from any involvement with the sales, marketing, or operations of any business opportunity. The orders also prohibit them from deceiving consumers about any good or service they sell or market.

• Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, and Other Relief as to Trevor Duffy Young
• Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, and Other Relief as to Wessam Baiz, Salespreneurs, LLC, and Baiz Sales, LLC

On Friday, the Small Business Administration announced plans for an agency-wide reorganization. The agency will reduce its workforces by 43 percent, ending the "expansive social policy agenda of the prior Administration, eliminating non-essential roles, and returning to pre-pandemic staffing levels."

The SBA's news release indicated that core services to the public, including the agency’s loan guarantee and disaster assistance programs, as well as its field and veteran operations, will not be impacted.

Under the reorganization plan, the agency will eliminate approximately 2,700 active positions out of a total active workforce of nearly 6,500 through voluntary resignations, the expiration of COVID-era and other term appointments, and a limited number of reductions in force (RIFs).

On Friday, March 21, FinCEN issued an interim final rule that removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act.

In the interim final rule, FinCEN revises the definition of “reporting company” in its implementing regulations to mean only those entities that are formed under the law of a foreign country and that have registered to do business in any U.S. State or Tribal jurisdiction by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or similar office (formerly known as “foreign reporting companies”). FinCEN also exempts entities previously known as “domestic reporting companies” from BOI reporting requirements.

Thus, through this interim final rule, all entities created in the United States — including those previously known as “domestic reporting companies” — and their beneficial owners will be exempt from the requirement to report BOI to FinCEN. Foreign entities that meet the new definition of a “reporting company” and do not qualify for an exemption from the reporting requirements must report their BOI to FinCEN under new deadlines, detailed below. These foreign entities, however, will not be required to report any U.S. persons as beneficial owners, and U.S. persons will not be required to report BOI with respect to any such entity for which they are a beneficial owner.

Upon the publication of the interim final rule, the following deadlines apply for foreign entities that are reporting companies:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced the immediate resumption of debt collection activities through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) for debts accrued prior to March 2020. This decision comes after a suspension of collections due to the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Treasury Offset Program, administered by the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service, is a centralized program designed to collect delinquent debts owed to federal and state agencies by intercepting Federal and state payments. Since 1992, SSA has referred delinquent Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) debts to TOP as mandated by law.

SSA said that prior to the suspension in March 2020, SSA had successfully collected almost $2 billion in previously unrecoverable delinquent debt through TOP. The program is essential for maintaining the integrity of the OASDI and SSI programs.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced execution of two enforcement actions.

• Cease and Desist Order against Frankewing Bancshares, Inc., Frankewing, Tennessee
• Civil money penalty of $15,500 against Bank of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, for a pattern or practice of violations of section 208.25 of Regulation H, which implements the provisions of the National Flood Insurance Act.

The OCC yesterday issued its March list of enforcement actions taken against national banks and federal savings associations and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with such institutions. Included were one Cease and Desist Order and two Orders of Prohibition.

• Cease and Desist Order against 42 North Private Bank, Canton, Massachusetts, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those related to interest rate risk, strategic planning, capital, liquidity, and earnings. A 2017 cease and desist order against the bank was terminated.
• Order of Prohibition against Karla Vanderneut, former assistant branch manager at an Earlville, New York, branch of NBT Bank, National Association, Norwich, New York, for using a customer’s account to make unauthorized cash withdrawals and debit card transactions totaling at least $16,000.
• Order of Prohibition against Josiah Kennedy, former vice president and mortgage loan officer at Citizens Bank, N.A., Abilene, Texas, for making unauthorized draws on a customer’s construction loan and obtaining customers’ funds, totaling at least $59,000, for his personal benefit.

The OCC also terminated Cease and Desist Orders against ICICI Bank Limited, New York, New York (October 3, 2022) and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Sioux Falls, South Dakota (September 9, 2021).

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has designated a “teapot” oil refinery and its chief executive officer for purchasing and refining hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil, including from vessels linked to the Foreign Terrorist Organization, Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, and the Iranian Ministry of Defense of Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

OFAC also sanctioned 19 entities and vessels responsible for shipping millions of barrels of Iranian oil, comprising part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” of tankers supplying teapot refineries like Luqing Petrochemical. The State Department also designated an entity for having knowingly engaged in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran.

For a link to the list of designations under these actions, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The OFAC Notice referred to in our OFAC Update also indicates that OFAC published its final rule extending certain recordkeeping requirements to ten years. OFAC published an interim final rule with that requirement on September 13, 2024, with an effective date of March 12, 2025.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced it will no longer examine its regulated institutions for reputation risk and is removing references to reputation risk from its Comptroller’s Handbook booklets and guidance issuances.

“The OCC has never used reputation risk as a catch-all justification for supervisory action. Focusing future examination activities on more transparent risk areas improves public confidence in the OCC’s supervisory process and makes clear that the OCC has not and does not make business decisions for banks,” said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood.

The removal of references to reputation risk from OCC handbooks and guidance issuances does not alter the OCC’s expectation that banks remain diligent and adhere to prudent risk management practices across all other risk areas. The OCC expects to complete its efforts to update its public documents in the coming weeks.

Related documents:

• OCC Bulletin 2025-4, "Bank Supervision: Removing References to Reputation Risk"

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a plan aimed at reducing costs and enhancing the Electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (eCBSV) service. This initiative is designed to ensure the continued viability of the eCBSV service while addressing the needs of customers, including the financial industry and various governmental bodies.

The SSA intends to reduce operating costs by up to 40 percent and cut annual fees charged to participating entities by about 25 percent. The agency also will work to enhance the "no-match" results provided by eCBSV, and plans, in a future phase, to explore integration of Consent Based SSN Verification (CBSV) with eCBSV by streamlining processes and expanding the user base.

The Federal Reserve Board yesterday issued the Federal Open Market Committee's statement following the Committee's meeting on March 18–19, 2025. The Board and Committee also released a summary of the economic projections from the meeting.

OCC Bulletin 2025-3, issued yesterday, announced that the OCC has established a new Digitalization page on its website to help community banks meet their digitalization objectives.

The OCC recognizes that community banks may face key challenges when implementing a digitalization strategy. The new page highlights relevant OCC rules, statements, and guidance that community banks can reference when pursuing their digitalization efforts. The OCC plans to maintain the page by keeping it up to date as new resources become available.

The FTC has announced it has obtained a federal court's temporary restraining order halting a business opportunity scheme known as Click Profit, which allegedly took millions from consumers by falsely promising them that they could earn big profits through online sales.

In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Click Profit and its owners deceived consumers by promising they could make large sums in “passive income” using a proprietary system powered by artificial intelligence. The system supposedly enables consumers to sell goods through online platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok. Click Profit also deceived consumers by claiming to be affiliated with major companies like Nike and Disney as a ploy to convince consumers to turn over tens of thousands of dollars each, according to the complaint.

Consumers who purchased the company’s business opportunity were charged a “management fee” of at least $45,000, in addition to thousands of dollars more, purportedly to buy inventory for their stores. The complaint alleges that few of these consumers see a return on their investments, much less the promised earnings. In fact, most consumers lose their entire payments, and some are saddled with burdensome credit card debt and unsold products.

The FTC’s complaint charges that Click Profit, its co-founders Emslie and Patrick McGeoghean, partners Jason Masri and William Holton, and a number of associated companies have violated the FTC Act, the Business Opportunity Rule, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, and the Rule On Impersonation of Government and Businesses.

The Social Security Administration has announced that, in addition to strengthening its procedures for identity proofing to protect Social Security records and benefits against fraudulent activity, SSA will expedite processing all direct deposit change requests — both in-person and online — to one business day. Currently, online direct deposit changes are being held for 30 days.

Yesterday, OFAC sanctioned Jumilca Sandivel Hernandez Perez (Hernandez Perez), a key leader of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization (HSO), a Guatemala-based Transnational Criminal Organization responsible for the smuggling of thousands of illegal aliens from Guatemala, through Mexico, and into the United States. Additionally, Hernandez Perez has coordinated her illegal activity with members of the violent U.S.-sanctioned drug trafficking organization, La Linea, which among other heinous acts is responsible for the November 2019 murders of nine American citizens, including six children, in the Mexican state of Sonora.

OFAC also issued an alert to raise awareness of sanctions and criminal liability risks for foreign financial institutions and other entities with exposure to international cartels recently designated as terrorist organizations, some of which had been previously designated as transnational criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling and other violent acts.

For a link to identification information on Hernandez Perez, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have announced a Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing to identify underutilized federal lands suitable for residential development, streamline land transfer processes and promote policies that increase the availability of affordable housing.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle W. Bowman has issued a statement following her nomination by the president to be Vice Chair for Supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The OCC has announced conditional approval of the application for financial technology (fintech) company SmartBiz Loans to change the business model of CenTrust Bank, N.A., Northbrook, Illinois, upon its acquisition of CenTrust Bank, N.A.

Upon acquisition, CenTrust Bank, N.A. was renamed SmartBiz Bank, N.A. CenTrust further applied to change its business model to conduct small business lending activities on a nationwide basis.

The OCC granted a change to the business model after thorough review of SmartBiz and its current operations. In granting this application, the OCC applied the same rigorous review and standards applied to all new entrants to the federal banking system.

• Conditional approval

The Small Business Administration on Friday issued press releases concerning disaster relief to areas of Oregon; Alaska; Bronx County, NY; Illinois; and New York.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced its approval of—

• The application by Renasant Corporation, of Tupelo, Mississippi, to merge with The First Bancshares, and thereby indirectly acquire The First Bank, both of Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• The proposal by EverBank Financial Corp, of Jacksonville, Florida, to acquire Sterling Bank and Trust, FSB, of Southfield, Michigan

It's official. The FDIC has published a notice [90 FR 12115] in this morning's Federal Register that it is withdrawing notices of proposed rulemaking relating to brokered deposit restrictions, corporate governance and risk management, and the Change in Bank Control Act. If the FDIC decides to pursue future regulatory action in any of these areas, it will issue a new proposed rule.

Yesterday, the Department of the Treasury announced that OFAC has designated Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, Mohsen Paknejad, who oversees the export of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and has allocated billions of dollars’ worth of oil to Iran’s armed forces for export. OFAC also designated several entities in multiple jurisdictions, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India, for their ownership or operation of vessels that have delivered Iranian oil to the PRC, or lifted Iranian oil from storage in Dalian, PRC. These sanctions apply further pressure on the “shadow fleet” and other vessels upon which Iran depends to deliver its oil to the PRC, advancing United States’ commitment to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.

Concurrently, the State Department designated three entities under Executive Order 13846 and identified three vessels as blocked property in which these entities have an interest.

For a link to the names and identification information of the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Internal Revenue Service has posted a reminder that April 1, 2025, is the final day to begin required withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s for most retirees who turned 73 in 2024.

RMD rules apply to owners of traditional, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) and Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs while the original owner is alive, and to participants in 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans. Roth IRAs are not subject to required minimum distributions.

The Internal Revenue Service has advised that over 1.1 million people across the nation have unclaimed refunds for tax year 2021 but face an April 15, 2025, deadline to submit their tax returns.

The Service's press release breaks the estimated unclaimed refunds down by state and provides suggestions on collecting key documents for filing tax returns for past years. Under the law, taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim their tax refunds. If they don’t file within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.

The Treasury Department yesterday announced that OFAC has sanctioned the Foxtrot Network, a transnational criminal organization (TCO) primarily based in Sweden that has trafficked illicit drugs and that carried out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe, along with its fugitive leader Rawa Majid. In January 2024, the Foxtrot Network orchestrated an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, on behalf of the Government of Iran.

For a link to identification information on the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced virtual Office Hours with its Office of Financial Technology on May 6–8, 2025, to promote responsible innovation in the federal banking system.

Interested parties may request a meeting with OCC staff who will provide feedback on topics discussed and respond to questions. The OCC will provide specific meeting times to selected participants following a review of all requests. Each meeting will be scheduled for 50 minutes.

Information on how to request a meeting is available on the Office Hours event page. To be considered, requests must be made by March 31, 2025.

The Social Security Administration has issued a clarification of media misstatements that it plans to eliminate telephone access to services for SSA beneficiaries. SSA is increasing its protection for America’s seniors and other beneficiaries by eliminating the risk of fraud associated with changing bank account information by telephone.

Approximately 40 percent of Social Security direct deposit fraud is associated with someone calling SSA to change direct deposit bank information. SSA’s current protocol of simply asking identifying questions by telephone is no longer enough to prevent fraud.

If someone needs to change their bank account information on SSA’s record, they will need to either:

• Use two-factor authentication with SSA’s “my Social Security” service; or
• Visit a local Social Security office to prove their identity.

All other SSA telephone services remain unchanged.

FinCEN has announced it has issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) that will require all money services businesses (MSBs) located in 30 ZIP codes across California and Texas near the southwest border to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) with FinCEN at a $200 threshold, in connection with cash transactions.

The terms of the GTO are effective beginning 30 days after the date on which the order is published in the Federal Register. The terms are effective for 179 days thereafter.

The order covers the following ZIP codes across seven counties in California and Texas:

• Imperial County, California: 92231, 92249, 92281, 92283
• San Diego County, California: 91910, 92101, 92113, 92117, 92126, 92154, 92173
• Cameron County, California: 78520, 78521
• El Paso County, Texas: 79901, 79902, 79903, 79905, 79907, 79935
• Hidalgo County, Texas: 78503, 78557, 78572, 78577, 78596
• Maverick County, Texas: 78852
• Webb County, Texas: 78040, 78041, 78043, 78045, 78046

UPDATE ON PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATES: Scheduled for publication on March 14, 2025. Will be effective 4/14/2025–9/9/2025.

The NCUA reports it has granted a federal charter and Share Insurance Fund coverage to Heritage Hub Federal Credit Union, located in Houston.

Heritage Hub will primarily serve people who live, work, worship, or attend school in an 84-census-tract community within Harris County, Texas. Heritage Hub plans to open its doors in mid-2025 and offer members basic savings and lending services to start.

The CFPB has filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal with prejudice, and withdrawn its 2024 suit against Acima Holdings, LLC; Acima Digital, LLC (formerly Acima Credit, LLC, d/b/a Acima Leasing); and Aaron Allred. The Bureau had alleged that the defendants' lease-to-own agreements were actually credit extensions, and accused the defendants of violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act.

The Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC have announced in a joint press release that their 2024 Shared National Credit (SNC) Program Report indicates that credit risk associated with large, syndicated bank loans remains moderate. However, the agencies noted weakened credit quality trends continue due to the pressure of higher interest rates on leveraged borrowers and compressed operating margins in some industry sectors.

The agencies also noted that the magnitude and direction of risk in 2025 is likely to be impacted by borrowers’ ability to manage interest expenses, real estate conditions, and other macroeconomic factors.

The 2024 review reflects the examination of SNC loans originated on or before June 30, 2024. The review focused on leveraged loans and stressed borrowers from various industry sectors and assessed aggregate loan commitments of $100 million or more that are shared by multiple regulated financial institutions.

Yesterday, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced the agency’s new Made in America Manufacturing Initiative to empower small manufacturers.

As part of the Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, the SBA said it will:

• Cut $100 billion in regulation through the Office of Advocacy, which is empowered by law to work across federal agencies to identify and eliminate rules, policies, and procedures that disproportionately burden small businesses and manufacturers
• Launch a Red Tape Hotline for small business owners and manufacturers to share feedback and submit onerous regulations for review
• Deploy the newly announced Office of Manufacturing and Trade to offer small manufacturers dedicated resources and training in partnership with SBA field offices across the country
• Reduce barriers to access for the 504 loan program, a zero-subsidy program which provides capital for real estate, construction, and equipment purchases. Zero-subsidy means the program operates without ongoing taxpayer funding and is sustained by borrower and lender fees.
• Expand the use of the 7(a) Working Capital Pilot program, which provides financing to fund inventory purchases and export-related expenses for international markets
• Promote a skilled manufacturing workforce by partnering with agencies, trade schools and private sector stakeholders to create a pipeline of skilled workers to support manufacturing

Our monthly review of the Federal Reserve Board's archive of Community Reinvestment Act evaluation reports determined that the Reserve Banks made public nine evaluations of state chartered member banks in February. Eight of those evaluations received ratings of Satisfactory.

We congratulate ANB Bank, Denver, Colorado, whose evaluation received a rating of Outstanding.

The OCC has issued Interpretive Letter 1183 to rescind OCC Interpretive Letter 1179 (11/18/2021). [Interpretive Letter 1179 outlined a supervisory nonobjection process for banks that seek to engage in the activities addressed in Interpretive Letters 1170, 1172, or 1174.] In a related Press Release, the OCC said its actions are intended to "reaffirm that a range of cryptocurrency activities are permissible in the federal banking system. "

The OCC also withdrew from two interagency statements as they apply to national banks and federal savings associations—the “Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking Organizations” (1/3/2023), and the “Joint Statement on Liquidity Risks to Banking Organizations Resulting from Crypto-Asset Market Vulnerabilities” (2/23/2023) (together, the interagency statements).

These actions are intended to reduce burden, encourage responsible innovation, and enhance transparency. The OCC will examine the activities described in IL 1170 (addressing crypto-asset custody services), 1172 (addressing holding deposits that serve as reserves backing stablecoins), and 1174 (addressing the use of stablecoins and distributed ledger technology to facilitate payments) as part of its ongoing supervisory process.

As with all activities, banks must conduct crypto-asset activities in a safe, sound, and fair manner and in compliance with applicable law. New activities should be developed and implemented consistent with sound risk management practices and align with banks’ overall business plans and strategies.

The U.S. Senate has passed S.J.Res. 28, a resolution under the Congressional Review Act disapproving the rule [89 FR 99582, 12/10/2024] submitted by the CFPB relating to “Defining Larger Participants of a Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications.”

The House of Representatives has introduced a related bill, H.J.Res. 64, which has been referred to committee. If the House resolution is passed and the president approves the joint resolution, the CFPB rule will be nullified and the Bureau will not be able to issue a substantially similar rule in the future.

The rule in question established the CFPB's supervisory authority over nonbank covered persons that are larger participants in a market for “general-use digital consumer payment applications.” Included are providers of funds transfer and payment wallet functionalities through digital payment applications for consumers' general use in making payments to other persons for personal, family, or household purposes. Examples include consumer financial products and services that are commonly described as “digital wallets,” “payment apps,” “funds transfer apps,” “peer-to-peer payment apps,” “person-to-person payment apps,” “P2P apps,” and the like.

HUD has announced a 90-day extension of its foreclosure moratorium on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single family mortgages in the areas of Los Angeles County, California, devastated by the January 2025 wildfires.

The moratorium prohibits mortgage servicers from initiating or completing foreclosure actions on FHA-insured single family forward or Home Equity Conversion mortgages in the Los Angeles County Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Area (PDMDA) through July 7, 2025. The moratorium was originally set to expire on April 8, 2025.