FR 2021-02781

Overview

Title

Notice of the FDIC's Response to Exception Requests Pursuant to the Recordkeeping for Timely Deposit Insurance Determination Rule

Agencies

ELI5 AI

The FDIC is letting some banks have extra time, until March 31, 2022, to fix the way they keep track of money in their systems so they can accurately figure out how much insurance people’s deposits have.

Summary AI

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced that it is granting temporary relief to certain financial institutions. These institutions, which manage mortgage servicing accounts, are being given until March 31, 2022, to meet specific technology and recordkeeping requirements necessary for calculating deposit insurance. This relief period is intended to allow these institutions more time to improve their systems and processing capabilities. The FDIC will continue to monitor the situation and may change or withdraw the relief if needed.

Abstract

In accordance with its rule regarding recordkeeping for timely deposit insurance determination, the FDIC is providing notice that it has granted time-limited exception relief to covered institutions until March 31, 2022, from information technology system requirements and recordkeeping requirements for principal and interest payments held in mortgage servicing accounts for which the covered institutions act as servicers or sub-servicers. The recommended relief will provide the covered institutions additional time to remediate their servicing platforms and internal processing capabilities pending further direction from the FDIC.

Type: Notice
Citation: 86 FR 9070
Document #: 2021-02781
Date:
Volume: 86
Pages: 9070-9071

AnalysisAI

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a notice regarding temporary relief from certain regulatory requirements for financial institutions that manage mortgage servicing accounts. Specifically, the relief pertains to the information technology and recordkeeping systems these institutions must use to calculate how much insurer coverage is available for deposit accounts. This exception period extends to March 31, 2022, allowing these institutions additional time to update their systems and processes.

General Summary

The FDIC's notice acknowledges that certain financial institutions are struggling to meet regulations due to the complexities inherent in mortgage servicing accounts. To ease the transition toward compliance, the FDIC has granted a temporary reprieve from certain technical and recordkeeping requirements. This relief will enable these institutions to develop and implement the necessary system updates to meet compliance standards.

Significant Issues and Concerns

Several issues arise from the text of the notice. First, the document is vague regarding what additional information these institutions need from the FDIC. This ambiguity might impede their ability to develop the necessary programming logic and business documentation. Also, the 60-day time frame set for covered institutions to submit status reports after receiving this additional information may not be realistic, given the complexities involved.

Additionally, the term “material change of circumstances or conditions” lacks a specific definition. Without clarity, this could lead to inconsistent interpretations among institutions and auditors. The document also fails to explain the specific compliance tests the FDIC plans to conduct, possibly leading to confusion over what is required for compliance. Moreover, the choice of March 31, 2022, as the relief deadline appears arbitrary without further justification, leaving stakeholders to question the basis of its selection.

Some technical terms, such as “pending reason code” and “mortgage servicing account ownership right and capacity code,” could be challenging for some readers to understand without more context or explanation provided.

Impact on the Public

For the general public, the document highlights the FDIC's role in ensuring stability in the financial sector. While the relief granted may not directly impact everyday banking customers, it underscores ongoing efforts to refine systems that assure deposit insurance's integrity. Over time, these efforts aim to bolster the public’s confidence in the banking system.

Impact on Stakeholders

The relief could positively affect financial institutions by giving them ample time to develop and refine their technology and processes. This move might prevent possible penalties for non-compliance while allowing banks to maintain service quality without rushing complex implementations.

On the downside, the uncertainty around the relief's terms could pose challenges for banks as they may still face difficulties in achieving compliance within the stipulated timeframe, potentially burdening smaller institutions or those with less robust infrastructures.

Overall, while the FDIC's efforts to accommodate troubled institutions are notable, clarity and further information exposition would benefit all parties involved, fostering smoother transitions toward regulatory compliance.

Issues

  • • The document lacks clarity on the specifics of the additional information needed from the FDIC to finalize programming logic and business requirements documents for the covered institutions.

  • • The condition requiring covered institutions to submit status reports within 60 days from additional FDIC information may be overly ambitious, especially considering the complexities mentioned in the document.

  • • The document does not specify what constitutes a 'material change of circumstances or conditions,' leaving this term open to interpretation by different covered institutions or auditors.

  • • There is a lack of detail on the specific compliance tests that the FDIC will conduct regularly, which could result in misunderstandings about the expectations for covered institutions.

  • • The document does not provide a clear rationale for choosing March 31, 2022, as the deadline for the exception relief, which could be perceived as arbitrary.

  • • Some technical jargon, such as 'pending reason code' or 'mortgage servicing account ownership right and capacity code,' may not be easily understood by all readers without further context or explanations provided within the document.

Statistics

Size

Pages: 2
Words: 1,189
Sentences: 36
Entities: 79

Language

Nouns: 442
Verbs: 110
Adjectives: 55
Adverbs: 13
Numbers: 50

Complexity

Average Token Length:
5.26
Average Sentence Length:
33.03
Token Entropy:
5.27
Readability (ARI):
23.76

Reading Time

about 4 minutes