The CARES Act: What Banks Need to Know

Banks will
play a critical role in providing capital and liquidity to American businesses
and consumers, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
(CARES Act) includes several provisions that benefit depository institutions. The
implications for bank directors and officers are significant; they may need to
make major decisions quickly.

Expanded SBA Lending
The CARES Act appropriates $349 billion for “paycheck protection loans” to be made primarily by banks that will be 100% guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through its 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program. The SBA issued an interim final rule on the program on April 2 and has issued additional formal and informal guidance since that date. Application submissions began on April 3. Banks and borrowers will want to move quickly, due to the limited funds available for the program.

Provisions Benefitting Depository Institutions Directly

Troubled Debt Restructuring Relief. A financial institution may elect to suspend the requirements under generally accepted accounting principles and federal banking regulations to treat loan modifications related to the COVID-19 pandemic as troubled debt restructurings. The relief runs through the earlier of Dec. 31 or 60 days after the termination date of the national emergency, and does not apply to any adverse impact on the credit of a borrower that is not related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CECL Delay. Financial institutions are not required to comply with the current expected credit losses methodology (CECL) until the earlier of the end of the national emergency or Dec. 31.

Reduction of the Community Bank Leverage Ratio. Currently, a qualifying community banking organization that opts into the community bank leverage ratio framework and maintains a leverage ratio of greater than 9% will be considered to have met all regulatory capital requirements. The CARES Act reduces the community bank leverage ratio from 9% to 8% until the earlier of the end of the national emergency or Dec. 31. In response to the CARES Act, federal banking regulators set the community bank leverage ratio at 8% for the remainder of 2020, 8.5% for 2021 and 9% thereafter.

Revival of Bank Debt Guarantee Program. The CARES Act provides the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. with the authority to guarantee bank-issued debt and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts that exceed the existing $250,000 limit through Dec. 31. The FDIC will determine whether and how to exercise this authority.

Removal of Limits on Lending to Nonbank Financial Firms. The Comptroller of the Currency is authorized to exempt transactions between a national bank or federal savings association and nonbank financial companies from limits on loans or other extensions of credit – commonly referred to as “loan-to-one borrower” limits – upon a finding by the Comptroller that such exemption is in the public interest.

Provisions Related to Mortgage Forbearance and Credit Reporting

The CARES
Act codifies in part recent guidance from state and federal regulators and
government-sponsored enterprises, including the 60-day suspension of
foreclosures on federally-backed mortgages and requirements that servicers grant
forbearance to borrowers affected by COVID-19.

Foreclosure and Forbearance on Residential Mortgages. Companies servicing loans insured or guaranteed by a federal government agency, or purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, must grant up to 180 days of forbearance to borrowers who request and affirm financial hardship due to COVID-19 through the period ending on the later of July 25, or the end of the national emergency.

Servicers
are not required to document the borrower’s hardship. The initial 180-day
forbearance period must be extended up to an additional 180 days at the borrower’s
request., Servicers of federally backed mortgage loans may not assess fees,
penalties, or interest beyond the amounts scheduled or calculated during this
forbearance period, as if the borrower made all contractual payments on time
and in full under the terms of the mortgage contract. The law also imposes a
foreclosure moratorium on federally backed mortgage loans of at least 60 days,
beginning on March 18.

Forbearance on Multi-Family Mortgages. Multifamily borrowers with a federally backed multifamily mortgage loan that was current on its payments on Feb. 1, may request forbearance for a 30-day period with up to two 30-day extensions, during the covered period. Servicers are required to document borrower’s hardship. Borrowers must provide tenant protections, including prohibitions on evictions for non-payment and late payment fees, in order to qualify for the forbearance, and servicers are required to document the borrower’s hardship.

Moratorium on Negative Credit Reporting. Any furnisher of credit information that agrees to defer payments, forbear on any delinquent credit or account, or provide any other relief to consumers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic must report the credit obligation or account as current if the credit obligation or account was current before the accommodation.