Gov. Reynolds signs law on foreign farmland ownership regulations

excerpted from Iowa Capital Dispatch

On Tuesday Gov. Reynolds signed into law Senate File 2204, new reporting requirements — and harsher penalties — related to foreign farmland ownership in Iowa. The governor has called for the measure since the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, stating that Iowa plays an important role in America’s food chain.

The law will grant the state attorney general more powers on oversight related to foreign land ownership, including the ability to subpoena foreign landowners for financial records and land purchase agreements for investigations into potential violations of foreign farmland owner restrictions.

While existing law limits foreign farmland purchases to 320 acres, with those who had farmland before 1980 allowed to retain their land ownership, advocates said the measure was necessary to better identify and address potential violations on foreign farmland restrictions in Iowa. Foreign landowners would be required to provide details to the state about their land owned in other states greater than 250 acres, in addition to requiring the Iowa Secretary of State to file an annual report on foreign farmland ownership in Iowa for consideration by state officials. The law also raises fines on violations of reporting requirements.

According to 2022 data from the USDA, nearly 514,000 acres of Iowa agricultural land is held by foreign investors. This represents roughly 1.6% of the state’s total privately held agricultural land. The largest foreign owner of Iowa land is Canada, with almost 200,000 acres, followed by Italy with more than 104,000 acres. China is a minor landowner in Iowa, with USDA data listing Syngenta Seeds as the only Chinese government-affiliated business owning Iowa land as of 2022, with 265 acres in Boone County.

Senators move to overturn rule capping credit card late fees

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has announced that Ranking Member Tim Scott has introduced a measure under the Congressional Review Act to overturn the CFPB's rule capping credit card late penalties.

The resolutions—S.J.Res. 70 from Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and H.J.Res. 122 from Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.)—would express congressional disapproval of the rule and nullify its implementation. If the resolution passes both houses of Congress and is signed by President Biden (or the president's veto is overturned by both houses), the CFPB's rule will be vacated and the Bureau would not be permitted to issue a similar rule affecting credit card late fees.

The CFPB rule:

1•1Cuts the credit card late fee safe harbor under the CARD Act from the current levels of $30 for the first violation and $41 for subsequent violations to $8, without inflation adjustments.

1•1Applies to issuers with 1 million or more open accounts, which allows the CFPB to avoid analyzing the rule under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.

1•1Allows covered issuers to charge fees above the threshold as long as they can prove the higher fee is necessary to cover their collection costs.

At a June 2023 committee hearing, Ranking Member Scott admonished the CFPB Director Chopra’s campaign that mislabels legitimate payment incentives as “junk fees” or “illegal fees,” noting that, “this sweeping initiative lumps legitimate, standard credit card late fees in with the White House’s political efforts to bring down fees in other sectors.”

The CFPB's rule, which is also being challenged in the courts, carries an effective date of May 14, 2024.

Agencies release call report materials

Federal regulators released materials for submitting first-quarter call reports, which are due by Sunday, May 5.

1•1There are no new data items for the FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, or FFIEC 051 call reports for this quarter.

1•1The agencies are implementing revisions to several call report schedules to reflect the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s update on measuring credit losses.

1•1The supplemental instructions include an entry on the FDIC’s special assessment final rule.

Johnson Confirmed as Banking Superintendent

Last week James Johnson was officially confirmed by the Iowa Senate to serve as superintendent of the Iowa Division of Banking by a 49-0 vote. Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Johnson to the position in December to replace Jeff Plagge, who stepped down at the end of 2023.

Prior to becoming superintendent, Johnson was president and CEO of PCSB Bank in Clarinda.

FDIC adding Summary of Deposits to BankFind Suite

The FDIC said it will add its Summary of Deposits data release to BankFind Suite, the agency’s public resource on financial details and trends among FDIC-insured banks.

The modernized SOD site in Bankfind is available to preview. The FDIC said that when the modernized site is completed by the end of this year, the legacy Summary of Deposits application will be discontinued and users will be automatically redirected to BankFind Suite.

SEC suspends climate-disclosure rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suspended the implementation of its final rule requiring climate-related investor disclosures. The SEC issued an order to stay the final rule pending the outcome of legal challenges. The agency said it will continue defending the rule in court.

The rule requires registrants to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports. Among its policies, it requires disclosures on material climate-related risks, activities to mitigate or adapt to such risks, board oversight, and greenhouse gas emissions that reporting companies produce (Scope 1) or indirectly cause by their activities (Scope 2).

Key Changes: The SEC’s final rule included numerous changes from its 2022 proposal, including relief for smaller reporting companies and emerging growth companies, though it failed to acknowledge that many community banks are large accelerated filers or accelerated filers. It also dropped Scope 3 requirements that would have mandated reporting on emissions from activities that organizations indirectly affect in their value chains.

CFPB reports more consumers paid points as mortgage rates rose

The CFPB has issued a report, Trends in discount points amid rising interest rates, finding that more borrowers paid “discount points” upfront as overall interest rates rose. The percentage of homebuyers paying discount points roughly doubled from 2021 to 2023. The CFPB report also said:

1•1The increase was greater among borrowers with lower credit scores, with discount points most common among borrowers with cash-out refinances.

1•1Borrowers benefit from discount points only if they keep their mortgage long enough that the cumulative monthly savings from the reduced interest rate outweigh the upfront costs.

In its press release releasing the report, the CFPB said that, “while discount points may provide advantages to some borrowers, the financial tradeoffs are complex.” The CFPB is monitoring these increases and potential risks to consumers.

OCC extends comment period for bank mergers proposal

The OCC has announced it will extend until June 15, 2024, the comment period on its proposal to update its rules for business combinations to allow interested parties more time to provide comments.

The proposal also includes a policy statement to clarify the OCC’s review of applications under the Bank Merger Act.

Comments were originally due by April 15, 2024.