WASHINGTON--The Federal Reserve Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have announced the dollar thresholds in Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing) that will apply for determining exempt consumer credit and lease transactions in 2016. The thresholds are set pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amendments to the Truth in Lending Act and the Consumer Leasing Act that require adjusting these thresholds annually based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Based on the annual percentage decrease in the CPI-W as of June 1, 2015, the protections of the Truth in Lending Act and the Consumer Leasing Act generally will apply to consumer credit transactions and consumer leases of $54,600 or less in 2016--the same thresholds that applied in 2015. However, private education loans and loans secured by real property (such as mortgages) are subject to the Truth in Lending Act regardless of the amount of the loan.
Although the Dodd-Frank Act generally transferred rulemaking authority under the Truth in Lending Act and the Consumer Leasing Act to the CFPB, the Federal Reserve Board retains authority to issue rules for certain motor vehicle dealers. Therefore, the agencies said they are issuing these notices jointly.
Meanwhile, the CFPB, Federal Reserve Board, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that the threshold for exempting loans from special appraisal requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans during 2016 will remain $25,500.
The threshold amount will be effective January 1, 2016, and is the same threshold that applied in 2015--based on the annual percentage decrease in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as of June 1, 2015.