Top Story Lending Related

The Federal Reserve Board has posted the September 7 issue of the Beige Book, summarizing comments on current economic conditions by Reserve District received from business and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve System through August 29.

The NCUA has announced that, based on call report data, the total lending in the 2016 second quarter at federally insured credit unions increased to $823.4 billion, a 10.5 percent increase from 2015.

The FDIC has announced it will co-sponsor with the Journal for Financial Services Research the 16th Annual Bank Research Conference September 8–9, 2016. The conference features a presentation of papers and keynote addresses by Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg and Professor Douglas Diamond of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. The conference will feature seven sessions during the two days on topics ranging from liquidity and capital regulation to central bank asset purchases and the effect on bank credit formation. In addition, 19 papers that were selected from 565 submissions will be presented.

The FDIC has posted its September list of banks whose Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) evaluation ratings have recently become public. Three of the listed banks received ratings of "Outstanding." The remaining 57 institutions received ratings of "Satisfactory."

The FDIC has issued FIL-59-2016, which encourages depository institutions to consider all reasonable and prudent steps to assist customers in communities affected by recent storms and flooding in Louisiana.

The OCC has released a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public during August 2016. The list contains only national banks, federal savings associations, and insured federal branches of foreign banks that have received ratings. The possible ratings are outstanding, satisfactory, needs to improve, and substantial noncompliance. Seven on the list are rated outstanding, 22 are rated satisfactory and one is rated substantial noncompliance.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that the principals of a mortgage relief operation and their companies are banned from the mortgage loan modification and debt relief business under court orders obtained by the Commission. The order resolve charges that the scheme falsely promised financially distressed homeowners they would receive legal representation to prevent foreclosure or lower their mortgage payments and interest rates, and illegally charged thousands of dollars in advance. Under a stipulated order for permanent injunction to which Edward William Rennick III, Surety Law Group LLP and Redstone Law Group LLC agreed, they are banned from selling secured and unsecured debt relief products or services, and prohibited from misrepresenting any financial products and services, and from violating the Do Not Call Registry rules. The order imposes an $8 million judgment that will be suspended upon surrender of frozen assets.

The OCC has issued its Community Reinvestment Act examination schedule for the fourth quarter of 2016.

HUD has announced that it is charging a group of landlords in the Pittsburgh area with discriminating against prospective residents who have disabilities. HUD claims the owners and property managers of Beechwood Gardens in Pittsburgh and Southpointe Towers in West Mifflin denied housing to testers posing as prospective renters by refusing to grant them reasonable accommodations. HUD’s charge alleges that the owners and managers sent residents a notice stating that there would “no longer be any assigned [parking] spaces, no exceptions, even for people with disabilities.” The Fair Housing Partnership of Pittsburgh conducted a series of tests using testers posing as rental applicants who required designated parking spaces due to mobility disabilities. HUD alleges that respondents denied these testers requests for assigned parking at both Southpointe and Beechwood Gardens.

The FDIC has posted the public list of institutions that it has scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the fourth quarter of 2016. The list is published pursuant to revised CRA regulations published in May 1995 that require each federal bank and thrift regulator to publish a quarterly CRA examination schedule at least 30 days before the beginning of each quarter.