Bank Regulation

May 17, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association joined SIFMA, NYSE, and the Chamber of Commerce in an amicus brief in City of Pontiac Policemen’s & Firemen’s Retirement System v. UBS AG, a case presently pending in the federal appeals court in New York. The case involves an attempt by the plaintiffs to sue the defendants under the federal securities laws for actions that occurred overseas. The sole ground for jurisdiction would be that the defendants are cross-listed on a U.S. exchange. The brief takes the position that a recent Supreme Court decision bars such actions.

May 15, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FASB on its classification and measurement proposal, recommending that the Board not proceed with the proposal and instead maintain the existing U.S. accounting model. While TCH supports classifying financial instruments based on the framework of an entity’s business model as well as the cash flow characteristics of the financial instruments, TCH believes the proposal does not improve existing U.S. GAAP. However, a few of TCH’s FBO Owners generally support the proposal, as it would more closely align U.S. GAAP with the proposed IASB model.

Related Documents

	Proposal
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Apr 30, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association, joined by several trade association partners, submitted a comment letter on Dodd-Frank Sections 165/166 proposal for foreign bank organizations (FBOs).TCH letter focuses on concerns with the basic policy approach to host-country regulation of international banks. The letter recommends, among other things, that international bank regulation be based on a general policy of international regulatory cooperation while avoiding a ring-fenced, balkanized approach to FBO regulation in the United States. Furthermore, the Board should adopt a more flexible approach for global institutions based on deference to effective home-country regulators and regulatory schemes.

Related Documents

	Interim Final Rule

Apr 25, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association along with two other trade associations submitted a letter to the OCC requesting an extension of the compliance date for the lending limits rule. The letter requests a delay until the first day of the quarter that begins after the third month following the date the final rule is published (e.g., if the final rule is published before the end of June, the compliance date would be October 1). This approach takes into account the Call Report periods and should give banks enough time after the final rule is issued to plan accordingly.

Related Documents

	Proposal

Apr 25, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FRB on its proposal to amend Regulation HH, which would authorize a Federal Reserve Bank to establish an account for a financial market utility (FMU) that has been designated as systemically important by the FSOC. In the letter TCH suggests that the Board’s proposal should be revised to address the following issues: (i) the proposed sharing of confidential supervisory information about FMUs with the business operations of the FRBs is unacceptable, (ii) the Board should declare that any accounts established under Regulation HH are covered by the safe harbor of 12 U.S.C. § 4405, and (iii) Reserve Bank accounts should not be mandatory for FMUs. TCH also noted that the provisions of proposed Regulation HH regarding the payment of interest appear reasonable.

Related Documents

	Proposal

Apr 22, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association joined by four other trade associations submitted a comment letter to the FRB, FDIC and OCC on their proposal to revise the Call Report and add a new Item 16 to Schedule RC-M. Item 16 would assist the Agencies with their supervisory responsibilities related to the new consumer protection regime created by Section 1073 of Dodd Frank Act and provide metrics by which the Agencies and the CFPB can gauge the impact of the Rule on the remittance transfer market. In the letter TCH requests that: (i) the remittance transfer reporting be conducted through an annual or semi-annual survey of all remittance transfer providers rather than through the Call Report, (ii) the comment period to respond to the proposed volume, value, and Temporary Exemption reporting in Item 16(e), be extended until at least two quarters after the effective date of the final Rule, (iii) institutions be required to report only remittance transfers for which they are the remittance transfer provider, and certain other changes.

Related Documents

	FDIC Proposal
	FSA Consultation Paper

Apr 22, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter on the FDIC’s proposed rule to address the depositor preference issue. The letter asserts that the “dual payability” approach taken in the proposed rule creates significant operational and legal issues, and that a better approach would be for the FDIC to issue a formal interpretation that the term “deposit liability” includes foreign branch deposits regardless of whether they are dually payable. This better, and relatively simple approach, would allow the FDIC to achieve all of its policy objectives and could be adopted alone or as a supplement to the approach taken in the proposed rule.

Apr 10, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association today released a study by Oxford Economics that reaffirms the expert consensus that increased capital and liquidity requirements on banks will have a negative impact on U.S. economic growth and future employment. The study analyzed five of the most prominently and frequently cited capital cost studies using the Oxford Global Economic Model – the most widely used commercial international economic forecasting and scenario model in the world. The results demonstrated that while there is a wide range of conclusions on the severity of the impact of increased capital and liquidity requirements, all the studies conclude that there will be an economic and job cost to the U.S. economy. The findings clearly demonstrate the need for any regulatory program to be carefully structured to avoid any unintended consequences to economic growth and employment.

Related Documents

	Proposal

Apr 8, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the OCC on its proposal to expand to all national banks the current reporting requirement for small national banks to file annual Money Laundering Risk (MLR) reports on their high-risk products, services, customers, and geographies and use this information to determine how to allocate its examination resources. TCH urged the OCC to forego the proposal as TCH does not believe that the benefits of the proposal would outweigh its negative effects.

Related Documents

	Proposal

Apr 1, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a joint comment letter to the U.S. banking agencies responding to the proposed revisions to the Instructions for the Preparation of the Country Exposure Report (the FFIEC 009 and 009a). While the letter generally supports the FFIEC’s efforts, TCH specifically requests a number of clarifications to the proposal to provide more accurate, consistent and comparable reporting. In view of the requested clarifications and volume and granularity of other changes included in the proposal, TCH requests a delay in the effective date of the proposal for at least 90 days to September 30, 2013.

Mar 26, 2013  -- Systemic risk and TBTF have been the subject of intense debate on Main Street, Wall Street, and in the halls of Congress. At a March 26th event at Boston University, TCH Association President Paul Saltzman presented TCH’s analysis on the rhetoric and misperceptions surrounding TBTF and highlight the various reforms in place to end TBTF including Title II, enhanced capital and liquidity standards, and improved ex ante macro-prudential tools to identify and monitor potential sources of systemic risk.

Related Documents

	FASB Proposal
	IASB Proposal

Mar 22, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a request to the FASB to extend the comment period on the FASB credit loss exposure draft to coincide with the end of the July 5 comment period for the credit loss proposal issued by the IASB. TCH believes this would allow for a more in-depth evaluation of the implications of the two proposals.

Related Documents

	TCH October 19, 2012 Comments
	Proposal

Mar 15, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association joined the ABA in submitting a supplemental comment letter to the FRB on the FR Y-15. The issue of primary concern in the supplemental letter relates to the requirement of public disclosure of components of high quality liquid assets, the numerator in the LCR. The letter requests that the Fed either remove the LCR line items from the FR Y-15, or alternatively provide confidential treatment to the FR Y-15, at least until the LCR is finalized and fully implemented in the U.S. TCH previously commented on the proposed FR Y-15 on October 19, 2012 as part of a joint trade comment letter.

Mar 11, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association joined fellow trade associations in a policy brief in response to questionable assertions of a "taxpayer subsidy" to large banks. The policy brief states that the recent estimation that large banking companies enjoy a subsidy worth $83 billion is based on a flawed methodology, and on the extrapolation of stale and unreliable financial market data collected before passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. Furthermore, several more recent studies indicate that, since the passage of Dodd-Frank, any cost of funding advantage has been dramatically reduced or even eliminated.

Mar 6, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee to express support for the Omnibus Uniform Commercial Code Modernization Act, which would make certain changes to New York’s Uniform Commercial Code. These changes are necessary to modernize New York’s commercial law, preserve New York law’s relevance and usefulness for parties that wish to transact business in the state, and sustain New York as a jurisdiction of choice for conducting domestic and international business.

Related Documents

	TCH April 23, 2012 Brief

Mar 4, 2013  -- Act The Clearing House Association joined SIFMA in an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Retirement Board of the Policemen’s Annuity & Benefit Fund v. Bank of New York Mellon. The case involves the application of the Trust Indenture Act (“TIA”) to mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) issued by N.Y. common-law trusts. Contrary to almost 40 years of SEC guidance, the district court held that TIA does apply but, agreeing with an earlier TCH amicus brief in this case, the court certified the issue for immediate appeal to the Second Circuit. The TCH-SIFMA brief argues that the court should allow the immediate appeal because of the adverse effects that the case could have on financial markets and the uncertainty that it would engender among participants in the MBS market.

Feb 11, 2013  -- The Simulation exercise - which took place on November 8 and 9, 2012, and was attended by over 160 industry leaders, former regulators and legal experts - simulated the failure of a large U.S.-based global banking organization and its resolution under the Title II single-point-of-entry approach.

To obtain a copy of the documents used in the simulation exercise, please contact David.Helene@theclearinghouse.org.

Related Documents

	Final Exemptive Order
	TCH August 27, 2012 Comments
	TCH August 13, 2012 Comments

Feb 6, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association, joined by several trade association partners, submitted a comment letter to the CFTC regarding its Exemptive Order on compliance with certain cross-border swaps provisions. The letter provides detailed commentary on the Commission’s specific proposals in the Further Proposed Guidance and reiterates the previous comments made in the industry comment letters filed in August, particularly regarding the definition of “U.S. Person.” The letter also notes that the trade associations do not support the proposed clarifications to two prongs of the proposed “U.S. Person” definition and the proposed alternative interpretation of the aggregation requirement, which requires aggregation of swap transactions of non-U.S. persons with U.S. affiliates.

Related Documents

	Proposal
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Jan 31, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association along with five other trade associations filed a letter with the FRB urging the Board to extend the deadline for comments on its proposed rule implementing the enhanced prudential standards and early remediation requirements mandated by Sections 165 and 166 of Dodd-Frank, for foreign banking organizations and foreign nonbank financial companies. As a result of the tremendous breadth, complexity, potential interrelationships and importance of the proposed rule the trade associations asked the Board to extend the comment period for 60 days, from March 31 to May 30. The associations are concerned that the existing deadline for comments does not provide sufficient time to perform the level of analysis that this proposal merits, or to achieve an adequate understanding of the implications and potential consequences of the proposed rules.

Related Documents

	Policy Guidance

Jan 30, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the Department of State on the department’s policy guidance on its sanctions authorities under various statutes and regulations, including the Iran Sanctions Act. The Clearing House requested that the Department provide additional guidance on how the restrictions on loans and other extensions of credit should be interpreted.

Jan 17, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association (TCH) today released a report on TCH’s recently-concluded Title II OLA-Resolution Simulation exercise. The Simulation exercise – which took place on November 8 and 9, 2012 and was attended by over 160 industry leaders, former regulators and legal experts – simulated the failure of a large U.S.-based global banking organization and its resolution under the Title II single-point-of-entry approach. The report released today details what those who participated in the Simulation Exercise witnessed firsthand – which is that a single-point-of-entry private sector recapitalization can resolve a large, complex financial institution in a manner that is orderly and which preserves financial stability and fully protects taxpayers from loss.

Jan 17, 2013  -- The Clearing House Association (TCH) today released a white paper detailing how Title II and the single-point-of-entry approach can be used to resolve a large, complex financial institution. The white paper provides a detailed analysis of the workability and benefits of a Title II single-point-of-entry approach. The paper argues that Title II provides regulators with an important safety valve to use in the event that a large, complex financial institution fails and ordinary resolution frameworks prove inadequate to protect financial stability. The paper asserts that Title II effectively ends the perceived “Too-Big-To-Fail” problem in the United States by requiring that shareholders lose their entire investment, creditors bear all the remaining losses, culpable management is terminated and no cost is imposed on the taxpayer.

Related Documents

	TCH April 4, 2012 Brief
	Order

Jan 4, 2013  -- The Clearing House filed an Amicus Brief to seek clarification of the applicability of the district court’s order to beneficiary’s banks, funds-transfer networks, and other parties to funds transfers and to discuss the inclusion of the indenture trustee in the injunction, after the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of the November 21 district court order. The Brief argues that (i) the Amended Injunction improperly expands the scope of nonparties bound by its terms beyond aiders and abettors, (ii) the amended injunction is contrary to law because it interferes with property right of nonparties (iii) the amended injunction violates Federal and New York State law because it improperly interferes with the orderly functioning of payments systems, and (iv) extraterritorial application would violate due process by potentially imposing double liability on financial institutions outside New York.

Related Documents

	White Paper Highlights

Dec 18, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association’s white paper Central Counterparties: Recommendations to Promote Financial Stability and Resilience, identifies the unique roles that central counterparties (CCPs) can play in the derivatives market and in the promotion of financial stability. The Association believes that, if particular care is not given to their structure, operation, and regulation, these institutions could threaten the stability of the financial system during periods of market stress by imposing severe capital and liquidity strains on the market generally and specifically on their clearing members, which provide key elements of the credit support infrastructure that underpins the financial integrity of CCPs. The stated purpose of the paper is to provide guidance for the private and public sector designed to avoid arrangements that, under adverse circumstances, could frustrate shared objectives for the promotion of financial stability and resilience during periods of market stress.

Related Documents

	Interim Final Rule
	TCH August 6, 2012 Comments

Dec 14, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a joint letter with ABA to the OCC regarding its interim final rule proposal to amend lending limits rule to include credit exposures arising from derivative and securities financing transactions. The letter clarifies the Member Banks’ positions on the methods for measuring securities financing transactions contained in the rule, expressed in the joint trades’ August 6 letter. The clarification letter argues that when measuring securities financing transactions, banks should be allowed to use the Basel Collateral Haircut Approach.

Related Documents

	Tiffany v. Forbse, et al.

Oct 26, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association and the Institute of International Bankers filed amicus briefs in Gucci America v. Li et al. and Tiffany v. Forbse, et al. In these cases, plaintiffs obtained judgments against several persons for counterfeiting plaintiffs’ products. They then filed subpoenas and restraining notices against the New York branches of several Chinese banks demanding information on any accounts held by the defendants at the banks’ offices in China and a freeze on all funds in those accounts in anticipation of an order to transfer those funds to New York so that they can be turned over to the plaintiffs. The banks sought review by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but the plaintiffs moved to dismiss those appeals on the grounds that the banks have no standing to appeal and the order is not appealable. The brief by TCH and IIB argues that because compliance with the subpoenas and restraining notices could cause the Chinese banks to violate local law and subject them to double liability, the banks are entitled to review by the Court of Appeals.

Related Documents

	Basel III NPR
	Advanced Approaches NPR
	Standardized Approach NPR
	Davis Polk Memo

Oct 22, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a joint trade comment letter with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “Agencies”) in response to the Basel III notices of proposed rulemaking. TCH is broadly supportive of U.S. Basel III rules as proposed by the Agencies, but believes some modifications or clarifications will further the objectives expressed in the NPRs. We agree that the Agencies should implement Basel III for U.S. banks in a manner that is consistent with international standards where feasible and commensurate with the actual risk posed to the financial institution. While TCH does not revisit provisions opposed in prior comment letters on which international regulators have already reached agreement, there are limited areas where certain aspects of the NPRs do raise particular substantive concerns for our members. Specifically, we are primarily concerned about elimination of the filter for income/loss reported in accumulated other comprehensive income, the treatment of residential mortgage exposures, the definition of “financial institution,” and the proliferation of capital ratios.

Oct 22, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with five other trade associations, filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in Cummings v. Doughty. The brief asks the Court to clarify whether the safe harbor established by the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act provides the full immunity protection of the safe harbor provision from civil liability for claims arising out of the filing of a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), or more qualified immunity from these claims. While most courts have held that the Act’s safe harbor provision grants a financial institution absolute immunity, the Louisiana court and some other courts decided to insert a good faith requirement to the safe harbor provision that would nullify the safe harbor. The brief argues that: (i) the Louisiana court decision conflicts with the plain language of the statute, (ii) the issue of whether the Act provides absolute immunity is unsettled and in need of review, and (iii) without absolute immunity banks will be hesitant to file SARs.

Related Documents

	Proposal

Oct 19, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed an industry comment letter with the Fed on the proposed Banking Organization System Risk Report (FR Y-15). The letter requests, among other things, (i) additional information as to the purpose of the information collection, (ii) an exclusion for FBOs, (iii) additional time for companies to submit the requested information, (iv) the removal of the CFO attestation requirement, (v) the Fed to maintain the confidentiality of the data submitted, and (vi) that the initial submission be on a “best efforts” basis.

Related Documents

	OCC Proposal

Oct 15, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a joint trade comment letter with the OCC on its recent Stress Testing Information Collection Proposal. The letter requests (i) transparency on the intended use of the data collected, (ii) that the OCC confirm its Basel III data collection template to those of the other agencies, and (iii) more detailed instructions for the schedules as well as a formal process for clarifying uncertainties.

Related Documents

	BCBS Consultative Document

Sep 14, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed an industry comment letter with the Basel Committee on its recent consultative document on monitoring indicators for intraday liquidity management. The letter raised concerns over whether or not the use of the proposed indicators for monitoring intraday liquidity will allow supervisors to have a complete understanding of how banks manage intraday liquidity including peak flows and govern the overall payments process. Additionally, the industry believes that the current proposal lacks clarity with respect to purpose, scope, cost and individual measurements.

Related Documents

	Proposal

Sep 7, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter in response to the CFPB’s NPR on integrating mortgage disclosures under RESPA and TILA. The letter states that an “all-in” finance charge is inappropriate at this time without further study of its interaction with other mortgage laws, such as HOEPA, and supports the proposed delay in the implementation of certain disclosure requirements established by Title XIV of Dodd-Frank. The letter also recommends that the CFPB carefully consider the interplay and sequencing of this proposal with other pending rulemakings and publish its expected rulemaking schedule for comment. TCH will be following up with the CFPB after the recently-extended comment period ends.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposal
	TCH April 23, 2012 Comments

Sep 4, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed an industry comment letter with the Federal Reserve on its recent proposal addressing information collection related to capital assessments and stress testing (FR Y-14). The letter raised certain aspects of the proposal that cause the industry concern including the appropriate set of rules that should be used for Basel III projections for the upcoming comprehensive capital analysis and review (“CCAR”), the new chief financial officer attestation requirement, confidentiality, and legal reserves. Additionally, the industry raised a significant number of specific areas where additional clarification was needed in order to provide meaningful and accurate data submissions.The Fed finalized its proposed revision to its FR Y-14 series, effective September 30, 2012. After considering the issues raised in TCH’s comment letter, the Fed accepted each of TCH's key recommendations and suggestions. Specifically, the new rules do not include a CFO attestation requirement; require banks to prepare Basel III estimates on the basis of the U.S. NPRs rather than the BIS rules used in CCAR 2012; permit banks to exclude a particular data item from the schedules if a foreign law prohibits the bank from providing such information (subject to legal analysis); delay implementation of the MSR schedule; and allow first-time respondents extended filing deadlines. With respect to the disclosure of litigation reserves in the PPNR projections and quarterly worksheet, the Fed has adopted the industry’s preferred alternative, Method 4, which would reduce the possibility that an outside observer could identify the existence and value of reserves related to a particular event.

Related Documents

	Proposed Guidance
	TCH August 13, 2012 Comments
	Fried Frank Memo

Aug 27, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter in response to the CFTC’s proposed interpretive guidance regarding the cross-border application of the swaps provisions of Title VII of Dodd-Frank. TCH is concerned that, as a general matter, the proposed guidance may exceed the limits imposed by Dodd-Frank. More specifically, TCH is concerned that the definition of “U.S. Person” would include a non-U.S. branch or agency of a U.S.-based bank, but not a non-U.S.-based subsidiary. The guidance may in effect dictate the organizational structure of firms in a way that ignores international recognition of efficient bank structures, consolidated supervision of financial holding companies, and enterprise-wide risk management requirements. The guidance could indeed result in additional and new systemic risks and increase capital costs for banks as a result of the need to restructure in order to remain on a level-playing field with other U.S. and non-U.S. institutions.

Related Documents

	FinCEN Notice 2012-1

Aug 17, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted an unsolicited joint trades letter to FinCEN urging the agency to reinstitute a permanent exception to the FBAR filing requirement for employees who have signature authority over employment-related accounts (including accounts of their employer’s affiliates) in which they have no financial interest, in order to avoid significant confusion and uncertainty during the 2012 individual income tax filing season.

Related Documents

	Proposed Exemptive Order

Aug 13, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter to address the CFTC’s proposed exemptive order regarding delayed compliance with certain swap regulations. In the letter, TCH urges the CFTC to revise the proposed order to: (i) provide a complete exemption from the application of rules or concepts that are still subject to comment or significant ambiguities, (ii) treat swap dealers equally and consistently so that the relief itself does not create an unlevel playing field among market participants, and (iii) incorporate a sufficient amount of time to accomplish its purpose of providing an orderly transition to the new regulatory regime as well as to changes in non-U.S. regulatory regimes.

Related Documents

	Proposal
	TCH April 23, 2012 Comments

Aug 6, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed an industry comment letter with the Fed regarding its proposal to require large bank holding companies to provide granular information relating to banks’ individual litigation reserves as part of the CCAR operational risk reporting process. TCH’s letter stated that disclosure of legal reserve information would be potentially very damaging to banks whenever they are defendants in litigation, irrespective of the merits of the claim, and thus inimical to the safety and soundness of financial institutions. Additionally, TCH commented on five Fed alternative proposals for disclosure of such data, expressing concern over the various methods of disclosure and expressing a potential preference (assuming certain modifications) for the Fed’s proposal to report an aggregated frequency quarterly and an annual consolidated legal reserve balance. In light of the industry’s concerns about the Fed’s proposed disclosure methods, TCH also suggested an additional “processed data option” to disclose the requested information to the Fed while maintaining the confidential nature of the legal reserve data.

Related Documents

	Interim Final Rule
	TCH SCCL Study
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Aug 6, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association supports the OCC’s approach to measuring credit exposures arising from derivative and securities financing transactions – an approach which generally allows a bank to choose between a regulator-approved internal model or a non-model measurement methodology. However, TCH urges the OCC to clarify how internal models will be approved, and to provide banks with additional flexibility as to which non-model methodology they choose to apply. In addition, TCH believes that an extension of the compliance date until October 1, 2013 is necessary and appropriate for various reasons, including that banks need time to incorporate the rule into bank systems and to develop necessary compliance programs and policies.

Jul 31, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association supports robust, effective anti-money laundering rules that work to protect the financial system and the public from the serious harm caused by money launderers and terrorists, and FinCEN’s effort to codify and clarify its rules regarding the customer due diligence responsibilities of financial institutions. Nevertheless, TCH believes FinCEN’s proposed definition of beneficial owner could be confusing, difficult to implement, and may not actually collect the information that law enforcement and regulators need.

Related Documents

	FinCEN Proposed Rule
	FinCEN Notice

Jul 30, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter in response to FinCEN’s proposal to impose two special measures on JSC CredexBank under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act: (i) reporting requirements under the first special measure, and (ii) restrictions on the use of U.S. bank correspondent accounts by Credex. TCH does not object to the imposition of the special measures, and recommend that the first special measure provide that: (i) covered financial institutions be required to report only those transactions in which Credex or an affiliate of Credex specifically identified by FinCEN appears in the transaction instruction as a party; and (ii) the report consist of a copy of the transaction instruction and a statement of how the institution disposed of the transaction. TCH does not object to the imposition of the fifth special measure, but asked FinCEN to move expeditiously to adopt the final rule.

Jul 27, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, whose position on “qualified mortgages” (QM) has been considered in recent Congressional hearings and by the CFPB and the financial-services industry, issued a statement today on the pending QM rule, which will play a central role in determining the extent of consumer access to housing-finance credit. The statement reiterates prior TCH support for an objective QM definition as part of a clearly articulated legal standard that provides certainty at the closing table that the QM and ability-to-repay standards are met.

Related Documents

	CFPB Notice

Jul 23, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the CFPB which encourages the Bureau to define general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cards narrowly to include only prepaid cards that function as deposit account substitutes, to apply Regulation E to GPR cards in a similar manner as it applies to payroll card accounts (with some modifications), and to be mindful of the negative impact on innovation and consumer access that excessive regulation might have.

Related Documents

	CFPB Outline on MLO Compensation Practices

Jul 18, 2012  -- In advance of a rule proposal and in response to a CFPB outline, TCH submitted a letter to the CFPB arguing that the Bureau has (i) misinterpreted critical statutory language regarding the potential inclusion of mortgage-loan-originator (MLO) compensation in the definition of “points and fees,” (ii) proposed overly prescriptive waiver restrictions, which represent an unwarranted and potentially disruptive intrusion into the business practices and pricing policies of mortgage lenders with no clear evidence that such requirements will benefit borrowers, and (iii) expressed an intention to impose on MLOs employed by depositories additional qualification requirements. These requirements are unwarranted and unnecessary, will affect tens of thousands of employees, and will add to the mortgage process unnecessary and duplicative costs that consumers ultimately will bear.

Related Documents

	CFPB Notice
	TCH Recommendations on QM Definition

Jul 9, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted comments to the CFPB in response to its questions on the utility of certain mortgage-loan data and projected litigation costs associated with the proposed ability-to-repay rule. Building on its prior submissions, TCH urges the CFPB to adopt broad, clearly defined QM standards. TCH supports the use of a debt-to-income (DTI) cap and argues that, if a loan is properly underwritten, DTI can be relatively high without jeopardizing a consumer’s repayment ability. TCH developed two sets of cost estimates to show how loans’ litigation costs could vary by default rate and litigation probability. The letter then uses these matrices to demonstrate the wide range of possible outcomes, the uncertainty of the estimates, and the need for clear standards to mitigate litigation risk. TCH also presents additional recommendations on the treatment of government loans, streamlined refinancings and loan-officer compensation.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule
	Shearman & Sterling Publication

Jun 11, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to FinCEN on customer due diligence (CDD) requirements for financial institutions. The letter supports the concept of having a single regulation setting out banks’ CDD requirements, but points out a number of issues with FinCEN’s proposal, especially in the sections proposing a blanket requirement to identify and, in some cases, verify the beneficial owners of corporate accounts.

Related Documents

	Final Rule

Jun 6, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the CFPB seeking clarification on various issues related to its remittances transfer rule. In the letter, TCH requests that the Bureau provide clarification and guidance on the following: (i) the definition of a “remittance transfer,” especially with respect to several specific items, (ii) the definition of “remittance transfer provider,” including with respect to the distinction between situations involving “agents” of a provider and those involving “multiple remittance transfer providers,” (iii) certain aspects of the content and timing requirements for disclosures, and (iv) certain aspects of the error resolution provisions.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

May 29, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with other trade associations, sent a letter to the FDIC to comment on an NPR relating to section 210(c)(16) of the orderly-liquidation-authority provisions of Dodd-Frank. In addition to commending the FDIC for providing much-needed clarifications of certain terms used in section 210(c)(16) and embracing the spirit of the statute, the letter suggests that the proposed rule should be revised (i) to clarify that authority under section 210(c)(16) cannot be exercised to enforce contracts upon a default by a subsidiary or affiliate of the covered company itself, (ii) to require that adequate protection be provided when enforcing “naked” cross-defaults (contracts that are “linked to,” but not “supported by,” the CFC), (iii) to preserve the right of a counterparty to call for margin based on the changed credit quality of affiliates of the other party to the contract, and (iv) to clarify the definitions of “adequate protection” and “indubitable equivalent”.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule

May 29, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted an industry comment letter to the FDIC on the proposed definitions of higher-risk consumer and commercial and industrial loans and securities used in the large bank pricing (LBP) rule for assessments. The Associations commended the FDIC for their willingness to work with the industry on these definitions, but also provided recommendations to add to the clarity and workability of the definitions. The FDIC’s final rule, approved on October 9, incorporates the definitions used to identify concentrations in higher-risk assets to better reflect the risk to institutions and the FDIC, accommodating many changes requested by TCH in our joint trade comment letter, including: (i) that a $5 million threshold be part of the purpose test, (ii) the look back at purpose and materiality of debt should apply only when currently outstanding debt is refinanced, and (ii) the look back period is only five years.

Related Documents

	H.R. 3128

May 18, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association SVP and Head of Regulatory Affairs Dan McCardell testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, on the impact of Dodd-Frank and its heightened regulatory capital requirements. McCardell reiterated TCH’s strong support for recent U.S. and international regulatory reforms which have substantially increased the quantity and quality of capital that banking institutions are required to hold. He also expressed concerns over Section 171 of Dodd-Frank, known as the Collins Amendment that requires federal banking agencies to set minimum leverage and risk-based capital requirements for banks. McCardell testified that any potential increase in capital required by the operation of the Collins Amendment's Basel I floor would appear to be of little marginal utility in achieving the crucial objectives of protecting the financial system against potential systemic meltdowns of the type faced in the recent crisis. Moreover, it could place U.S. institutions at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis their international peers. McCardell concluded that there was a significant under appreciation of the trade-offs between higher capital levels and the risk of reducing economic and job growth and pushing financial transactions to the shadow banking sector.

Related Documents

	Final Rule

Apr 27, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the CFPB proposing modifications to the final remittance transfer rule. TCH asked the CFPB to consider (i) a phased-in implementation of the final rule, (ii) a change to the strict liability regime for incorrect sender information, (iii) the elimination of the foreign tax disclosure, (iv) a process by which the industry may recommend countries be added to the safe harbor list, and (v) that the agency express its support for a proposed changed to §4A-108 of NY’s commercial code.

Related Documents

	TCH Comments to FDIC and OCC
	Prior TCH Submissions
	Proposed Rule

Apr 27, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed its comment letter in conjunction with other financial trades on Sections 165/166 of the Dodd-Frank Act which addresses single-counterparty credit limits, capital surcharges, liquidity requirements, early remediation, stress testing, and risk management. The data-driven letter offers technical corrections to avoid unintended consequences and achieve the shared goal of enhanced risk management. The associations also encourage regulators to take the necessary time to conduct a holistic review of these critical rules including the impact to consumers and the competitiveness of firms operating in the United States, and a cost/benefit analysis.

Related Documents

	TCH Dec. 15, 2010 Comments

Apr 25, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with multiple other trade associations, filed a letter with the IASB and FASB recommending that the IASB and FASB: (i) do an economic impact study and conduct extensive field testing before finalizing a standard on leasing; (ii) re-expose the proposed leasing standard for public comment; and (iii) reconsider their decisions on the (a) allocation and presentation of lease costs for the former operating leases, (b) accounting for short term leases, and (c) limiting of the accounting definition for renewals and variable rents.

Related Documents

	FASB Proposal on Goodwill and Other Intangibles

Apr 24, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FASB on its proposal on goodwill and other intangibles. In the comment letter, TCH supports the proposal and believes that if finalized, it will both enhance the quality of the testing of goodwill for impairment as well as reduce the cost and complexity of performing the test. TCH also supports the FASB’s permitting early adoption of the proposal.

Related Documents

	Order

Apr 23, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed an amicus brief in NY federal district court case Retirement Board of the Policemen’s Annuity Fund v. BNY Mellon asking the court to certify for immediate appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit the district court’s decision that residential mortgage-backed securities certificates issued by certain New York common-law trusts are debt, not equity, and therefore are covered by the Trust Indenture Act (TIA). The federal agency charged with administering the TIA, the SEC, has consistently adhered to the view that the statute does not apply to pass-through certificates. In the amicus brief, TCH argues that (i) the application of the TIA to mortgage pass-through certificates unsettles a longstanding, reasonably held legal understanding of market participants, (ii) the potential application of the TIA will create widespread uncertainty and generate complex litigation regarding the rights and obligations of parties to pass-through securities, with potential adverse consequences for market participants, and (iii) the certification of the order for appeal will preserve judicial resources and materially advance resolution of this issue.

Related Documents

	Fed Announcement
	Proposal
	TCH Nov. 7, 2011 Comments

Apr 23, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FRB on the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (the CCAR) data collection schedules. The letter addresses substantive concerns related to (i) the proposed operational risk data collection schedule; (ii) proposed changes to the wholesale schedule and (iii) proposed increases in frequency of reporting for three retail portfolios from quarterly to monthly (FR Y-14M).TCH urges the Board to provide all banks sufficient time to develop systems to capture the requested data items. On June 27 the Fed published in the Federal Register an announcement extending the comment period for the CCAR information collection (FR Y-14A/Q/M) from July 5 to August 6, 2012. The extension was granted at the request of TCH in order to allow additional time to analyze and discuss with the Fed acceptable alternatives to the original proposal regarding production of legal reserve information.

Related Documents

	TCH Dec. 13, 2011 Comments
	PCAOB Proposal

Apr 19, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with multiple other trade associations, filed a comment letter with the PCAOB opposing the requirement for mandatory audit firm rotation for the following reasons: (i) PCAOB’s failure to present supporting evidence for mandatory audit firm rotation, (ii) the potential harm to overall corporate governance by reducing audit quality, diminishing the role of the audit committees and increasing the incidence of undetected fraud, and (iii) the increase in costs and disruption to U.S. capital markets.

Related Documents

	Supreme Court Decision
	TCH Brief

Apr 18, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association sent a letter to the Treasury urging it to recommend to the Solicitor General that the U.S Government file a brief in U.S. Supreme Court case Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum taking the position that the Alien Tort Statute does not provide a private cause of action for violations of international law that occur in foreign countries. On April 17, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, holding that the Alien Tort Statute does not provide authority for U.S. courts to entertain suits for violations of international law that occur in other countries.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

Apr 16, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association and its trade association partners filed a letter with the CFTC to address its separate NPR implementing the Volcker Rule. This letter reiterates and references previous comments made in joint-trade letters, while also focusing on the sizeable cost-benefit issues that were improperly assessed in the Volcker Rule proposal, the effect of the CFTC’s proposal on swaps markets with a particular emphasis on the fact that the proposal does not fully account for the market making activity of swap dealers, the importance of interaffiliate transactions to risk management, and the overly broad definitions for key terms that are incorporated into the proposal. Based on these serious concerns, the Associations have asked the CFTC to repropose this rule.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

Apr 16, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a joint-trade comment letter to the CFPB on its proposed rule aimed at protecting against the waiver of privilege for information submitted to the agency by financial institutions subject to its supervision or that the CFPB shares with other regulatory agencies. The letter supports the proposed rule, but urges the CFPB to (i) continue to support a statutory amendment that would expressly clarify the protection of privileged information provided to and shared by the CFPB, consistent with the express statutory protection provided for privileged information provided to and shared by the prudential regulators; (ii) expressly reaffirm in its final rule the CFPB’s recognition of the importance of the privileges to our legal system and of the need to limit its requests for privileged information when possible; and (iii) expressly reaffirm in its final rule the CFPB’s policy that limits the sharing of privileged information with nonsupervisory agencies. The associations also ask the CFPB to address in the final rule steps that a supervised entity should generally take to designate materials as privileged when it provides such materials to the Bureau.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule
	Final Rule
	Morrison & Foerster Publication

Apr 9, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association’s comment letter to the CFPB responded to the Bureau proposal to (i) exclude providers that send 25 remittance transfers a year from the Regulation E remittance transfer requirements and (ii) refine the disclosure and cancellation requirements for preauthorized transfers. TCH (i) asserted that 25 transfers a year is too low to be a useful exemption and (ii) argued that providers should not have to guarantee an exchange rate for a transfer scheduled more than one day in advance. In addition, TCH reminded the CFPB that the overall impact of the remittance transfer regulations may make the issue of preauthorized transfers moot because many financial institutions will no longer offer international transfers to consumers at all. TCH urged the CFPB to assess the impact of the final remittance transfer rules on the market for consumer international transfer services and delay the effective date of the final rule.

Related Documents

	Order

Apr 4, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in NML Capital v. Republic of Argentina. The brief argues that the trial court’s order to prohibit any payments on restructured debt unless ratable payments are also made on outstanding prior debt obligations is contrary to the expectations of the market, would make sovereign debt restructurings extremely difficult if not impossible, and would impermissibly burden the payments system by potentially requiring intermediary banks to screen for payments that violated the court’s order.

Related Documents

	H.R. 1838
	H.R. 3283

Mar 28, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association President Paul Saltzman testified before the House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management in support of two bills. The first bill, H.R. 1838, would clarify the scope of swaps and security-based swaps activities that may be conducted in a bank and would clearly extend the exemptions to the push-out requirement in Section 716 to uninsured U.S. branches and agencies of non-U.S. banks. The second bill, H.R. 3283, would clarify the extent to which the requirements of Title VII applicable to swap and security-based swap transactions would apply extraterritorially and to inter-affiliate transactions. These carefully crafted, bipartisan proposals, will not undermine the new regulatory regime established by Title VII, but will enhance the efficiency of the risk management services provided by banks to their commercial counterparties, and facilitate the banks’ management of the risks to which they are exposed in their business activities. The Clearing House and its members strongly support both bills and urge their swift passage.

Related Documents

	Extension of Comment Period
	Proposed Rule

Mar 19, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with its trade association partners, submitted a letter seeking an extension of the comment period by the FDIC and OCC on their respective proposed rules on stress testing. On March 21 the FDIC and OCC extended the deadlines for comments until April 30. The new deadlines match that set by the Fed for its stress testing proposal, which was included in its greater § 165/166 release.

Related Documents

	Complaint
	Collection of Articles by David Evans et al.

Mar 15, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with its trade coalition partners representing every national bank and credit union trade association in the country, filed an amicus brief in NACS v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. This case, brought by a merchant coalition representing some of the largest retailers in the U.S., seeks to set aside the Board’s final rule on interchange fees and increase the windfall that merchants have already received in the form of interchange price caps. The TCH coalition brief provides a robust counterpoint to the merchants, demonstrating that the Board’s rule is fundamentally flawed, not for the reasons advanced by the merchants but because it contravenes the Durbin Amendment by imposing caps on interchange fees that fall far short of allowing debit card issuers to cover their costs and a reasonable rate of return on their investments. The brief further notes how both small and large financial institutions will be harmed and points out that the retailers have failed to show any evidence that they have lowered their prices to benefit consumers.

Related Documents

	Supreme Court Opinion
	Opinion
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Mar 9, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with nine other trade associations, filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in RadLAX Gateway Hotel, Inc. v. Amalgamated Bank. The case involves the right of secured lender to “credit-bid” on collateral that is being sold by a bankruptcy trustee by using the outstanding balance on its loan to pay the purchase price of the collateral, arguing that this right applies in a reorganization plan under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and that the debtors’ attempt to sell mortgaged property free and clear of the secured lender’s lien without allowing the lender to credit bid is inconsistent with the Bankruptcy Code. On May 29 the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in RadLAX Gateway Hotel LLC et al. v. Amalgamated Bank. The Court confirmed that a secured creditor cannot be denied the right to “credit bid” on collateral that is being sold by a bankruptcy trustee by using the outstanding balance on the creditor’s loan to pay the purchase price of the collateral.

Mar 7, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with some consumer groups, met with the CFPB to discuss the associations’ recommendations on the definition of “qualified mortgages” (QMs). The groups urged the CFPB (i) to define QMs as broadly as possible to ensure continued access to sustainable mortgage credit for a wide range of qualified borrowers, (ii) to establish objective, “bright line” standards for defining a QM and (iii) to ensure that consumers have access to safe, affordable loans by providing the legal underpinnings that (a) prevent widespread litigation for routine foreclosure actions, (b) preserve and protect the investor’s security interest in the property, and (c) encourage the continued flow of capital into the mortgage market.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

Mar 5, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a separate comment letter to Treasury regarding its NPR proposing an assessment on bank holding companies and nonbank financial companies supervised by the Fed with assets over $50 billion in order to provide funding for the Office of Financial Research, FSOC, and the orderly-liquidation authority start-up activities of the FDIC. The letter argues that although nonbank financial companies supervised by the Fed are included in Treasury’s proposed assessments, none have yet been designated which in turn imposes the full burden of the assessments on banks. This letter also argues that Treasury should consider the equitable distribution of assessments given that currently all of the assessment burden would fall on banks but much of the OFR’s and the FSOC’s expenses have been, and are likely to continue to be, attributable to the agencies’ responsibilities to research, oversee, and manage the systemic risks associated with nonbank financial companies.

Related Documents

	CFPB Notice

Mar 5, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the CFPB on its initiative to streamline regulations it inherited from other federal agencies. TCH (i) encourages the Bureau to take practical steps to ease compliance with the inherited regulations, (ii) supports efforts to expand and remove barriers to the use of electronic disclosures within the inherited regulations, (iii) agrees that the Bureau should eliminate superfluous and unnecessary compliance requirements, and (iv) requests that the Bureau delay implementation and study the far-reaching application of the new remittance transfer rules.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

Mar 2, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with four other trade associations, filed a comment letter to Treasury regarding its NPR proposing an assessment on bank holding companies and nonbank financial companies supervised by the Fed with assets over $50 billion in order to provide funding for the Office of Financial Research, FSOC, and the orderly-liquidation authority start-up activities of the FDIC. The letter argues that, among several other concerns, (i) to ensure maximum accountability and efficiency, OFR expenses and budgeting process should be transparent, open to public comment, and subject to robust governance and controls, (ii) the assessment schedule should ensure that assessments are reasonably allocated between the industry and the Fed and generally ensure fairness, and (iii) Treasury should clarify the conditions and procedure under which a company ceases to be an assessed company.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

Mar 1, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the FRB urging the Board to limit the content of the stress test results published as part of 2012 CCAR to the information that was published as part of the Board’s 2009 Supervisory Capital Assessment Program (SCAP). TCH believes this measure would provide the benefit of giving the Board a meaningful opportunity to fully consider comments on the proper scope of stress test disclosures by the Fed proposed under the Section 165/166 NPR.

Related Documents

	Letter Attachment
	TCH Feb. 7, 2012 Comments

Feb 23, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with three other trade associations, sent a follow-up letter to the FRB, FDIC, and OCC on the agencies’ NPR to incorporate into their proposed market-risk rules alternative methodologies for calculating specific risk-capital requirements for debt and securitization positions that do not rely on credit ratings. The letter, and an attached annex, includes calculations to show how changes in the underlying collateral performance of a securitization are reflected in the capital charge through different points in time.

Related Documents

	Basel Committee Capital Disclosure Requirements Proposal

Feb 17, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association and the Institute of International Finance submitted a comment letter responding to the Basel Committee’s Consultative Document on the Definition of Capital Requirements. TCH and IIF generally support the use of common templates to achieve comparability in disclosures, but propose that banks have the option to make detailed information on capital available only on their websites rather than in their published financial reports. In addition, the associations recommend that the Committee defer the proposed 2013 implementation date of the new disclosures to provide sufficient lead time for the national implementation of capital disclosure requirements. Furthermore, the associations believe that banks should provide narrative explanations of the most significant differences between the regulatory capital template instead of the balance sheet line-by-line mapping of the capital disclosure template and balance sheet.

Related Documents

	Agencies' Proposal
	CFTC Proposal
	TCH Dec. 30, 2010 Comments
	TCH Nov. 5, 2010 Comments
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Feb 13, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association’s comment letter expresses deep concerns that the implementation of the proposed Volcker Rule will negatively impact U.S. and global financial markets, the safety and soundness of banking entities, and the recovery of the U.S. economy. TCH urges the agencies to reject the proposed plan to implement the rule in a highly restrictive manner and instead revise the rule during the conformance period to reduce unnecessary harm to the markets, customers and financial institutions resulting from overly restrictive regulations. TCH believes that (i) the assumption that only limited damage would occur and that the financial system will be self-correcting at some future point is both unproven and risky, (ii) the loss of the ability to engage in certain parts of the market-making business may force banking entities to consider shuttering the entire business, (iii) the global markets will adapt quickly to any major regulatory change, and, once they adapt, the competitive position of the U.S. financial system and individual affected banking entities will suffer irreparable damage.

Feb 13, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association joined by ABASA submitted a comment letter expressing substantial concerns that the Volcker Rule may significantly inhibit the ability of banking organizations to engage in asset-liability-management (ALM) activities that are essential to the safe and sound management of the risks that arise from the core business of banking. The rule’s broad definition of trading account would cause important ALM activities to fall within the prohibition on proprietary trading to the detriment of both banking organizations and financial markets. The associations urge the agencies to replace the exclusion provided for liquidity management activities with an exclusion that would cover transactions in furtherance of a banking organization’s bona fide ALM activities.

Feb 13, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with three other trade associations, submitted a comment letter to the regulatory agencies on the proprietary trading provisions of the proposed rules implementing the Volcker Rule. The associations stress the importance of market-making, underwriting, risk-mitigating hedging, and other customer-focused and specifically permitted activities and argue that these exceptions should be expanded and strengthened, while at the same time avoiding artificial bright-line distinctions between permitted activities and prohibited proprietary trading. The associations also believe it would be prudent for the agencies to repropose the Volcker Rule, as well as develop a phased-in approach to its application and specially articulate how the agencies plan to coordinate interpretation, examination and enforcement of its provisions.

Feb 13, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with three other trade associations, submitted a comment letter to the regulatory agencies addressing their proposed rule implementing the Volcker Rule, specifically commenting on provisions related to hedge funds and private equity funds. The comment letter argues, among other things, that: (i) the agencies need to define the term “covered funds” in a manner that excludes ordinary business structures that have never been considered hedge funds or private equity funds, (ii) the agencies should define “similar fund” in a manner consistent with the scope and intent of Dodd-Frank, (iii) the agencies should exclude all permitted covered funds and certain other entities from the term “banking entity,” (iv) the agencies should provide that all of the “permitted activities” exemptions, other than the asset management exemption, will apply to Super 23A in addition to the general prohibition on sponsoring or investing in a covered fund, (v) the SBIC exemption should extend to “public welfare” investments outside the U.S., and (vi) the agencies should define “covered transactions” to reflect the exclusions from that term contained in § 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. The associations’ letter also addresses important compliance and conformance issues.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule
	TCH Apr. 11, 2011 Comments
	Morrison & Foerster Publication

Feb 7, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with five other trade associations, submitted a comment letter to the FRB, FDIC, and OCC addressing the agencies’ proposal to incorporate into their proposed market risk capital rules alternative methodologies for calculating specific risk capital requirements for debt and securitization positions that do not rely on credit ratings. The comment letter addresses (i) the associations’ concerns with respect to the proposed rule’s methodologies applicable to exposures other than securitizations and to securitizations, (ii) substantive concerns with the treatment of correlation trading positions under the proposed rule, and (iii) additional concerns with respects to the potential consequences of the proposed rule.

Related Documents

	Supreme Court Decision

Feb 3, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Kiobel et al. v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., et al. arguing that corporations should not be subject to liability for aiding-and-abetting in a federal common law action under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), or that if there is such liability, a plaintiff must prove both that the corporation intended to further the alleged primary violation and that the corporation’s actions substantially assisted the primary actor’s violation. TCH believes strongly that permitting aiding-and-abetting claims would lead to severe adverse practical consequences and that recognizing secondary liability under the ATS would both discourage investment in developing countries and put corporations that do business in the U.S. at a disadvantage by exposing them to liability under the ATS simply for investing resources in parts of the world where international-law violations may occur. On April 17, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, holding that the Alien Tort Statute does not provide authority for U.S. courts to entertain suits for violations of international law that occur in other countries.

Feb 3, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association and the Institute of International Bankers (IIB) filed an amicus brief in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York case Amaprop Ltd. v. Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd., et al. in support of Respondent, ICICI Bank Limited, arguing that the Court should deny Petitioner Amaprop Limited‘s request for an order compelling ICICI to restrain, transfer and turn over non-U.S. assets to Amaprop. TCH and IIB maintain that New York‘s well-established separate entity rule was not abrogated by Koehler v. Bank of Bermuda Ltd. The associations argue that an extraterritorial order compelling ICICI to transfer non-U.S. funds to ICICI‘s New York branch and then requiring ICICI to turn those assets over to Amaprop would significantly and adversely affect international banks doing business in New York and their affiliates outside the jurisdiction, because it would render them answerable in New York for any bank account or property entrusted to them anywhere in the world by their customers. Such an order, the associations argue, would also create serious problems for major international banks solely because of their New York presence and threaten New York‘s position as the world‘s preeminent financial center. On February 16 SDNY Judge Gardephe ordered ICICI Bank to transfer any funds or other property that the bank is holding for judgment debtor—wherever located —to the bank’s New York branch so that it can be turned over to the judgment creditor.

Related Documents

	Final Rule

Feb 2, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with several other trade associations, submitted a letter to the CFTC seeking further clarity and guidance on extraterritorial issues as well as the treatment of inter-affiliate transactions, guarantees, and branches prior to mandating the registration of swap dealers and major swap participants pursuant to the CFTC’s final rule issued on January 11.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule
	Morrison & Foerster Publication

Jan 25, 2012  -- The Clearing House Association, along with four other trade associations, submitted a letter to the FRB requesting an extension of the comment deadline with respect to the Board’s proposed rules implementing Sections 165 and 166 of Dodd-Frank. In light of the scope and complexity of the rule, TCH requested that the deadline be extended from March 31 to May 31. On March 2 the FRB extended the comment period deadline of its Section 165/166 NPR from March 31 to April 30.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule
	Guidance
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Dec 29, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with three other trade associations, submitted a comment letter to the OCC on the proposal to eliminate references to credit ratings in its non-capital rules and on proposed guidance on eligible investment securities. The Associations generally support the OCC’s proposed rule and proposed guidance but strongly urge the OCC to provide a reasonable transition period for compliance with the due-diligence requirements.

Related Documents

	FHFA Discussion Paper
	TCH Nov. 7, 2011 Comments

Dec 22, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with four other trade associations, submitted a follow-up comment letter on the Alternative Mortgage Servicing Compensation Discussion Paper of the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA). The associations believe that (i) a fee-for-service approach would have negative consequences for the industry and for the customers that we serve (ii) and adopting such a structure would inevitably produce large changes with uncertain consequences for lenders, servicers, investors and borrowers.

Related Documents

	Comment Request

Dec 14, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the FRB on its proposal to simplify the administration of reserve requirements. TCH supports the common two-week reserve maintenance period and has no objection to the introduction of a penalty-free band to replace the current carryover procedure, but believes that the penalty-free band should be set at the greater of $50,000 or 4% of a bank’s total reserve requirement. In addition, TCH has no objection to the elimination of the clearing balance program or replacing as-of adjustments with direct compensation, so long as the Federal Reserve continues to pay interest on reserves at the effective fed funds rate.

Related Documents

	FHFA Discussion Paper
	TCH Nov. 7, 2011 Comments

Dec 7, 2011  -- This Clearing House Association presentation to the CFPB utilizes publicly available and anonymized proprietary member-bank information to analyze the opportunities and challenges that the bureau faces in crafting the definition of a “qualified mortgage”: (i) opportunities to protect consumers from abusive lending and challenges in balancing (ii) responsible lending that ensures that borrowers can repay their mortgages, and (iii) access to mortgage credit to the widest range of creditworthy borrowers at the lowest possible cost. The solution proposed by TCH—a legal safe harbor with an expanded, clearly defined closing document and set of underwriting criteria, including a specific debt-to-income-ratio limit, verified income and employment status, and documentation of debt and payment obligations—offers a practical way to balance these two objectives.

Related Documents

	Trade Associations' LEI Proposal
	OFR Legal Entity Identifier Comment Request
	TCH May 13, 2011 Comments

Nov 22, 2011  -- TCH Association, along with 11 other financial-services trade associations, sent a letter to the regulators who participated in the September 2011 legal-entity-identifier workshop under the auspices of the Financial Stability Board. In the letter the associations encourage the regulators to support the use of the LEI standard that the associations developed specifically in relevant policymaking going forward.

Related Documents

	Comment Request

Nov 14, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association led a broad trade association coalition in submitting comments on the Federal Reserve’s proposal to gather data and associated information regarding interchange fees from payment card networks and debit card issuers. To facilitate information collection the Board has issued drafts of four surveys. Two surveys, one for debit card issuers and one for payment card networks, will collect information on costs, debit card usage, and interchange fees. The Clearing House’s letter strongly encourages the Board to revise each of the surveys to: (i) ensure that the Surveys elicit complete and accurate information reporting, (ii) establish a formal approach to answering respondent questions, (iii) ensure that the Surveys collect sufficient data to reflect all costs associated with debit card programs, (iv) ensure that the Surveys do not collect data that is of dubious value and likely to be misleading, particularly regarding incentive payments, and (v) ensure that the reporting burden falls on the proper party.

Related Documents

	Consultation Paper
	Clifford Chance Publication
	Paper by Avgouelas, Goodhart and Schoenmaker

Nov 9, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with other financial-services trade associations, submitted a comment letter to the UK’s Financial Services Authority. The letter responds to the FSA consultative paper on recovery and resolution plans, which proposes requirements for certain financial-services firms to prepare living wills that outline how the firms could be wound down when facing collapse without damaging the greater financial system and economy. The letter recommends a single-plan approach, cross-border cooperation and coordination agreements, harmonized informational elements and a cooperative, iterative process. TCH also suggests that measures to improve the resolvability of an institution be balanced against the need to manage it as a going concern.

Related Documents

	FSB Consultation Paper

Nov 8, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association letter endorses the Financial Stability Board’s proposal to improve the data collection and sharing of information on linkages between G-SIBs and their exposures and funding dependencies. TCH believes that the proposal for a common data template is a promising idea that could help address this important issue. However, The Clearing House feels that an important prerequisite to the adoption of a common data template would be the creation of standardized definitions of the data elements requested in current international and national regulatory reporting initiatives. The Clearing House’s letter outlines this and other concerns and makes suggestions for moving forward.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Comment Request
	TCH Aug. 5, 2011 Comments
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Nov 7, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter in response to the FRB’s proposed information collection of the bank holding companies annual (the “FR Y-14A”) and quarterly (the “FR Y-14Q”) Capital Assessments and Stress Testing reports. The letter addresses substantive concerns with the schedules and worksheets and issues that require further clarification. TCH recommends a robust FAQ process and raises specific technical issues where clarifications are needed. The Clearing House urges the Board to consider the transition cost and burdens that will weigh on institutions as systems are constructed to track and report the data sought by the proposed data templates.

Related Documents

	FHFA Discussion Paper
	TCH Presentation

Nov 7, 2011  -- In a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, The Clearing House Association reaffirms its approach to servicing-compensation reform, one of two alternatives that the FHFA cited in its recent discussion paper. The Clearing House’s recommended approach has two key elements: (i) a material reduction in the minimum servicing fee and (ii) a separate custodial reserve account to support unanticipated market or regulatory changes that significantly increase the cost of servicing loans in default. The Clearing House believes that the best way forward is a middle-ground approach that would provide capital relief while preserving the mortgage-servicing-rights asset - and all the incentives and relationships it represents.

Related Documents

	Final Revisions
	Comment Request
	TCH Nov. 19, 2010 Comments

Oct 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FRB in response to their proposed revisions to the FR Y-10 and FR Y-6 Reports. TCH recommends that (i) changes to Item 1.a. (Event Types) on the 4(k) Schedule to the FR Y-10 be limited to reporting that large merchant banking investment entities either (a) are no longer reportable or (b) have changed their name; (ii) entities holding debts previously contracted should be excluded from being reported on the FR Y-10; and (iii) that the requirement to report the state and country of incorporation on the FR Y-6 should be limited (a) to entities that are reportable on the FR Y-10 and (b) only required on a prospective basis. If the Board decides to require the reporting of the state and country of incorporation on a retrospective basis on the FR Y-6, The Clearing House recommends that the Board delay implementation until the December 31, 2012 FR Y-6 Reports to allow BHCs sufficient time to collect the information for all existing entities. On November 21 the FRB issued a final approval of the revisions to the FR Y-10 and FR Y-6 Reports that includes these changes specifically requested by The Clearing House: (i) addition to event types of the 4(k) Schedule selections for ‘‘No Longer Reportable’’ and ‘‘Name Changes’’ and removal of the selection for ‘‘Changes to Initial Investment” and (ii) the implementation of the requirement to add the state and country of incorporation to the FR Y-6 would be delayed until fiscal years beginning December 31, 2012.

Related Documents

	New York Court of Appeals Decision
	Debevoise & Plimpton Update
	Appellate Division Decision

Oct 7, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, together with other trade associations, filed an amicus brief with the New York Court of Appeals in Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd. v. J.P. Morgan Investment Management. In this case, the Appellate Division, with the support of the N.Y. A.G., ruled that the Martin Act does not preempt common-law negligence claims against investment advisors, while in the past courts have ruled that such claims are preempted. TCH’s brief argues that the court should not depart from decades of prior judicial decisions and that allowing the Martin Act to preempt private non-fraud common-law tort claims in the securities context reflects sensible policy. On December 20, the New York Court of Appeals issued a decision in this case upholding the plaintiff’s right to sue an investment advisor for breach of fiduciary duty, gross negligence, and breach of contract.

Related Documents

	Interim Final Rule
	Boston Fed Public Policy Brief
	Paper by David Evans

Sep 30, 2011  -- TCH Association filed a letter with the FRB to comment on the fraud prevention adjustment provisions articulated as an interim final rule in Regulation II. TCH Association believes that the 1 cent amount is insufficient to cover the true costs that issuers bear for fraud prevention for several reasons: (i) the Interim Rule bases the 1 cent adjustment amount on what the Federal Reserve calculates to be the median fraud prevention costs of covered issuers, which would deny half of all covered issuers the ability to recoup crucial fraud prevention costs that they incur above 1 cent per transaction, (ii) the 1 cent amount does not include the important fraud prevention costs that issuers incur in responding to customer inquiries about fraudulent or potentially fraudulent activity related to their debit cards, (iii) the 1 cent amount does not include any costs incurred by issuers for adopting and utilizing new fraud prevention technology and systems, and (iv) the 1 cent amount fails to consider at all the higher fraud prevention costs of issuers with assets under $10 billion. The associations believe that when these flaws in the Interim Rule’s calculation of the fraud prevention adjustment amount are rectified, the appropriate amount would be at least 4 to 5 cents per transaction.

Sep 28, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted an unsolicited letter to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York requesting that the Supplemental Instructions highlight any changes from the instructions for the immediately prior period. On October 13, in response to the recommendation made by TCH Association, the FRBNY agreed to highlight changes in future iterations of the Supplemental Instructions to the Call Reports. This change eliminates the burden of comparing each word of the Supplemental Instructions to the Call Report against the immediately prior period’s instructions in order to complete the Call Reports, as well as decreases the likelihood those changes to the instructions are inadvertently overlooked.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rules
	FDIC Extension Notice
	Comment Request

Sep 26, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to regulatory agencies regarding the proposed revisions to the Call Report and the Thrift Financial Report. These revisions include several changes to implement the FDIC rule that redefines the deposit insurance assessment base and the large bank pricing rule. TCH letter addresses serious concerns about some key definitions that underlie the proposed Call Report and TFR changes and recommends a consensus solution that significantly improves the definitions of subprime and leveraged loans. TCH also strongly recommends that the current transition reporting rules be continued until the large bank pricing rule is revised to reflect the new definitions. On September 28, the FDIC advised that the leveraged loans and subprime transition guidance has been extended until April 1, 2012 for the Call Report to allow the FDIC sufficient time to review the definitions of subprime and leveraged loans. In the interim, the FDIC will allow large institutions to continue to use their existing methodologies to report subprime and leveraged loans originated or purchased prior to April 1, 2012. On March 20, 2012 the FDIC approved a proposal with new definitions for leveraged loans, renamed “higher risk C&I loans and securities,” and subprime consumer loans, renamed “higher-risk consumer loans and securities,” which would amend the February 25, 2011 final rule on bank assessment regulations for large bank pricing. The FDIC included in the proposed amendments the following recommendations from TCH’s September 26 joint trade comment letter: (i) subprime consumer loans should be stratified by the probability of default at origination for borrowers, as determined by a credit scoring system either developed internally or by a recognized third party vendor, and (ii) the de minimis leveraged loan threshold should be raised to $5 million and factors for the original purpose should be added to the definition of leveraged loans. The proposed amendments would become effective October 1, 2012.

Related Documents

	FSB Report to G-20 on Financial Crisis and Information Gaps
	Global LEI Solicitation of Interest
	Trade Associations' LEI Proposal

Sep 12, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with 14 other trade associations, submitted a follow-up letter to G-20 finance ministers to outline the progress made toward developing a uniform and global LEI and to encourage them to support a coordinated and global LEI solution. The letter builds on the FSB’s recent statement in support of the LEI to help provide global momentum to the LEI process.

Related Documents

	FSB Key Attributes
	Promontory and S&C Article
	FSB Consultative Document
	Morrison & Foerster Publication

Sep 2, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter responding to the Financial Stability Board’s consultative document on effectively resolving systemically important financial institutions. The letter strongly supports the underlying conclusion that reforms of domestic resolution regimes and cross-border resolution frameworks need to accelerate to ensure that, within a reasonable timeframe, SIFIs can be resolved without systemic disruption or exposing taxpayers to the risk of loss. The associations address a number of the FSB’s recommendations, including duties of the relevant authorities, rules governing creditor rights, resolution planning, cross-border cooperation and consensus, confidentiality of plans and transparency of processes and actions, resolvability assessments, local-depositor preference laws, implications for G-SIFI surcharges, implementation timelines and various resolution tools such as recapitalization.

Related Documents

	Basel Committee G-SIB Rules
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication
	Basel Committee G-SIB Proposal
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Aug 26, 2011  -- In another example of The Clearing House leadership, the Association submitted a comment letter responding to the Basel Committee’s consultative document on assessment methodology and the additional loss absorbency requirement for global systemically-important banks. The comment letter addresses the fundamental problems with the premises underlying the entire capital surcharge construct. Parts of the commentary address the suppositions on which the proposal is based and the impact of enacting capital surcharges. The letter also provides a comprehensive discussion of the technical criteria used to designate firms as G-SIBs and the level of applicable surcharges.

Related Documents

	CFPB Comment Request
	Venable LLP Publication

Aug 15, 2011  -- In another example of The Clearing House leadership, the Association submitted a comment letter to the CFPB on defining larger participants (nondepositories) in certain consumer financial products and services markets for purposes of supervision and regulation by the CFPB under § 1024 of Dodd-Frank. The manner in which the CFPB defines larger participants is essential to the agency fulfilling its mandate under Dodd-Frank to ensure that federal consumer financial law is enforced consistently, without regard to the status of an entity as a depository institution in order to promote fair competition. TCH argued that such authority should be exercised broadly, based on the risk that such participants pose to consumers.

Related Documents

	OCC Proposed Overdraft Guidance
	Fed Regulation E Final Rule

Aug 8, 2011  -- In response to the OCC’s request for comments on its proposed Guidance on Deposit Related Consumer Credit Products, The Clearing House Association recommended that further study is needed before opt-in and disclosure requirements are expanded beyond the Fed’s 2009 Reg E overdraft requirements. TCH also suggested that any final guidance should employ principles-based standards, rather than prescriptive requirements, to better ensure that national banks effectively monitor for credit risk while treating customers fairly and honoring consumer choice.

Related Documents

	Proposed Guidance

Jul 29, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the FDIC, OCC and FRB that urged the Agencies to avoid rigid initial application of the proposed guidance. The letter endorsed the broad guidance framework proposed by the regulators, while also raising several concerns related to the structure, use, and regulatory review of stress testing.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule

Jun 27, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) commenting on its proposal to implement Section 1044 of the Dodd-Frank Act. TCH endorsed much of the preemption framework proposed by the OCC. The comment letter noted that Section 1044 merely codified the existing preemption standard and was not an attempt to create a new, narrower formulation. The letter also addressed process issues related to preemption determinations, existing OCC regulations that are affected by the proposed rule, and the important market and operational impacts that may occur if the existing framework is altered. Last, TCH also addressed specious arguments linking Federal preemption to the subprime mortgage crisis. On July 21 the OCC published in the Federal Register its final rule on preemption. The final rule largely tracks the initial proposal and incorporates several substantive comments made by TCH Association.

Related Documents

	Basel III: A Global Framework
	TCH Nov. 5, 2010 Comments
	TCH Oct. 1, 2010 Comments
	TCH Sept. 10, 2010 Comments
	TCH Apr. 16, 2010 Comments
	Dodd-Frank Act
	Paper by Slovik

Jun 15, 2011  -- In another example of The Clearing House leadership, the Association submitted a comment letter to regulators regarding the application of capital surcharges to systemically-important financial institutions in the U.S. The letter argues that proposed surcharges are premature given the macroprudential reforms still being implemented and are based on untested academic models and theories. Basel III’s capital reforms, when fully implemented, will result in a tripling of the amount of Tier 1 common equity currently required by the U.S. banking regulators. Moreover, the myriad systemic risk reforms contained in the Dodd-Frank Act are yet to be finalized. Given that the full impact of these reforms is not yet known, the incremental benefit of any surcharge may be minimal, particularly when compared to the potential negative macroeconomic effects. TCH’s empirical analysis demonstrates that the Basel III capital levels would have been sufficient for all banks to have survived the financial crisis. This indicates that the macroprudential benefit of a capital surcharge would likely be minimal.

Related Documents

	TCH June 29, 2011 Comments
	Public Law 112-29
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Jun 14, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with 12 other trade groups, submitted a letter to the House of Representatives supporting a pilot program to review the validity of certain business-method patents. The program would allow the US Patent and Trademark Office to review the validity of certain business-method patents using the best available prior art as an alternative to costly litigation. On September 16 President Obama signed the America Invents Act into law. Among other things, the law addresses the issue of poor-quality business-method patents by establishing an oppositional proceeding at the U.S. PTO, where business-method patents can be re-examined, using the best prior art, as an alternative to costly litigation. TCH Association, along with other financial-services trade associations, advocated in favor of the legislation.

Related Documents

	Fed and FDIC NPR
	TCH May 23, 2011 Comments
	TCH July 16, 2010 Comments
	Davis Polk/McKinsey White Paper
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

Jun 10, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the FDIC and Fed on their proposal implementing resolution planning and credit-exposure reports. The letter advocates for, among other things, a phasing in of the proposed rule, a pilot program, a more iterative and supervisory process, international coordination and greater confidentiality standards. At its September 13 meeting, the FDIC Board approved a rule on the living wills required by § 165(d)(1) of Dodd-Frank. Key features of the § 165 Rule include several changes from the proposed version, as advocated by TCH: (i) an iterative process actively involving dialogue between firms and regulators, (ii) phasing in the implementation of the submission deadlines, starting with the largest firms, which will have to submit their resolution plans by July 2012, (iii) a requirement, upon a material change, to give notice to the agency (rather than to submit an updated plan), (iv) postponement of final rulemaking on credit-exposure reports to allow further coordination with FRB actions, and (v) greater confidentiality protections. In addition, as TCH recommended in its related comment letter, the FDIC has harmonized the IDI Rule with the § 165 Rule, so that, for example, timing and content requirements are more consistent and duplicative effort is limited.

Related Documents

	Joint Mortgage Servicing Compensation Initiative

Jun 10, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency to refine details of TCH’s proposal to create a “rainy day” reserve account that would be available to cover unanticipated increases in the costs of servicing non-performing loans. Under TCH's proposal an incremental share of the mortgage cash flow (e.g., 3 bps) would be retained by the servicer and used to create a refundable custodial reserve account designed to cover unanticipated increases in either the costs or incidence of nonperforming loans. The reserve account would be tied to a specific vintage and held in trust by a bankruptcy-remote entity, with unused portions refunded to the servicer if the application of the funds proved unnecessary to cover extraordinary servicing costs. The terms for both accessing and releasing the reserve funds would be established in advance as part of the servicing contract. TCH also recommended reducing the minimum servicing fee to approximately half of the existing level, one of several alternatives identified on FHFA’s website.

Related Documents

	Order
	Bond Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law
	Nelles-Saltzman Paper

Jun 9, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York In Re Citigroup Inc. Bond Litigation, opposing the plaintiffs’ unprecedented attempt to obtain confidential communications between Citigroup and its regulators that are covered by the bank examination privilege. The brief points out that these records are the confidential property of the regulatory agencies and that no court has ever allowed litigants to have access to confidential bank examination records without first obtaining the agency’s permission or at least allowing the agency to object in court to the release of the records. In a ruling issued on December 5, Judge Stein found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate “good cause” necessary to overcome the privilege and denied their motion to compel the disclosure of the documents in question. A smaller set of documents were not found to be privileged and are to be produced either in whole or with certain specified redactions.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

Jun 3, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a joint comment letter with ECCHO, ICBA, and BITS to the Fed regarding proposed changes to Reg CC to facilitate the continuing transition to fully electronic check clearing and return. Key changes include making the duty of expeditious return contingent upon a depository bank’s willingness to accept electronic returns, permitting a paying bank to require the same day settlement items be presented electronically, and expanding certain check warranties to cover paperless remotely created checks. The comment letter responds in detail to each aspect of the Fed’s proposal.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule

Jun 3, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the Fed regarding proposed changes to Reg CC to facilitate the continuing transition to fully electronic check clearing and return. Key changes include making the duty of expeditious return contingent upon a depository bank’s willingness to accept electronic returns, permitting a paying bank to require the same day settlement items be presented electronically, and expanding certain check warranties to cover paperless remotely created checks. TCH’s comment letter focuses on two issues: check fraud liability and the legal status of paperless remotely created checks.

Related Documents

	FDIC Assessment Rate Adjustment Guidelines
	FDIC Guidelines
	FDIC New Assessment System Final Rule
	TCH Jan. 3, 2011 Comments
	Sullivan & Cromwell Publication

May 31, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the FDIC on its proposal implementing assessment rate adjustment guidelines for large and highly complex institutions. The letter raised several concerns with the proposal and suggested that the FDIC use its discretionary authority for upward adjustments rarely and only in clearly compelling circumstances and that any upward adjustment should require concurrence by an institution’s primary regulator. TCH also asked the FDIC to explain the rationale for any upward adjustment and to adjust downward the assessments for firms that pose less risk to the insurance fund.

Related Documents

	Interim Final Rule

May 24, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter responding to interim rules issued by the Treasury and four other federal agencies. The interim rules protect federal benefit payments by requiring banks to follow certain procedures when garnishment orders are issued against the bank accounts of federal benefit recipients. The letter requests clarification on a number of issues and suggests that the procedures should not be applicable in certain instances.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule
	TCH Jan. 11, 2011 Comments
	TCH Nov. 18, 2010 Comments
	Debevoise Publication

May 23, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a joint comment letter with SIFMA, ABA and FSR responding to an NPR on implementing claims, processes and executive-compensation provisions under OLA. On July 15 the FDIC published in the Federal Register a final rule under the Dodd-Frank orderly-liquidation authority. The changes from the interim final rule and the NPR affect the provisions that, with respect to a failed firm resolved under the authority, claw back compensation of an executive or director, prioritize payments, define “financial company,” and regulate the payments of claims, including the rights of secured claimants.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule

May 23, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a joint comment letter with SIFMA responding to a second NPR under Title II. This letter submits a working paper on recapitalizations as an effective way to resolve systemically important banks and non-bank financial companies on a closed basis without taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule
	TCH Jan. 20, 2011 Comments

May 20, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association and Payments Company filed a comment letter responding to the FSOC NPR on the criteria, processes, and procedures for the designation of FMUs as systemically important. While not taking specific issue with the criteria, processes, and procedures outlined, The Clearing House provided additional information on why EPN and IPN do not fit the criteria for designation as systemically important under Title VIII and the FSOC proposed rule. On July 18 the FSOC approved a final rule addressing the criteria and process for designation of financial-market utilities (“FMUs”) under Title VIII of Dodd-Frank. Under the rule the FSOC will use a two-step process to designate FMUs. In the first stage the FSOC will use quantitative data to identify a preliminary set of FMUs, and in the second stage it will conduct a closer examination of quantitative data and particular characteristics to designate FMUs.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule

May 19, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association and Payments Company filed a comment letter to the FRB regarding risk management standards for FMUs under Section 804 of the DFA and standards for determining when a designated FMU must provide advance notice of a proposed material change to its rules, procedures, or operations under Section 806 of the DFA. The letter argues that the proposed risk management standards demonstrate that ACH clearing and settlement arrangements do not pose the kind of systemic risk contemplated in the DFA, and further suggests that the Board’s proposed definition of materiality for advance notice of changes to rules, procedures, or operations should be crafted more narrowly and the review process provide for more streamlined reviews.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule
	Shearman & Sterling Publication

May 16, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a joint letter with the ABA to the FDIC to suggest that (i) FDIC incorporate the Federal Reserve principles governing earnings credits into a Financial Institution Letter (FIL) to memorialize the Fed rules and govern the continued development of these programs and (ii) Federal Reserve and FDIC host roundtables with the industry to work through certain regulatory details related to the repeal of Regulation Q prior to July 21, 2011. On July 14 the FDIC published in the Federal Register a final rule repealing the prohibition against the payment of interest on demand deposit accounts effective July 21. As requested in TCH’s comment letter, the FDIC has stated that it will continue to rely on the Fed’s interpretation of Reg Q for purposes of determining which accounts are eligible for temporary, unlimited deposit-insurance coverage.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule

May 16, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a joint letter with the ABA to the Fed to suggest that (i) Federal Reserve opinions and other interpretative Regulation Q materials be maintained for a period of 18 months or more after repeal of Regulation Q and the (ii) Federal Reserve and FDIC host roundtables with the industry to work through certain regulatory details related to the repeal of Regulation Q prior to July 21, 2011.

Related Documents

	Trade Associations' LEI Proposal
	OFR Legal Entity Identifier Comment Request
	FSB Report to G-20 on Financial Crisis and Information Gaps

May 13, 2011  -- Having developed a comprehensive set of requirements for the legal entity identifier (LEI) system, The Clearing House Association, along with 12 other trade associations, are now looking to identify one or more solution providers who, individually or collectively, can build the LEI system capable of meeting or exceeding the expectations outlined in the May 3 requirements document. To facilitate the identification process, the trade associations are conducting a solicitation of interest exercise and are inviting solution providers who meet the prerequisites to respond to the questions in the document by June 3, 2011.

Related Documents

	Government Brief
	Addendum to Government Brief
	TCH March 11, 2011 Brief

May 13, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association led a coalition of every major bank and credit union trade association in the U.S., in filing an amicus brief with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals supporting an appeal taken by TCF National Bank from the District Court’s denial of TCF’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The issue on appeal is whether TCF National Bank’s constitutional challenge to the regulation of debit card interchange fees must be analyzed under the confiscatory-rate doctrine, as TCF argues, or instead, under only the deferential rational-basis standard as the District Court concluded. On May 19, 2011 the Government filed its brief in the appeal taken by TCF National Bank to the 8th Circuit. TCF seeks to have the 8th Circuit overturn the district court’s denial of TCF’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

Related Documents

	Joint Mortgage Servicing Compensation Initiative

May 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a presentation to the FHFA to provide TCH’s perspective on the relationships among servicing-compensation structures, mortgage-banking business models and incentive structures and to propose some alternative ways to structure servicing compensation going forward.

Related Documents

	Respondent's Brief

May 5, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed an amicus brief in Parks v. MNBA America Bank, N.A. This is a national bank preemption case before the California Supreme Court in which the defendant (now FIA Card Services, N.A., a subsidiary of Bank of America Corp.) was charged with violating a California law that requires credit-card lenders to make certain disclosures when offering convenience checks to their customers. TCH’s brief addresses the question of whether a California statute requiring disclosures in connection with bank offerings of convenience checks is preempted under the National Bank Act and an OCC regulation.

Related Documents

	OFR Legal Entity Identifier Comment Request
	FSB Report to G-20 on Financial Crisis and Information Gaps

May 3, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with 12 other trade associations, published a legal-entity identifier (LEI) requirements document. The LEI will help enable organizations to measure and manage counterparty exposure more effectively while providing substantial operational efficiencies and customer-service improvements to the industry.

Related Documents

	NCUA NPR on Credit Ratings Alternatives
	SEC Proposed Rule on Credit Ratings Alternatives

Apr 12, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted its October 12, 2010 comment letter on alternatives to the use of credit ratings to the SEC and the NCUA in response to their NPRs. As does the TCH letter submitted to the federal banking agencies, each of these letters expresses concerns about any complete removal of references to, or requirements of reliance on, credit ratings in the agencies’ regulations, notes international regulators’ concerns, offers possible alternatives and its cooperation in working with regulators to develop others, and urges the agencies to allow external credit ratings to continue to be used within the constraints imposed by Dodd-Frank.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Proposed Rule
	Trade Assn Feb. 22, 2011 Comments
	Paper by Evans, Litan and Schmalensee
	Alston & Bird Advisory

Apr 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, joined by eight other trade associations, filed a letter with the FRB emphasizing the extraordinary breadth and depth of organizations and Government officials that have expressed concerns similar to those expressed in the associations’ February 22 comment letter to the Board on its proposed rule to implement the debit card interchange provisions of Dodd-Frank. The letter also addresses suggestions that governments in other countries have capped or eliminated debit card interchange fees without any negative consequences to consumers or debit card issuers in those countries, focusing particularly on the experience in Canada where consumers have ended up paying slightly more than the current debit interchange fee of 44 cents received by U.S. issuers. On July 20, 2011 the FRB published in the Federal Register its final Regulation II, implementing the Durbin Amendment. The rule, which differs from the Board’s December 16 proposed rule, caps interchange fees for debit card transactions at 21 cents plus an ad valorem component of five basis points as an adjustment for fraud losses. A debit card transaction interchange fee that does not exceed this threshold is conclusively deemed reasonable and proportional. The FRB also approved an interim final rule that allows an issuer to receive an adjustment of 1 cent to its interchange transaction fee if the issuer complies with certain fraud prevention standards outlined by the FRB. The interchange fee limitations and the interim final rule are effective October 1, 2011.

Related Documents

	FRB Response
	Basel II, Final Rule
	Basel Committee Proposal on Remuneration

Apr 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the OCC, Board of Governors, FDIC and OTS (the “Agencies”) recommending that (i) the Agencies provide sufficient notice to a core bank when granting it permission to exit its parallel run; (ii) the annual Pillar 3 disclosure submission deadlines be no earlier than the corresponding SEC filing deadlines (60 days); (iii) the first Pillar 3 disclosure submission deadline be a minimum of 60 days after quarter end; and (iv) the disclosures described in the Basel Committee's proposed Pillar 3 disclosure requirements for remuneration not be adopted by the Agencies. On December 7 the FRB responded to TCH Association’s letter agreeing with TCH’s recommendations that (i) the annual and first reporting period Pillar 3 disclosures may be published more than 45 days after the end of the calendar quarter, but no later than the applicable SEC guidelines, and (ii) the Fed will notify a banking organization of the successful completion of its parallel run at least 30 days prior to the end of the parallel run period.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Agencies' NPR on Market Risk Capital Rules

Apr 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association along with the ABA, IIF, ISBA and SIFMA submitted a comment letter to the FDIC, FRB and OCC in response to the agencies’ risk-based capital guidelines proposal. The comment letter addressed several critical concerns shared by a multitude of financial institutions and sought to clarify other important issues. Of particular note, the comment letter argues for: (i) removing the redundancies found throughout the proposal; (ii) ensuring that risk reduction and mitigation efforts are properly counted; (iii) aligning the regulatory framework with idiosyncratic and market risks that exist and (iv) clarifying where, how, and why the proposal departs from Basel II.5.

Related Documents

	TCF National Bank Complaint

Mar 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, together with seven other trade associations, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in TCF National Bank v. Bernanke. The brief argues that the FRB’s interpretation of the Durbin Amendment and its proposed rule to cap debit interchange rates are unconstitutional. The brief requests that, if the Board’s final rule precludes issuers from recovering their costs for debit card services plus a reasonable rate of return, the court preliminarily enjoin the effective date of the Durbin Amendment pending conclusion of the litigation.

Related Documents

	Supreme Court Order
	Justice Dept. Brief in Bloomberg
	Justice Dept. Brief in Fox
	Bloomberg's Brief
	FRBNY Staff Report: Stigma in Financial Markets
	Davis Polk Article

Mar 2, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed a reply brief in the Supreme Court in support of its petitions for a writ of certiorari to review the rulings of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Bloomberg L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Fox News Network, LLC v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The reply brief responded to the opposition papers filed by Bloomberg and Fox News, as well as to the brief submitted by the Solicitor General, in which the Solicitor General – while agreeing with TCH Association on the merits – recommended that the Court deny certiorari to await a future case that would allow the Court to correct the Second Circuit’s errors. On March 21 the Supreme Court denied TCH's petition for certiorari in these cases.

Related Documents

	FSOC Proposed Rulemaking on Nonbank-SIFI Designation
	TCH Nov. 5, 2010 Comments
	FSOC ANPR on Supervision of NBFCs

Feb 25, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed a letter with the FSOC in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking requesting comments on the criteria to be used to designate systemically important nonbank financial institutions for enhanced regulation. The letter argues that designations should be broadly-based, prompt and based primarily on a firm's size, interconnectedness, dependency and reasonable prospects of ever being subjected to the orderly-liquidation authority's special resolution provisions.

Related Documents

	SEC Proposed Rule on Registration of Municipal Advisors

Feb 22, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted, along with the ABA and ABASA, a letter to the SEC on its notice of proposed rulemaking to establish a permanent registration system for municipal advisors under § 975 of Dodd-Frank. While the associations support the goal of ensuring that market participants providing investment advice to municipalities are appropriately regulated, they believe that the proposed rules go beyond legislative intent and public policy need by regulating already-regulated traditional banking products that are outside the ambit of § 975. The letter encourages the SEC to (i) state clearly that traditional banking products and services are not covered by § 975, (ii) provide an exemption from § 975 requirement for advisory activities that would be exempt were banks required to register as advisers under the Advisers Act, and (iii) rethink its proposal to exclude appointed members of a municipality’s governing body from the definition of “employee of a municipal entity.”

Related Documents

	SEC Study on Extraterritorial Private Rights of Action

Feb 18, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the SEC on the Commission’s study on expanding the scope of private litigant securities fraud lawsuits to include those involving fraudulent acts occurring outside of the U.S. TCH expressed its belief that (i) the SEC should recommend to Congress that it not expand the Exchange Act’s private right of action to purchase and sales of securities that occur outside the U.S., and (ii) that under Morrison v. National Australia Bank the Exchange Act’s private right of action does not cover any purchase or sale of a security conducted outside the U.S. TCH’s comment letter was joined by the IIB and ABASA.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Interim Final Rule
	TCH Jan. 11, 2011 Comments
	TCH Nov. 18, 2010 Comments
	Proposed Rule

Feb 18, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FDIC on a notice of interim final rule implementing certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank orderly-liquidation authority (OLA). The comment letter states that the comments made to the FDIC in our related November 18, 2010, and January 11, 2011, letters generally remain applicable. The letter urges the FDIC to consider three overarching goals as it develops OLA rules in the months ahead: (i) predictable, transparent, fair and well-integrated procedures, (ii) approaches and results reflecting those that would apply to a company under the Bankruptcy Code as well as creditor recoveries generally no less than those received thereunder, and (iii) regulations that reduce, or at least not enhance, the likelihood of failure in order to manage systemic risk while reducing moral hazard. On July 15 the FDIC published in the Federal Register a final rule under the Dodd-Frank orderly-liquidation authority. The changes from the interim final rule and the NPR affect the provisions that, with respect to a failed firm resolved under the authority, claw back compensation of an executive or director, prioritize payments, define “financial company,” and regulate the payments of claims, including the rights of secured claimants.

Related Documents

	Manager's Markup of Patent-Reform Bill S.23
	Schumer-Kyl Amendment

Feb 3, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with three other trade associations, submitted a letter to Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the patent-reform bill in its current form, as it does not address the poor-quality business-method patents and the non-practicing entities plaguing the financial-services industry. In the letter the trade associations indicate their support for efforts to establish an oppositional proceeding at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where business-method patents can be re-examined, using the best prior art, as an alternative to costly litigation.

Related Documents

	OFR Statement of Policy on Legal Entity Identification
	Creating a Linchpin for Financial Data: The Need for a Legal Entity Identifier

Jan 31, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association, along with seven other trade associations, submitted a comment letter to the Office of Financial Research on a proposal to develop a system of uniform legal-entity identifiers (LEIs) to measure and evaluate systemic risk in the financial system. The comment letter urges OFR (i) to work with all the major domestic and global financial-services regulators toward one LEI standard, (ii) to choose a non-profit LEI issuer with a stable funding source and an open and transparent process, (iii) to define clearly which parties are responsible for obtaining LEIs, (iv) to institute an LEI system in accordance with the interagency whitepaper, “Creating a Linchpin for Financial Data: The Need for a Legal Entity Identifier,” especially one that issues neutral LEIs, and (v) to consider carefully the phase-in strategy and which data elements to require. The associations noted that they are working together to develop an industry proposal.

Related Documents

	FSOC Proposal on Designation of FMUs as Systemically Important

Jan 20, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the FSOC in response to an ANPR regarding the criteria that should be applied under § 804 of Dodd-Frank to designate financial-market utilities as systemically important. In the letter TCH indicates its support for the purposes of Title VIII but also sets forth its belief that only the largest interbank-payment systems pose the type of systemic risk contemplated by Title VIII. The designation of lower-value payment systems, such as PayCo’s EPN and IPN under Title VIII, would only add additional layers of regulatory oversight without commensurate benefits in mitigating systemic risk and would be beyond the scope of Title VIII.

Related Documents

	FDIC Interim Final Rule
	Proposed Rule
	TCH Nov. 18, 2010 Comments

Jan 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association sent a comment letter to the FDIC in response to the FDIC’s notice of proposed rulemaking implementing certain orderly-liquidation-authority provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Association requests that the FDIC provide clear confirmation that it stands fully behind the statutory mandate that creditors and counterparties of a covered financial company fare no worse in a Dodd-Frank liquidation than they would in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. TCH also stresses the importance that the regulations be fully coordinated with the other terms and goals of Dodd-Frank and the vast array of regulations that the various agencies are adopting to govern the conduct of business under the Act, particularly the heightened regulatory regime for systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs). On January 18 the FDIC Board of Directors approved an interim final rule clarifying how it will treat certain creditor claims under the new Dodd-Frank orderly liquidation authority. The interim final rule differs from the FDIC’s October 19, 2010, proposed rule in that it clarifies the standard for valuation for collateral on secured claims and revises the provision relating to treatment of contingent claims.

Related Documents

	SEC and CFTC NPR on DCOs, DCMs, and SEFs
	Department of Justice Letter

Jan 11, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association joined a joint-trades comment letter to the CFTC and SEC on the aggregation of ownership limits for DCOs, DCMs, and SEFs. The letter was filed in response to the position the Department of Justice took in a December 28 letter to the CFTC advocating for stricter aggregation rules for DCOs and expanding similar limits to DCMs and SEFs. The Associations wrote that the DOJ letter does not appear to take into account the regulatory framework established under Dodd-Frank to address the very concerns it cites.

Related Documents

	ULC Study Committee Report

Jan 6, 2011  -- The Clearing House Association sent a comment letter to the Uniform Law Commission Executive Committee and Scope and Program Committee opposing a recommendation that a drafting committee be formed to revise U.C.C. Articles 3, 4 and 4A beyond what is minimally necessary to address specific issues concerning mortgage promissory notes and foreclosure.

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	FDIC NPR on Assessment Base and Rates
	FDIC NPR on Large Bank Pricing

Jan 3, 2011  -- In another example of The Clearing House leadership, the Association submitted a letter to the FDIC on its NPR to revise the pricing system applicable to large insured depository institutions and to revise the deposit-insurance assessment base and rates. The letter states that the NPR remains deeply flawed and requires fundamental change to comport with the FDIC’s obligation to carry out its statutory mandate to base assessments on risk to the deposit insurance fund.

Related Documents

	Final Rule on Conformance Period
	FRB Proposal on Volcker Rule Conformance Period
	Davis Polk Summary

Dec 30, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association sent a comment letter to the Federal Reserve Board commenting on a proposed rule regarding the conformance period for entities engaged in proprietary trading or private-equity-fund and hedge-fund activities. The Association believes that the proposal severely limits the availability of the special extension for banking entities’ investments in illiquid funds, which is contrary to Congressional intent and will raise legal and prudential concerns for banking entities. TCH recommends certain changes to the definitions in the proposed rule to allow the special extension for banking entities’ investments in illiquid funds to achieve its statutory purpose, taking into account how funds operate in practice. On February 9 the FRB approved a final rule to implement Dodd-Frank provision providing firms with a defined period to conform activities and investments to the requirements of the Volcker Rule. The final rule is largely similar to, but differs in certain respects from, the November 2010 proposed rule. Changes include expanded conditions under which an asset may be considered an “illiquid asset” and broadened the types of documents that may be considered in determining whether a hedge fund or private equity fund is “contractually committed” to principally invest in illiquid assets or whether a banking entity that has sponsored a hedge fund or private equity fund is “contractually obligated” to invest or remain invested in the fund. The rule is effective April 1.

Related Documents

	FDIC Large-Bank Pricing NPR

Dec 10, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association filed a comment letter with the FDIC asking that it extend the comment period for its proposals to revise the assessment base for FDIC insurance and the method for calculating large-bank assessments.

Dec 6, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association joined ten industry groups in a letter to the SEC and the CFTC to urge the Commissions to use their discretion to propose, adopt and implement rules in a sequence that gives market participants sufficient time to do the work necessary to comply with new requirements being imposed on them.

Related Documents

	Proposed Rule
	Skadden Newsletter

Nov 18, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association filed a letter urging the FDIC to refrain from implementing certain orderly-liquidation-authority provisions of Dodd-Frank and to coordinate its work with the Financial Stability Board and other international bodies. TCH recommended that rules implementing the Dodd-Frank authority be carefully coordinated with the evolving global-resolution framework to avoid trapped liquidity pools and similar results that would not only put U.S. banking organizations at a competitive disadvantage, but also increase the very market risk that they are intended to reduce.

Nov 16, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The petition argues that the court erroneously interpreted the Freedom of Information Act in finding that information regarding banks’ borrowings from the Fed’s discount window is not protected from disclosure as confidential financial information.

Related Documents

	FSOC Request for Public Input on Volcker Rule Study

Nov 5, 2010  -- In a letter to the FSOC, The Clearing House Association recommends that the Council and the agencies consult with affected institutions and other market participants prior to implementing any regulation.

Related Documents

	FSOC ANPR on Supervision of NBFCs

Nov 5, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the FSOC recommending that it make its determination whether to designate a nonbank financial company (NBFC) as systemically important based on a comprehensive review of its size and interconnectedness as well as the nature of the entity’s operations, rather than its legal form. Determinations should be made as promptly as practicable and on a case-by-case basis.

Related Documents

	Fox News Complaint

Nov 5, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit a motion to intervene in this case, which is a companion case to Bloomberg, L.P., v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. TCH is also seeking a stay in Fox News in order to preserve the status quo while the Supreme Court considers the issues in Bloomberg.

Related Documents

	Order Granting Motion to Dismiss
	Apellants' Opening Brief

Nov 1, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association, ABA and CBA filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Kilgore v. KeyBank, N.A., et al., arguing that plaintiffs' claims to use a general California unfair-competition law to alter the terms of loans they entered into with KeyBank is meritless because the California law is preempted by the National Bank Act.

Related Documents

	Second Circuit Opinion

Oct 26, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The petition argues that the court erroneously interpreted the Freedom of Information Act in finding that information regarding banks’ borrowings from the Fed’s discount window is not protected from disclosure as confidential financial information.

Related Documents

	Agencies' Credit-Ratings Alternatives ANPR

Oct 12, 2010  -- In a letter to the OCC, Fed, OTS, and FDIC, The Clearing House Association expressed its concern with a proposal to remove credit ratings from all of the federal agencies’ rules. TCH also outlined constructive alternatives to ratings and committed to work with the agencies on this proposal.

Related Documents

	OCC ANPR on Alternatives to Credit Ratings

Oct 12, 2010  -- In a letter to the Comptroller of the Currency, The Clearing House Association expressed its concern with a separate OCC proposal to remove credit ratings from its rules. TCH also outlined constructive alternatives to ratings and committed to work with the OCC on its proposal.

Related Documents

	FDIC Proposal on Safe Harbor for Securitizations (May 17, 2010)
	Original FDIC Proposal on Safe Harbor for Securitizations (January 7, 2010)

Jul 16, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FDIC on its proposal to clarify its policy with respect to the treatment of securitizations in FDIC receiverships and conservatorships. The letter takes the position that, in attempting to go its own way without regard to similar efforts underway at the SEC, and without taking into account the new requirements in Dodd-Frank, the FDIC risks subjecting insured banks with burdensome and inconsistent regulation.

Related Documents

	Interim Final Rule
	FDIC Proposal to Require Banks to Submit Contingent-Resolution Plans

Jul 16, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter on the FDIC’s proposal to require each bank with more than $10 billion in assets that is a subsidiary of a holding company with over $100 billion in assets to submit to the FDIC information, analysis, and plans that demonstrate the bank’s ability to be separated from its parent and be wound down and resolved in an orderly fashion upon insolvency. TCH urged the FDIC to withdraw the “living wills” proposal and follow the approach mandated by Dodd-Frank by working with the Federal Reserve Board to require institutions to develop plans on an enterprise-wide basis. On September 21 the FDIC published in the Federal Register a previously-announced interim final rule amending its resolution and receivership rules to require an insured depository institution with $50 billion or more in total assets to submit periodically to the FDIC a contingent plan for the resolution of such institutions in the event of its failure. The rule is effective as of January 1, 2012.

Related Documents

	FDIC Proposal on Assessment Methodology for Large Banks

Jun 16, 2010  -- In a letter to the FDIC on its proposal to change the method of calculating assessments for FDIC insurance, The Clearing House Association recommends that the FDIC withdraw the proposal and issue a new notice of proposed rulemaking. The new FDIC notice would address the flaws in the current proposal and more accurately incorporate into the assessments the actual risk to the deposit insurance fund. This recommendation would also allow the FDIC to develop the assessment system in the context of amendments to the FDI Act concerning the risk-based assessment system included in Dodd-Frank.

Related Documents

	Supreme Court Docket
	Petition for Ceritorari

Apr 26, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association, along with other banking associations, filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of certiorari in US Bank v. Thomas. This case involves claims by Missouri homeowners who filed a lawsuit in state court alleging that the fees charged by FirstPlus violated Missouri law. The banks moved the case to federal court, which held that the federal statute did not apply to the facts of the case, so there could be no complete preemption. In the brief TCH and trade groups argue that the Eighth Circuit decision deprives state banks of complete preemption and narrows the scope of ordinary preemption to periodic interest rates. On June 28 2010, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in this case.

Related Documents

	FDIC ANPR

Feb 18, 2010  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a letter to the FDIC stating that compensation practices should not be incorporated as an independent factor in the FDIC’s risk-based assessment system. Compensation practices are already incorporated into the assessment system as part of the management component of a depository institution’s CAMELS ratings. TCH believes that institutions tailor their compensation programs to the particular characteristics of their business and employees and should be subject to supervision on a case-by-case basis.

Related Documents

	Advisory Committee Memorandum

Feb 12, 2010  -- In a letter to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, The Clearing House Association addressed certain issues with respect to a proposed rule that are of particular importance and concern to large, multi-faceted banking institutions, particularly in their role as administrative agent under a credit facility in which the borrower has become a debtor under the Bankruptcy Code.

Related Documents

	Fox News Complaint
	Second Circuit Court Order

Dec 10, 2009  -- In this companion case to Bloomberg L.P. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, both Fox News and Bloomberg sued the Fed under the Freedom of Information Act for the release of documents that would identify the banks that participated in the various emergency-funding programs. Bloomberg’s FOIA request was denied by the Fed due to the potential for competitive harm, as the information being sought is of a financial nature. In the brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, The Clearing House Association argued that the District Court correctly held that disclosure of the reports likely would cause substantial competitive harm to borrowing institutions and that the District Court correctly held that FOIA Exemption 4 protects the Board’s interest in effectuating the purposes of its lending program.

Related Documents

	Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2009

Nov 25, 2009  -- In a letter to the Senate Banking chairman, The Clearing House Association comments on the proposal that the assessment of any insured institution should be based on the amount of the average total assets of the insured depository institution minus the amount of the tangible equity of the insured depository institution. TCH urges Congress not to compel departure from the long-standing practice of calculating assessments for the deposit insurance fund on the basis of total domestic deposits.

Related Documents

	NY Court of Appeals Opinion

Nov 25, 2009  -- The Clearing House Association joined the Loan Syndications and Trading Association and the Commercial Finance Association in an amicus brief filed with the New York Court of Appeals in support of the plaintiffs-appellants, DDJ Capital Management, LLC, et al. TCH recommended the Court rule that it is not per se unreasonable for a commercial lender entering into a financing transaction to accept and rely upon a representation and warranty by a prospective borrower as to the accuracy of the borrower’s unaudited financial statements and other books and records. As representations and warranties are bargained for in sophisticated business transactions, reliance on such representations and warranties is justifiable without further investigation—a legal principle long recognized by settled precedents of New York law.

Related Documents

	USDC SDNY Opinion and Order

Nov 6, 2009  -- In this case Bloomberg L.P. sued the Fed under the Freedom of Information Act for the release of documents that would identify the banks that participated in various FRB emergency-funding programs. Bloomberg’s FOIA request was denied by the Fed due to the potential for competitive harm, as the information being sought is of a financial nature. Filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Courth of Appeals for the Second Circuit as intervenor-appellant, The Clearing House Association argued that the Board established that disclosure of the reports likely would cause substantial competitive harm to borrowers, the Court should adopt the “Program Effectiveness” Test, and that the District Court erred in finding that information in the reports, except for borrowers’ names, was not “obtained from a person.”

Related Documents

	Final Rule
	Amended Restoration Plan
	FDIC NPR on Prepaid Assessments

Oct 28, 2009  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment on the FDIC's proposal to require all banks to prepay their quarterly risk-based assessments for the fourth quarter of 2009 and all of 2010, 2011, and 2012 at the end of 2009. TCH supported the proposal as preferable to other alternatives to replenish the bank-insurance fund and recommended several improvements to the proposal.

Related Documents

	Federal Reserve Notice and Comment Request

Jun 11, 2009  -- The Clearing House Association responded to the Federal Reserve Board’s request for comment on the proposed modification of its method for calculating the private-sector adjustment factor (“PSAF”). In the letter TCH supports the Board’s proposal to abandon the use of a model that uses large bank holding companies as a peer group and move toward a more appropriate model. TCH recommends that the Board consider a peer group that includes publicly traded payments-processing companies. TCH also recommends that the Board go forward with the present proposal for Reserve Bank fees to be set for 2010 but that it continue to evaluate the way that it sets the PSAF.

Related Documents

	FDIC NPR on Emergency Special Assessment

May 21, 2009  -- The Clearing House Association urged the FDIC to continue the agency’s long-standing practice of calculating assessments with respect to the deposit insurance fund based on domestic deposits rather than some other measure, such as assets.

Apr 10, 2009  -- The Clearing House Association submitted a comment letter to the FDIC on the Legacy Loans Program. The letter stated that the success of the program would depend on establishing “clearing prices” at which both investors and banks will be willing to participate. These prices must reflect both the intrinsic value of the loans for the banks and the reasonable profit expectations of the investors. Otherwise, banks may not be willing, or able, to sell the loans. In addition, accounting issues must be clearly resolved as to when a pool of loans moves from a held-for-investment classification to a held-for-sale classification and as to whether a sales price for one pool of loans would affect carrying values of similar loans retained by the bank.

Related Documents

	FDIC Interim Rule with Request for Comment

Mar 31, 2009  -- The comment letter from The Clearing House Association stated that the FDIC’s proposal should be revised to minimize the pro-cyclical consequences of a large assessment on bank earnings and lending capacity while still achieving the goal of maintaining confidence in the Deposit Insurance Fund. TCH strongly urged the FDIC to impose any special assessment on the deposit base of depository institutions, as it has done in the past, and not based on some previously unused measure, such as assets. TCH urged that the special assessment be implemented over time and be subject to the FDIC’s periodic reassessment.

Mar 25, 2009  -- On January 16, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the request of the New York Attorney General’s office to review the decision in TCH v. Cuomo, formerly referred to as the Spitzer case. The Clearing House Association filed a brief on March 25, 2009, and, in late April 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether states have the authority to regulate national banks. TCH successfully obtained an injunction that will prohibit states from issuing subpoenas of bank records without filing a specific lawsuit in court.

Jan 23, 2009  -- The Clearing House Association joined the California Bankers Association and the ABA in filing a motion to request depublication of the Court of Appeal of the State of California Second Appellate District's opinion on the ground that it addresses questions prematurely that the court of appeal recognized require further factual development.

Dec 17, 2008  -- The Clearing House Association urged the FDIC to extend the period for restoration of the deposit insurance fund to at least seven years (or longer in the event of a protracted economic crisis) and to delay any increase in assessments beyond the first quarter of 2009 until the effect on the deposit insurance fund of recent government intervention programs can be analyzed. TCH expressed concern that the aggressive recapitalization proposed by the FDIC would unnecessarily restrict banks' ability to lend in the context of the current extraordinary disruption of the financial markets and be inconsistent with government efforts to shore up bank capital and bank liquidity.

Dec 8, 2008  -- The Clearing House Association filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to the NY Attorney General’s petition for certiorari.

Oct 30, 2008  -- The Clearing House Association supports the FDIC’s need to quickly access certain information related to qualified financial contract (QFC) transactions in order to allow the FDIC, in its role as receiver, to efficiently assess the assets of troubled institutions. TCH believes that this need can be met more cost-effectively by permitting institutions to report counterparty-level data that are already kept on existing systems, rather than requiring institutions to aggregate and deliver position-level data and require a centralized database.

Jun 13, 2008  -- The Clearing House Association, ABA, and ABASA commented on the aspect of FINRA’s proposal that addresses the extent to which FINRA rules apply to individuals that are dually employed by banks and broker-dealers. The letter stated that, when banks and their FINRA-regulated broker-dealer partners establish dual employee relationships, they collectively take steps to ensure that their respective compliance programs are designed to work in tandem to prevent inadequate supervision that would increase the risk of violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Accordingly, TCH and ABA-ABASA stated that banks should be able to retain flexibility to structure their compliance functions in a manner that best fits the structure and operations of their particular businesses.

Jun 11, 2008  -- In a letter to the Federal Reserve Board, The Clearing House Association agrees with the Board that intraday credit is an essential ingredient in the smooth and efficient operation of the nation’s payment systems and that the Federal Reserve banks have an important role to play in supplying this liquidity and therefore supports the major elements of the Board’s proposal.

May 22, 2008  -- The Clearing House Association joined other industry associations in filing an amicus brief with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Brown Family Trust v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which involves the enforceability of an arbitration provision in a stock brokerage agreement signed by a bank customer with an affiliated broker-dealer. A joint amicus brief was filed by TCH, SIFMA, The Chamber of Commerce, the ABA, ABASA, and the Financial Services Roundtable.

Apr 16, 2008  -- The Clearing House Association, along with other trades associations, sent a letter to the FDIC expressing support for the intent of its notice of proposed rulemaking to provide for timely deposit-insurance determination, prompt release of depositor funds, and least-costly resolution in the case of a bank failure. Nonetheless, many of the proposals would be very costly for banks to implement. The associations recommend the adoption of elements from the proposed rulemaking only where demonstrated benefits justify the costs and request that the FDIC make every effort to limit the burdens on banks and provide flexibility to accommodate the variety of bank systems.

Mar 26, 2008  -- The Clearing House and the OCC filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals in TCH v. Spitzer in response to a petition for a rehearing en banc that was filed by the NY Attorney General’s office.