On 11/20/18, the CFPB and Federal Reserve jointly issued a 58 page “proposed rule and reopening of comment period for existing proposed rule” for Regulation CC. This request for comment does two things as the proposal would first implement new changes to the Expedited Funds Availability Act and also provides an additional opportunity for public comment on the 2011 funds availability proposal that was never finalized.
Comments must be received within 60 days after the date of publication to the Federal Register.
The New 2018 Proposal
In the new proposal, the Agencies are proposing a calculation methodology for implementing a statutory requirement to adjust the dollar amounts in the Expedited Funds Availability (EFA) Act every five years by the aggregate annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) rounded to the nearest multiple of $25. In addition, the new proposal would implement a requirement of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA) which amends the EFA Act to extend coverage to American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. The new proposal would also make other technical amendments.
To explain the proposed calculation methodology for adjusting dollar amounts, the Agencies provided several illustrations. For example, the proposed calculation methods would initially change the minimum amount of funds to be made available on the second day after the date of deposit to increase from $200 to $225, while the new amount for the thresholds relating to new accounts, large-deposits, and repeatedly overdrawn accounts would increase from $5,000 to $5,525. These changes are proposed to take place on April 1, 2020.
Reopening Comments for the Existing Proposal
As times have changed since the 2011 funds availability proposal, the Federal Reserve and the CFPB now have joint rulemaking authority with respect to subpart B of Regulation CC, related definitions, and applicable appendices. Therefore, the Federal Reserve and the CFPB are jointly reopening the comment period for the 2011 funds availability proposal.
Technical Amendments to Regulation DD
In addition to the Regulation CC amendments, the CFPB is proposing “technical, non-substantive” amendments to Regulation DD. The change would to add a new paragraph to Regulation DD to cross-reference the CFPB’s joint authority with the Federal Reserve. The CFPB is also proposing related “technical, non-substantive” amendments to the regulation and commentary which state that interest shall begin to accrue not later than the business day specified for interest-bearing accounts in the EFA Act and Regulation CC. Furthermore, a few technical corrections have been proposed relating to the calculation of the annual percentage yield and annual percentage yield earned.
The 2018 proposal can be found here.
The 2011 Regulation CC proposal can be found here.