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Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Tuesday it has designated ten entities and six individuals in response to North Korea’s ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), violations of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions, and attempted evasion of U.S. sanctions. The new designations target third-country companies and individuals that assist already-designated persons who support North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs; deal in the North Korean energy trade; facilitate its exportation of workers; and enable sanctioned North Korean entities to access the U.S. and international financial systems.

As a result of Tuesday’s action, any property or interests in property of the designated persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. For identification of the new designations, along with a number of removals from and updates to the OFAC SDN lists, see our OFAC Update.

The OCC has issued Bulletin 2017-28 with guidance for managing risks to banks and borrowers associated with programs in which residential mortgage loans are originated when the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) at origination exceeds 100 percent (referred to in the bulletin as higher-LTV loans). The guidance applies to any OCC-supervised banks wishing to establish a program for originating higher-LTV loans in communities targeted for revitalization, including collaborative relationships with one another. The bulletin explains the circumstances under which banks may establish a program to originate certain higher-LTV loans, and the agency's supervisory considerations regarding any such programs.

• Related press release

The CFPB has posted an update of its January 2017 report on the scope and growth of student debt among older borrowers (ages 60 and older) in each of the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. The new data further demonstrates the significant growth of student debt among the older population, and the proportion of older borrowers struggling to make their payments.

Responding to a letter from Representative Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, an assistant attorney general has responded to report that "the initiative is no longer in effect, and it will not be undertaken again." Operation Chokepoint was an effort by the Justice Department under the previous administration to curtail legal but disfavored business by working through bank regulators to pressure financial institutions to close customer relationships, often by referring to "reputation risk."

The Federal Reserve System has posted its G.17 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization report for the month of July. Industrial production rose 0.2 percent following an increase of 0.4 percent in June.Manufacturing output edged down 0.1 percent; the production of motor vehicles and parts fell substantially, but that decrease was mostly offset by a net gain of 0.2 percent for other manufacturing industries. Following a six-month string of increases beginning in September 2016, factory output was little changed, on net, between February and July. The indexes for mining and utilities rose 0.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. At 105.5 percent of its 2012 average, total industrial production was 2.2 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector was unchanged at 76.7 percent, a rate that is 3.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2016) average.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced modifications to the streamlined refinance program for borrowers with high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. The program now has an eligibility date which makes the program available for loans originated on or after October 1, 2017.

The agency also announced that its Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been extended through December 31, 2018.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has reported that more than 356,709 refinances were completed in the second quarter of 2017, compared with 510,074 in the first quarter. FHFA’s second quarter Refinance Report also shows that more than 9,700 loans were refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program, bringing the total number of HARP refinances to 3,470,804 since inception of the program in 2009.

The CFPB announced Thursday it has filed a complaint and proposed settlement against Aequitas Capital Management, Inc. and related entities, for aiding the Corinthian Colleges’ predatory lending scheme. The CFPB alleges that Aequitas enabled Corinthian to make high-cost private loans to Corinthian students so that it would seem as if the school was making enough outside revenue to meet the requirements for receiving federal student aid dollars. The risky loans saddled students with high-priced debt that both Aequitas and Corinthian knew students could not afford. Under the CFPB’s proposed settlement, if approved, about 41,000 Corinthian students could be eligible for approximately $183.3 million in loan forgiveness and reduction. In collaboration with the CFPB, several state attorneys general have also reached proposed settlements with Aequitas.

The Bureau reports that, on March 10, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission took action against Aequitas, alleging they had defrauded more than 1,500 investors. A receiver was appointed to wind down Aequitas and distribute its remaining assets.

The NCUA has invited credit union stakeholders to read and comment on a package of regulatory reforms recommended by an internal agency task force. The task force has recommended changes that would be adopted in the coming four years to clarify, improve, revise, or eliminate regulations. The NCUA Board approved posting the proposal in the Federal Register for a 90-day comment period.

UPDATE: Scheduled for publication on 8/22/2017. Comments will be due by 11/20/2017.

HUD and the Census Bureau announced yesterday statistics on new residential construction during July 2017:

• Building Permits: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,223,000. This is 4.1 percent below the revised June rate of 1,275,000 and 4.1 percent above the July 2016 rate of 1,175,000.
• Housing Starts: Privately owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,155,000, 4.8 percent below the revised June estimate of 1,213,000 and 5.6 percent below the July 2016 rate of 1,223,000.
• Housing Completions: Privately owned housing completions in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,175,000, 6.2 percent below the revised June estimate of 1,252,000 and 8.2 percent above the July 2016 rate of 1,086,000.

August results are scheduled to be reported on September 19.