Friday's News

January 4, 2019

The first week of 2019 gave us a glimpse of things to come, as the 116^Th Congress was sworn in amid a 13-day long federal government shutdown.   In Albany, Governor Cuomo was sworn in for a third term and announced a new Superintendent of DFS. 

State Regulatory Developments

• Governor Cuomo announced his intention to nominate Linda Lacewell to serve as Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services. Ms. Lacewell most recently served as Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Governor. In that role, she oversaw Executive Chamber operations, as well as ethics and law enforcement matters. Previously, Ms. Lacewell served as Chief Risk Officer and Counselor to Governor Cuomo where she built and implemented the first statewide system for ethics, risk and compliance in agencies and authorities. She also spent nine years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Last month, current Superintendent Maria Vullo announced her intention to step down at the end of January.

State Legislative Developments

• On January 1, Governor Cuomo was sworn in for his third term. In a speech at the inaugural festivities, Cuomo outlined a progressive agenda, including stronger abortion rights, tighter gun-control laws, the legalization of recreational marijuanaand the end of cash bail. Newly elected Attorney GeneralTish James was also sworn in, as well as Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and third term Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. The Legislature is set to begin session on Wednesday January 9, 2019.
• In the final hours of 2018, a bill that NYBA supported was signed by the Governor: A.10831A (Zebrowski)/ S.9080 (Hamilton) will bring New York in line with federal rules on the registration of real estate appraisal management companies. Existing federal regulations require appraisal management companies to be subject to state licensing requirements.
• The Governor also vetoed a bill that was opposed by the business community at large: A.10639A (Morelle)/ S.8380 (Funke) would have mandated 12 weeks of bereavement leave for workers, funded by deductions from workers’ paychecks.
• California Democrat Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.  Another California Democrat, Maxine Waters took over the gavel of the House Financial Services Committee, where she said housing finance would be a top priority.  Waters also assumed oversight of the CFPB as part of her duties, and could try to initiate changes at the Bureau. Congressional leaders continue spending bill negotiations with President Trump in order to try to bring the shutdown to an end. The primary obstacle has been a disagreement over funding for border security.Federal Legislative Developments
•  New York’s Congressional delegation features four new faces, sworn in yesterday: Max Rose (D-Staten Island), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens), Antonio Delgado (D-Hudson Valley), former Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica). Joe Morelle (D-Rochester) was sworn in just after his election to an open seat in November.

Federal Regulatory Developments

• The federal agencies issued a final rule, in late December, allowing banks to take advantage of a three-year phase-in period for CECL (Current Expected Credit Loss). SEC registered banks must comply with the rule in 2020, with other banks subject to compliance in 2021 and 2022.
• The federal agencies also issued a final rule to implement the new, 18-month exam cycle for banks with up to $3 billion in assets. Prior to passage of S.2155, only banks under $1 billion were eligible for the longer exam cycle.
• The CFPB announced that it would reduce the amount of specific HMDA data it releases to the public, in order to preserve consumer privacy. Along the same line, the Bureau also said it would commence a formal rulemaking this year to determine what HMDA data it would release in the future.

Resources 

• Banks providing forbearance for customers affected by the federal government shutdown may wish to consult the guidance issued by the Consumer Data Industry Association for reporting forbearance information to the credit bureaus.
• The CFPB has made changes to the asset size exemption threshold for banks under Regulation Z and Regulation C, effective January 1, 2019. 

Questions?
Contact Mike Smith at (212) 297-1699 or msmith@nyba.com, or Clare Cusack at (212) 297-1664 or ccusack@nyba.com.
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