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The Federal Trade Commission has provided its 2015 Annual Enforcement Activities Report to the CFPB. The report covers enforcement and related activities regarding Regulations Z (Truth in Lending Act), M (Consumer Leasing Act), and E (Electronic Fund Transfer Act). It addresses, among other things, the Commission’s enforcement actions related to non-mortgage credit -- including automobile purchases and financing, car title loans, payday lending, and consumer electronics financing -- and mortgage-related credit such as forensic audit scams; rulemaking, research, and policy development related to truth in lending; and consumer and business education regarding truth in lending requirements. It also addresses consumer leasing enforcement actions, as well as negative option and other cases involving electronic fund transfers, and rulemaking related to electronic fund transfers.

In a presentation at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Federal Reserve Board Chair Yellen discussed recent economic developments, the outlook, and their implications for monetary policy. She noted, “the positive economic forces have outweighed the negative, and despite the challenges that the economy continues to face, I continue to expect further progress toward our employment and inflation objectives.” Yellen also said, “there is considerable uncertainty about the economic outlook.” She identified four areas of uncertainty: the thrust and resilience of domestic demand; uncertainty of the economic situation abroad; uncertainty for the U.S. economy; and how quickly inflation will move back to 2 percent. Yellen indicated “My overall assessment is that the current stance of monetary policy is generally appropriate, in that it is providing support to the economy by encouraging further labor market improvement that will help return inflation to 2 percent. At the same time, I continue to think that the federal funds rate will probably need to rise gradually over time to ensure price stability and maximum sustainable employment in the longer run.”

HUD has announced the final nine Promise Zones across the country—high poverty areas in select urban, rural and tribal communities. The newly designated Promise Zones join 13 others designated in 2014 and 2015. The Federal government will work strategically with local leaders to boost economic activity and job growth, improve educational opportunities, reduce crime and leverage private investment to improve the quality of life in these vulnerable areas.

The NCUA has announced that March 31, 2016 Call Report data indicate credit unions continued to increase their lending, with loans outstanding increasing 10.7 percent in the year ending in the first quarter of 2016. Chairman Metsger remarked on the data, saying, “Overall, new and used auto lending was especially strong, and the system gained one million members. With an influx of deposits, federally insured shares at credit unions also neared the $1 trillion mark coming in at $991.7 billion. As credit union lending has increased, long-term investments have declined and reduced the system’s interest rate risk. However, delinquency and charge-off rates are slightly higher than a year ago, and member business loan delinquencies are rising even more. Credit unions making such loans should take note and ensure that they perform proper due diligence to mitigate the risk.”

The FDIC has released the ratings received by 67 state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. Three of the banks were rated outstanding, 63 were found to be satisfactory, and one obtained a needs to improve rating.

The OCC has released a list of the CRA evaluation ratings received by 21 national banks and federal savings associations that became public during May. Five received an outstanding rating, fifteen were rated satisfactory and one garnered a needs to improve rating.

"CDFI Certification – Special Credit Union Version," a free 90-minute webinar for low-income credit unions interested in becoming certified as Community Development Financial Institutions, will be hosted by the NCUA on June 23 beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

The OCC has released its schedule of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) evaluations to be conducted in the third quarter of 2016.

The OCC will host two workshops in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center, July 19-20, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations. The Compliance Risk workshop on July 19 combines lectures, discussion, and exercises on the critical elements of an effective compliance risk management program. Topics of discussion include the Bank Secrecy Act, Community Reinvestment Act, and the Truth-in-Lending (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA) Integrated Disclosures Rule, also known as TRID. The Operational Risk workshop on July 20 focuses on the key components of operational risk—people, processes and systems. The workshop also covers governance, third-party risk, vendor management, and cybersecurity.

The Federal Reserve Board has published the June 2016 report of the summary of commentary on current economic conditions by federal reserve district. Commonly known as the Beige Book, this report is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources.