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The Department of Housing and Urban Development published in this morning's Federal Register an interim final rule, "Inflation Catch-up Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalty Amounts," amending the agency's civil monetary penalty regulations by making inflation adjustments as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The rule also removes three obsolete civil monetary penalty regulations previously authorized under statutes for which either HUD no longer has enforcement authority or the program is no longer active. Among other increases, the amendment increases the penalty per violation for FHA mortgagees and lenders from the current levels of $8,500 per violation capped at $1,525,000 per year, to $9,468 per violation capped annually at $1,893,610.

The rule will be effective August 16, 2016. Comments on the rule are due by August 15, 2016.

The National Credit Union Administration has published a "Sunshine Act" notice of its Board of Directors meeting to be held at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The agenda for the public portion of the meeting includes

• NCUA's Rules and Regulations, Technical Amendments to Community Development Revolving Loan Fund
• NCUA's Rules and Regulations, Statutory Inflation Adjustment of Civil Money Penalties.
• Board Briefing, Interest Rate Risk Supervision and Adding 'S' to CAMEL.

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has published [81 FR 38569] in today's Federal Register an interim final rule to adjust the civil monetary penalties within the Bureau’s jurisdiction for inflation, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The interim rule will be effective on, and comments on the rule will be accepted through, July 14, 2016. The rule adds new Part 1083 ("Civil Penalty Adjustments") to chapter X in title 12 of the CFR. Specifically, it adjusts these civil money penalties:

• Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. 5565(c)(2)(A) -- Tier 1 penalty for any violation of any provision of Federal consumer financial law, or rule, or final order imposed in writing by the Bureau -- $5,000 per day, adjusted to $5,437
• Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. 5565(c)(2)(B) -- Tier 2 penalty for any reckless violation of any provision of Federal consumer financial law, or rule, or final order imposed in writing by the Bureau -- $25,000 per day, adjusted to $27,186
• Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. 5565(c)(2)(C) -- Tier 3 penalty for any knowing violation of any provision of Federal consumer financial law, or rule, or final order imposed in writing by the Bureau -- $1,000,000 per day, adjusted to $1,087,450
• Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, 15 U.S.C. 1717a(a)(2) -- Per violation, $1,000, adjusted to $1,894; annual cap from $1,000,000 to $1,893,610
• Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. 2609(d)(1) -- Provision of annual escrow statement, per failure, $50, with annual cap of $100,000, increased to $89 per failures, with annual cap of $178,156; per intentional failure, $100 raised to $178 (no caps)
• S.A.F.E. Act , 12 U.S.C. 5113(d)(2) -- (Only in states where there is a licensing system imposed by the CFPB) $25,000 per violation, increased to $27,455
• Truth in Lending Act , 15 U.S.C. 1639c(k) (Appraisal independence requirements in real estate transactions) -- $10,000 per day for first violation, increased to $10,875; $20,000 per day for subsequent violations, increased to $21,749

OCC Bulletin 2016-20 has been issued to inform national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks of the temporary extension of certain protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which was renewed on March 31, 2016, with the signing of the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015. [Note: The OCC often sends announcements of such developments well after they occur.] The SCRA amendments continue a temporary provision that extends for one year following a servicemember’s period of military service the protections related to the sale, foreclosure, or seizure of the servicemember’s mortgaged property, or the filing of a legal action to enforce a mortgage obligation or other similarly secured obligation. The temporary extension now expires on December 31, 2017. HUD has updated its “Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Notice Disclosure” (Form 92070) to reflect the extensions.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has delivered to Congress the June 2016 report of profitability of credit card operations of depository institutions. The report analyzes the profitability over time of depository institutions' credit card activities by examining the performance of larger institutions that specialize in such activities and of a sample of smaller commercial banks that offer a range of credit services. It also reviews trends in credit card pricing, including changes in interest rates.

The Federal Reserve System has published the first 2016 issue of Consumer Compliance Outlook, featuring these and other articles:

• Interagency Flood Insurance Regulation Update Webinar: Questions and Answers
• Credit and Debit Card Issuers’ Obligations When Consumers Dispute Transactions with Merchants
• Proposed Changes to the Uniform Interagency Consumer Compliance Rating System

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has scheduled a one-hour webinar at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 22, providing an overview of the recent updates to its eRegulations tool. Preregistration is required.by 5 p.m. ET on June 21.

The CFPB has announced new resources for consumers regarding shopping and negotiating an auto loan. “Take Control of your Auto Loan” is a roadmap to help consumers navigate the process and understand the total cost of a car loan. The Auto Loan Worksheet helps keep track of offers, see the total cost of a car purchase, and negotiate the best deal.

The First Quarter 2016 mortgage debt outstanding report has been released by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced the publication of the June 2016 edition of its Community Developments Investments electronic newsletter entitled "Financing Health Centers: Supporting Community Wellness." Articles look at how banks are financing the construction, renovation, and expansion of federally funded health centers. Bankers and public health professionals discuss the public sector financial resources they have leveraged in the financing of these facilities.