In the News

• TCH Provides Recommendations to Basel Committee on its Updated Bank Corporate Governance Principles

  January 12, 2015

  Late last Friday, The Clearing House Association (TCH) filed a comment letter with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to its “Corporate Governance Principles for Banks” consultative document, which the Basel Committee published for public comment in October 2014.  In the letter, TCH recommends certain changes designed to better delineate the board of directors’ responsibility for oversight of the business of a bank as distinct from management’s responsibility for the day-to-day operations, clarify the nature of director fiduciary duties, and reinforce the importance of giving each banking organization sufficient flexibility to tailor its governance practices to its business and risk profile.

• The Clearing House Welcomes NACHA Same Day ACH Settlement Announcement

  December 09, 2014

  The Clearing House welcomed NACHA’s proposal to move toward a ubiquitous, same-day ACH settlement capability. Together with today's already efficient ACH, Same Day ACH and real-time payments will provide distinct payment options for customers.

• The Clearing House Welcomes Moody’s Analytics Report on Banking System Resilience

  November 21, 2014

  The report, which was commissioned by TCH, presents a new framework for understanding and measuring the relationship between the stability of the banking system and its ability to contribute to the broader economy’s productivity and growth.

   

• The Clearing House to Undertake a Multi-Year Effort to Design and Develop a Secure, Real-Time Payment System

  October 22, 2014

  On October 22, TCH and its Owner Banks announced plans to undertake a multi-year effort to build a real-time payment system to better meet consumers’ and businesses’ expectations in an increasingly digital economy. The real-time payment system will be designed to address gaps in payment options and will enable consumers and businesses to securely send and receive immediate payments directly from their accounts at financial institutions. Implementing ubiquitous real-time payments is a comprehensive multi-year endeavor, requiring coordination among financial institutions of all sizes and their service and technology providers. The innovative real-time system will be designed to address unmet customer needs and allow them to initiate payments directly from their bank accounts in a safe and secure manner.

• TCH Comments on ISDA Announcement Concerning Progress on Cross-Border Bank Resolutions

  October 11, 2014

  On October 11, The Clearing House welcomed the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s (ISDA) announcement that large global banks with significant cross-border trading activities have voluntarily agreed to implement contractual changes that, in a resolution context, will provide for temporary restrictions (or stays) on early termination rights of derivatives counterparties.  These contractual changes are contained in a new protocol that the industry developed through ISDA.

• The Clearing House Files Comment Letter on Proposed Bank Secrecy Act Customer Due Diligence Requirements

  October 06, 2014

  Late Friday, The Clearing House Association (TCH) submitted a comment letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on its proposal to adopt rules under the Bank Secrecy Act to specify customer due diligence requirements for banks and other financial institutions. In the letter, TCH reaffirmed its longstanding support for thoughtful, well-tailored customer due diligence requirements designed to detect and prevent financial crimes, and recognized many of the improvements FinCEN made since the rule was originally considered in 2012. The letter also details a number of suggestions on how to further improve and clarify the proposed rule for maximum effectiveness.

• TCH Files Comment Letter on Proposed Changes to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Assessments

  September 22, 2014

  The Clearing House Association (TCH) today filed a comment letter with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on its proposed rule regarding changes to the deposit insurance assessment calculation methodology.  In the letter, TCH reiterates its support for maintaining a robust federal deposit insurance fund (DIF), but expresses concern that the proposed rule is inconsistent with the statutory requirement that assessments be based on actual risk to the DIF.

• TCH Appoints Paige Pidano as Managing Director and Associate General Counsel

  September 15, 2014

  The Clearing House Association (TCH) today announced that Paige Pidano is joining the organization as Managing Director and Associate General Counsel. In her new role she will serve on TCH’s legal and regulatory affairs team and assist in the development of bank regulatory policy, strategy and advocacy.

• TCH Updates Guiding Principles on Corporate Governance and Anti-Money Laundering

  September 10, 2014

  The Clearing House Association (TCH) today released two updated guiding principles drafts as part of an effort to assist banks as they work to address two timely issues facing the industry. The first, Guiding Principles for Enhancing Banking Organizations’ Corporate Governance, updates TCH’s previous guiding principles on the issue published in 2012.  The guiding principles are intended to provide banking organizations direction on core corporate governance issues. The second, Guiding Principles for Anti-Money Laundering Policies and Procedures in Correspondent Banking, last published in 2002, is intended to provide guidance to U.S. banks engaged in foreign correspondent banking and to assist U.S. banks in implementing key anti-money laundering (AML) obligations.

• The Clearing House Comments on Liquidity Coverage Ratio Rule

  September 03, 2014

  The Clearing House appreciates the agencies’ effort to provide greater clarity in today’s final rule on implementing the Basel III liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), which is intended to ensure that banks have sufficient short-term liquidity to survive a period of stress.