Federal Reserve Board issues repeal of Regulation AA and requests comment on proposal to repeal Regulation C

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced the repeal of one regulation and a proposal to repeal a second in order to comply with statutory provisions that transferred certain consumer protection rulewriting authority to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The Board repealed its Regulation AA (Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices) as proposed in August 2014 and is inviting public comment on the proposed repeal of Regulation C (Home Mortgage Disclosure).

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) repealed the Board's authority to write rules that address unfair or deceptive acts or practices, which were contained in Regulation AA. Regulation AA included the Board's "credit practices rule," which prohibited banks from using certain practices to enforce consumer credit obligations and from including these practices in their consumer credit contracts. The Dodd-Frank Act provides the CFPB separate authority to promulgate rules to identify and prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.

The Dodd-Frank Act also transferred rulemaking authority for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act from the Board to the CFPB. The CFPB has issued final rules that supersede the Board's Regulation C. Because all rulemaking authority under HMDA concerning residential or commercial mortgages transferred to the CFPB, the Board is proposing to repeal its Regulation C.

Comments on the proposed repeal of Regulation C must be submitted within 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register, which is expected shortly.