May 23, 2024

MBA Wraps Up Successful 2024 Legislative Session

In a session punctuated by Senate filibusters that significantly slowed the process and affected all legislation, Missouri lawmakers only sent 28 bills to Gov. Mike Parson. Of those 28 bills, two measures were touted by MBA.

“Several of our priorities were successful despite the obstacles in the General Assembly this year,” said MBA Senior Vice President David Kent. “Our members were key to MBA’s legislative success in their discussions with their lawmakers.”

The first MBA-priority measure sent to Parson increases the cap for the MOBUCK$ program from $800 million to $1.2 billion. Parson signed House Bill 1803 on May 9 in Springfield, and the increase is effective Aug. 28.

The second — Senate Bill 1359 — includes language that will allow banks to pass through the costs of credit reports on consumer loans to consumers, among other provisions. If the bill is approved by Parson, the provisions are effective Aug. 28.

No bills opposed by the MBA, including credit union field-of-membership expansion, were passed this legislative session.

Throughout the session, bankers from across the state participated in MBA’s Target Banker program. More than 150 bankers made Target Banker visits to Jefferson City, and others reached out to their lawmakers at home or by phone or email.

“Thank you to our members who accepted the challenge to advocate for Missouri’s banks,” said MBA Vice President Emily Lewis. “Advocacy is a team sport, and it takes all of us to be successful.”

Parson has until July 14 to sign, veto or allow legislation to become law. Details of all legislation affecting the banking community will be provided later this summer in These Laws Affect You, compiled by MBA General Counsel Keith Thornburg.

Submit Nominations For 2024 NextGen Banking Leadership Award

The Next Generation in Banking Leadership Award recognizes outstanding achievement of a Missouri banker employed by an MBA-member bank. MBA encourages its member banks to submit a deserving nominee from your bank for the 2024 award.

Only bankers employed by an MBA-member bank are considered for this award. Considerations in the selection process include the following.

• nominee’s banking career
• nominee’s service to the community
• nominee’s commitment to personal and professional development
• nominee’s MBA involvement
• nominee’s other notable achievements and accomplishments

A selection committee approved by the Missouri Bankers Foundation reviews nominations and conducts in-person interviews at MBA’s office in September. All finalists must participate in the interview process.

The 2024 Next Generation in Banking Leadership Award will be presented at the NextGen Leadership Conference scheduled Oct. 3-4 in Kansas City. The recipient also will be honored at MBA’s Executive Management Conference scheduled Dec. 4-6 in Kansas City and will be nominated by MBA for the American Bankers Association Emerging Leaders Award.

In addition, the winner receives $250, an engraved award and statewide recognition. The Missouri Bankers Foundation also makes a donation to the recipient’s chosen charity.

Additional information and a nomination form are posted online, and nominations are due Monday, July 8. For more information, please contact MBA Vice President Emily Lewis.

CFPB Pushes Back Section 1071 Compliance Dates

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pushed back the compliance deadlines by several months for its Section 1071 small-business data collection rule in response to litigation by the American Bankers Association and other plaintiffs.

The compliance date for Tier 1 institutions is now July 18, 2025, with the first filing deadline June 1, 2026. The compliance date for Tier 2 institutions is Jan. 16, 2026, with the first filing deadline June 1, 2027. The compliance date for Tier 3 institutions is Oct. 18, 2026, with the first filing deadline also June 1, 2027.

A federal court in Texas stayed implementation of the rule pending the outcome of a separate U.S. Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of the CFPB’s funding, with the high court upholding the bureau’s funding structure. The Texas court ordered the CFPB to extend the rule’s compliance deadlines to compensate for the period stayed, the bureau said.

CFPB Issues Rule On Buy Now, Pay Later

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interpretive rule addressing buy now, pay later credit services. In its studies and analysis of BNPL conducted throughout the past two years, the CFPB determined that BNPL is a form of credit functionally equivalent to credit cards and is applying relevant portions of Regulation Z to BNPL, and that Subpart B related to customer disputes and returns applies to BNPL. As a result, BNPL lenders must investigate customer disputes concerning any product or service purchased with BNPL credit and pause any payments due pending the investigation. When consumers cancel a service or return a product for refund, the BNPL creditor must credit refunds to the customers’ account.  Customers also must receive periodic billing statements. 

Public comments on the rule can be submitted until Aug. 1.

FDIC’s Gruenberg Announces Intention To Resign

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced he will resign once a successor has been named to fill his position. The announcement comes after a third-party investigation found widespread sexual harassment and discrimination at the FDIC. Although the report found no evidence directly linking Gruenberg to the alleged harassment, the investigators spoke with FDIC employees who said the chairman lashed out angrily at staff, and he has faced calls from lawmakers in both parties to step down, including Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer and Congresswoman Ann Wagner.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., called Gruenberg’s announcement “too little, too late,” saying the FDIC chairman should resign immediately. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged President Biden to nominate a new FDIC chair “who can lead the FDIC at this challenging time and for the Senate to act on that nomination without delay.”