Federal Reserve: Rule Change Announced to Bolster the Effectiveness of the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced a rule change to bolster the effectiveness of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The change will temporarily modify the Board’s rules so that certain bank directors and shareholders can apply for PPP loans for their small businesses. To prevent favoritism, Board rules limit the…
HUD: $200 Million in COVID-19 Relief Funding Available to Help Native American Communities Across the Nation
Recovery funding will help American Indian Communities respond to COVID-19 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today announced $200 million in Indian Housing Block Grants (IHBG) to American Indian Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) across the country to respond to COVID-19. This funding will be used to help…
Pandemic Planning: Joint Questions and Answers Regarding State About the Use of Capital and Liquidity Buffers
Summary The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies), recognize the potential for Coronavirus Disease (also referred to as COVID-19) to adversely affect the customers and operations of financial institutions. On…
Census Bureau: American FactFinder Is Retiring March 31
The U.S. Census Bureau is retiring American FactFinder (AFF) on March 31, 2020. AFF has been the primary data dissemination tool, provided by the Census Bureau, for almost 20 years. Beginning in June of 2019, the Census Bureau stopped releasing new data in AFF and transitioned to data.census.gov. Data.census.gov represents a new chapter in the Census Bureau’s dissemination…
Census Bureau: 2020 Census Operations Updates, Website Launched, Motivation Ads Begin
The 2020 Census is well underway and is ready for America to respond as the first invitations are arriving in the mail at an estimated 140 million households between last Thursday, March 12 and this Friday, March 20. The public is encouraged to respond to the 2020 Census online, over the phone, or through the…
FFIEC: Updated Guidance on Pandemic Planning Issued
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today updated guidance identifying actions that financial institutions should take to minimize the potential adverse effects of a pandemic. Pandemic preparedness is an important part of a financial institution’s business continuity planning. The guidance provides the Council’s prudent expectations that regulated institutions should periodically review related risk management…
FEMA: President Trump Amends Disaster Declaration for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
FEMA announced that President Donald J. Trump made additional disaster assistance available to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by authorizing an increase in federal funding for certain eligible costs as a result of Super Typhoon Yutu. The President’s action authorizes federal cost share for all categories of Public Assistance, Hazard Mitigation and the…
FHFA: Indices Show Little Movement in Mortgage Interest Rates in December 2018
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages were nearly flat from November to December, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.83 percent for loans closed in late December, down 3 basis points from 4.86 percent…
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.4 Percent in November 2018
U.S. house prices rose in November, up 0.4 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.3 percent increase in October was revised to reflect a 0.4 percent increase. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information…
Federal Reserve: Beginning November 28th, FRB Intends to Begin Publishing Semiannual Report on Assessment of U.S. Financial Stability
The Federal Reserve Board on November 28 intends to begin publishing a semiannual report presenting the Board’s view of the outlook for U.S. financial stability. The Financial Stability Report will include a summary of the Board’s framework for assessing the resilience of the U.S. financial system and a discussion of key indicators related to the…