Welcome from Orlando and the 2022 ABA Compliance Conference. It was a great first day of sessions. All the sessions I attended today were informative and the speakers insightful.
I wanted to take time to focus on the three key things I took away from the “Fair Banking/Fair Lending: Preparing for the 1071 Implementation” panel. The panel for this session included a great group: Kitty Ryan, Britt Faircloth, and Maureen Carollo.
- Do not expect much time to implement:
- There is 18 months from the time it goes final until required reporting. The industry is hoping for final requirement by the end of this month so that collection will start January of 2024. Kitty Ryan made a point of saying that” the CFPB has stated they are fine with partial year data collection”. Which for Banks would mean collection could start June/July of 2024 making for a challenge to track and implement. With a half year collection period.
- Could be at the same time as CRA which could greatly impact financial institutions and put a stain on resources.
- Risk Impact Analysis should be completed:
- This will not be like implementing HMDA, if you have not done an impact analysis. Do not wait, consider starting it now. Clean data is going to be key.
- It is important to understand who needs to be involved, how you will collect the data, what is needed for initial and on-going training, and how/when to start testing and monitoring the process to make proactive adjustments. You need to get your task force started now.
- What about your vendors? LOS, Core, data analytics provider. Will they be ready? Will their tools continue to meet your needs. What processes do they have to make your compliant (i.e., collection, workflow, need-to-know capabilities).
- Have policies been reviewed to ensure clear definitions an application.
- Proposed rules set forth the Reg. B definition for an application.
- Does your institution require a formal application for commercial loans, specifically small business?
- By a show of hands >1% of the room had an application, when asked by the panel.
- The Data:
- Needs to be collected at application. How will you do it? Do you have an application?
- Once collected how will you keep the Government Monitoring Information (GMI) need to know only? Basically, loan officer, underwriter, anyone in the decisioning making process cannot see it. The proposed rules require it to be segregated not only during the decision-making process but for the life-of-loan. It must be housed separately.
- Roughly twenty-three fields have been proposed for collection. However, financial institutions will likely need more fields to really understand what they have and the impact it will have to the institution. Software will be needed! It will be almost impossible to analyze data manually.
- Understanding and handling denials and counteroffers will be a challenge based off the nature of commercial lending.
- Once 1071 is final it will replace how we collect for CRA today.
- 1071 will provide for complications for HMDA real-estate loans. How will your institution manage the process to limit confusion. Especially, since the CFPB is unclear.
It’s very clear that section 1071 will provide challenges to financial institutions over the next couple of years. Early preparation and strong implementation will be keys to a successful transition.
The days’ worth of sessions provided good key insights and areas to consider. Looking forward to more great material on day 2.
-Kimberly Boatwright
EVP and Director of Risk and Compliance