The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) approved motions to withdraw, rescind or delay implementation of six regulatory policy measures, including proposed rules related to brokered deposits and corporate governance, as well as its 2024 final policy statement requiring stricter reviews of bank merger applications.
The rules and policy statements withdrawn, rescinded or delayed by the FDIC include the following:
Rescinded: The FDIC’s 2024 Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions, which was designed to “update[], strengthen[], and clarif[y] the FDIC’s policies related to the evaluation of bank merger applications” in accordance with the Bank Merger Act. The FDIC announced the approval of a proposal to rescind the recently updated policy statement and reinstate, on an interim basis, its previous Merger Policy Statement. The agency said it is conducting a broader reevaluation of its bank merger review process to address concerns about “considerable uncertainty” the updated policy statement purportedly added to the merger application process.
Withdrawn: The brokered deposits proposal, published in the Federal Register on Aug. 23, 2024, which would have revised and expanded the definition of “deposit broker,” among other changes the FDIC now claims, “would have significantly disrupted many aspects of the deposit landscape.”
Withdrawn: The corporate governance proposal, published in the Federal Register on Oct. 11, 2023, which, per the FDIC, would have created “overly prescriptive” and “process-oriented” expectations for management and boards of directors of FDIC-supervised institutions with $10 billion or more in total consolidated assets.
Withdrawn: The proposal related to the Change in Bank Control Act (CBCA), published in the Federal Register on Aug. 19, 2024, has been withdrawn. It would have removed an exemption from the requirement for federally-insured institutions to submit a notice to the FDIC for an acquisition of voting securities of a depository institution holding company for which the Federal Reserve reviews a CBCA notice.
Withdrawn: The proposed rule related to incentive-based compensation arrangements. The proposal received FDIC Board approval on May 3, 2024, but was never published in the Federal Register.
Delayed: The compliance date of certain provisions under the FDIC’s Sign and Advertising Rule. Specifically, the delay applies to requirements related to the display of the FDIC’s official sign on insured depository institutions’ (IDIs) digital channels, as well as to provisions related to IDIs’ automated teller machines (ATMs) and like devices, according to the agency. The FDIC postponed the compliance date for sections 328.4 and 328.5 of the rule until March 1, 2026. The remaining provisions in the rule will still take effect on May 1, 2025. The FDIC plans to use the additional time to propose adjustments to the regulation and address questions about implementation and possible consumer confusion.
If the FDIC pursues regulatory action on these matters in the future, it will do so by publishing new proposals or other issuances consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act.