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The Small Business Administration has recently posted two new disaster-related news releases:

• SBA Relief Still Available to Minnesota Private Nonprofits Affected by Severe Storms and Flooding
• SBA Opens Business Recovery Center to Assist Georgia Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Debby and Helene

U.S. house prices rose 4.5 percent between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (FHFA HPI). House prices were up 1.4 percent compared to the third quarter of 2024. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 0.4 percent from November.

FinCEN has reported that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body that establishes international standards for anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and countering the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF), updated its lists of jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT/CPF deficiencies at the conclusion of its plenary meeting this month. U.S. financial institutions should consider the FATF’s stance toward these jurisdictions when reviewing their obligations and risk-based policies, procedures, and practices.

On February 21, 2025, the FATF added Laos and Nepal to its list of Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring and removed the Philippines from that list.

The FATF’s list of High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action remains the same, with Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Burma subject to calls for action. Specifically, the FATF continues to call on jurisdictions to apply countermeasures on Iran and DPRK. Burma remains subject to the application of enhanced due diligence, but not countermeasures.

The FDIC has issued FIL-2-2025 with steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Kentucky affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. The affected areas include Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Knott, Lee, Letcher, Martin, Owsley, Perry, and Pike Counties. Additional areas may be added. A current list of designated areas is available at https://www.fema.gov.

The Federal Reserve Board has released the minutes from its January 21 and 29, 2025, meetings to review and determine the discount rates provided to depository institutions through the discount window.

In its first press release since January 21, the FDIC yesterday announced that the 4,487 FDIC-insured institutions reported return on assets of 1.11 percent and net income of $66.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of $1.5 billion or 2.3 percent from the prior quarter, largely driven by an increase in net interest income.

Full year net income was $268.2 billion, up $14.1 billion (5.6 percent) from calendar year 2023.

The SBA has issued a reminder that SBA relief is still available to Iowa Small Businesses and Private nonprofits affected by summer storms.

The Small Business Administration has reported that Administrator Kelly Loeffler has issued a "Day One" memo outlining her top 15 priorities for the agency. Ms. Loeffler was recently sworn in as the 28th Administrator of the SBA:

1. Promoting "Made in America" with U.S. manufacturing
2. Implementing President Trump's executive orders
3. Supporting the Department of Government Efficiency
4. Mandating full-time, in-office work for SBA employees
5. Prioritizing workforce optimization
6. Cracking down on fraud
7. Conducting an agency-wide financial audit
8. Protecting the solvency of loan programs and restoring underwriting standards
9. Banning illegal aliens from receiving SBA assistance
10. Restricting hostile foreign nationals from accessing SBA assistance
11. Creating a strike force to cut regulation
12. Improving SBA customer service, technology, and cybersecurity
13. Promoting fair competition by returning 8(a) contracting goals to statutory levels
14. Relocating regional offices out of sanctuary cities
15. Ending partisan voter registration activities

The Small Business Administration has published two reminders of available disaster-related relief:

• Relief Still Available to Arkansas Businesses Hit by May Storms
• SBA Relief Still Available to New Mexico Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Summer Fires

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s member agencies are making changes to the Uniform Bank Performance Report’s Interest Rate Risk Analysis page on or shortly after February 22, 2025. These changes, being led by the Task Force on Surveillance Systems, are part of a previously announced ongoing multiyear review of Uniform Bank Performance Report content.

More information on the changes to the UBPR Interest Rate Risk Analysis page is available HERE.