NEWS: The following ii Releases are new or recently updated. Revised text is indicated by blue text in each ii Release. We will not announce individual updates or update the revision date when we only make formatting or other insignificant changes. For example, we will not publish a revision note or update the revision date when we add a hyperlink, fix a typo, or make slight clarifications to the text. As always, we recommend that credit unions access ii Releases directly from the internet when needed so that you can be sure you are viewing the most recent version. Updates to the ii Releases are posted daily on our website here.
September
ii Release No. 0072 – Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act, and
ii Release No. B058 – HUD’s Delinquent Homeowner Notice Requirement, have been revised to update the links to the current HUD forms.
ii Release No. 0001 – Membership,
ii Release No. 0002 – WCUL Membership and Account Forms,
ii Release No. 0004 – Release of Decedents’ Accounts,
ii Release No. 0015 – Share Certificates,
ii Release No. 0146 – Safe Deposit Boxes,
ii Release No. 0161 – Organizational Accounts,
ii Release No. 0168 – Powers of Attorney,
ii Release No. 0173 – Guardianship,
ii Release No. 0191 – Required & Recommended Credit Union Policies, and
ii Release No. B005 – Wisconsin’s Marital Property Act, have been revised to reflect two updates that have been made to certain League account forms:
- First, a line has been added to the areas for naming payable on death (P.O.D.) beneficiaries on our forms. It says, “Members should consult an attorney before naming minors as P.O.D. beneficiaries.”
- Second, a box labeled “Agent Designation under Wis. Stats. §705.05 (optional)” has been deleted from the Credit Union Share Certificate and the Account Ownership Agreement.
For details, please see this Compliance Courier.
These releases have also been changed to remove references to The League’s old Marital Account Ownership Agreement (WCUL #82081), which was discontinued several years ago.
August
ii Release No. B072 – NCUA IRPS: Loan Workouts, Nonaccrual Policy, and Regulatory Reporting of TDR Loans, now explains that credit unions which have adopted the Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) standard are no longer required to comply with the TDR accounting requirements. Instead, they should reference their policy on Loan Workouts, Modifications, and Nonaccrual Standards. Please see the NCUA’s CECL Resources page. Credit unions with CECL questions should consult with their accountants. The League is maintaining ii Release No. B072 because credit unions with total assets under $10 million that have not adopted CECL may still need to account for TDRs, and they should properly classify and report TDRs when concessions are granted to borrowers experiencing financial difficulties.
ii Release No. B037 – Simple Interest Deferral and Extension Agreements,
ii Release No. B046 – Consumer Kwik-Cash Loans,
ii Release No. B064 – R.E.A.P. & Home Equity Lines of Credit,
ii Release No. B072 – NCUA IRPS: Loan Workouts, Nonaccrual Policy, and Regulatory Reporting of TDR Loans,
ii Release No. B075 – Reg. X & Reg. Z: Mortgage Servicing Rule,
ii Release No. B081 – WCUL Loan Modification Agreement – Interest Rate and Payment Reduction (#83003), and
ii Release No. 0121 – Debt Collection in Wisconsin, have been revised to remove outdated references to special rules, regulatory exceptions, and guidance that federal banking regulators issued to help consumers and financial institutions during the COVID pandemic.
Many of the temporary provisions federal regulators had put in place were written to “sunset” automatically at the end of the pandemic. On April 10, 2023, then-President Biden signed a joint resolution of Congress declaring that “the national emergency declared by the finding of the President on March 13, 2020” related to the COVID-19 pandemic “is hereby terminated.” It then officially expired on May 11, 2023.
Some COVID-related laws expired through other mechanisms. For example, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law in March 2020. Among other things, it gave financial institutions the option to temporarily suspend certain requirements under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles related to troubled debt restructurings (TDR) for a limited time to account for the effects of COVID-19. This suspension under the CARES Act expired as of Dec. 31, 2021. Of course, credit unions that have adopted the Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) standard are no longer required to comply with the TDR accounting requirements. Instead, they should reference their policy on Loan Workouts, Modifications, and Nonaccrual Standards. However, credit unions with total assets under $10 million that have not adopted CECL may still need to account for TDRs, and they should return to normal classification and reporting of TDRs when concessions are granted to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty.
Please note that the CFPB’s Small Entity Compliance Guide to its mortgage servicing rules, which is attached as an exhibit to ii Release No. B075, has not been revised since 2021. It still addresses COVID-related guidance and rules.
ii Release No. B001 – Scope of Lending Laws,
ii Release No. B036 – Reg. Z – Right of Rescission, and
ii Release No. B053 – Real Estate Mortgage Lending, were revised to remove outdated cross-references to a discontinued ii Release that the League used to publish on “tack-on” mortgage loans
ii Release No. 0004 – Release of Decedents’ Accounts, and
ii Release No. 0146 – Safe Deposit Boxes, have been revised regarding access to a safe deposit box after the death of a lessee. In particular, the releases now clarify that a surviving co-lessee may continue to access the box and remove contents. In addition, the releases now reflect that an heir (or certain other people) can present a properly completed, signed, and notarized Transfer by Affidavit form to access a box and remove its contents. The affidavit should list the actual contents of the box. It does not appear to be sufficient for the affidavit to reference just the box number or the lease or to make a vague reference to a box’s contents (such as “the contents of safe deposit box 123”). If the person signing the affidavit does not know the box’s contents, then it may be appropriate to conduct an inventory or will search.