Today, a panel of representatives from the FDIC, OCC, the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau discussed a range of issues during the third day of ABA’s Regulatory Compliance Conference. Among the topics was the newly enacted Juneteenth holiday—observed on Friday, June 18.
A lack of regulatory guidance after the historic holiday’s rapid enactment raised questions about the definitions of “holidays” and “business day,” which impact the timing of disclosures and rescission periods required by the Truth in Lending Act and TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) timing requirements in connection with residential mortgage transactions. During the panel discussion, Bryan Schneider, associate director of Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending at CFPB, acknowledged that there were “concerns around the implementation” of the holiday, particularly related to TRID. “Yes, it certainly happened very quickly,” Schneider said. “We know that some lenders didn’t have sufficient time after the federal holiday was declared to consider whether and how to adjust their closing timelines.”
When asked if CFPB would issue an interim final rule that would retroactively define June 18 as a business day under TILA to help ensure that institutions that went ahead with scheduled closings and fund disbursements won’t face unnecessary litigation risk, Schneider basically repeated the statement issued by CFPB Acting Director Uejio on June 18, stating that “TILA and TRID generally protect creditors from liability for bona fide errors and permit redisclosure after closing to correct errors.” He added that any guidance issued by the bureau would take into account the limited implementation period before the holiday and would be in consultation with FFIEC regulators as well as the Conference of State Bank Supervisors to “ensure consistency of interpretation for all regulated entities.”
Schneider confirmed the bureau is working on another statement, is “very attuned to and aware of the impact” and will proceed in a “thoughtful manner” with all regulatory stakeholders. “We’ve heard you and we’re working on it,” he said.