NewsWatch Today

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's proposed 2021 housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that are unchanged from 2018-2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A federal law allowing tax-exempt credit unions to operate rent-free is shrinking the availability of banking options to service members, ICBA community banker and military veteran James Smith wrote.

The SBA will soon release a portal to accept Paycheck Protection Program loan-forgiveness applications, Administrator Jovita Carranza told the House Small Business Committee. The SBA is working with the Treasury Department to offer the portal by the beginning of August, she said.

A recent report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance shows how vital community banks have been to the COVID-19 response, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey wrote in Main Street Matters.

The Council on Environmental Quality issued an ICBA-supported final rule to exempt USDA and SBA guaranteed loans from proposed environmental impact statement requirements under the National Environmental Protection Act.

ICBA and 42 state community banking associations issued specific recommendations for the next economic stimulus package as Congress prepares new legislation. Meanwhile, community bankers can weigh in via ICBA's Be Heard grassroots action center.

Citing problems with credit union industry transparency, oversight, and unfair competition, the National Taxpayers Union told key members of Congress that it opposes expanding the credit union member-business-lending cap unless several conditions are met.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory on a high-profile scam exploiting Twitter accounts to solicit fraudulent virtual currency payments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported on more than 8,000 complaints it received from January through May that mention the coronavirus or related terms. Mortgage, credit card, and credit or consumer reporting complaints top the list.

With the Senate set to begin debating the next economic stimulus package next week, ICBA is calling on community bankers to use its Be Heard grassroots action center to weigh in with recommendations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an alert about recent reports that threat actors are targeting financial institution networks to access internal resources and deploy ransomware.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory on the Financial Action Task Force’s reissued list of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.