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##### Community Development - Chair Jerome H. Powell (05.03.2021)

Together, over the past year, we have been making our way through a very difficult time. We are not out of the woods yet, but I am glad to say that we are now making real progress. While some countries are still suffering terribly in the grip of COVID-19, the economic outlook here in the United States has clearly brightened. Vaccination levels are rising. Fiscal and monetary policy are providing strong support. The economy is reopening, bringing stronger economic activity and job creation. That is the high-level perspective—let's call it the 30,000 foot view—and from that vantage point, we see improvement. But we should also take a look at what is happening at street level. Lives and livelihoods have been affected in ways that vary from person to person, family to family, and community to community. The economic downturn has not fallen evenly on all Americans, and those least able to bear the burden have been the hardest hit. The pain is all the greater in light of the gains we had seen in the years prior to the pandemic. COVID swept in as the United States was experiencing the longest expansion on record. Unemployment was at 50-year lows, and inflation remained under control. Wages were moving up, particularly for the lowest-paid workers. Long- standing racial disparities in unemployment were narrowing, and many who had struggled for years were finding jobs. It was not until the later years of that expansion that its benefits had started to reach those on the margins. During our Fed Listens events, we met with people around the country and heard repeatedly about the life- changing gains of the strong labor market, particularly at the lower end of the income spectrum. Just a few months later, those stories changed to ones of job losses, overextended support services, and businesses built over generations closing their doors for good.

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## Selected federal rules – proposed

Proposed rules are included only when community banks may want to comment. Date posted may not be the same as the Federal Register Date. PROPOSED DATE SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RULE

05.10.2021 False Advertising, Misrepresentation of Insured Status, and Misuse of the FDIC’s Name or Logo - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is seeking comment on a proposed rule to implement section 18(a)(4) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Section 18(a)(4) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act prohibits any person from making false or misleading representations about deposit insurance or from using the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s name or logo in a manner that would imply that an uninsured financial product is insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The proposed rule would describe: The process by which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will identify and investigate conduct that may violate section 18(a)(4) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; the standards under which such conduct will be evaluated; and the procedures which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will follow when formally and informally enforcing the provisions of section 18(a)(4) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act. DATES: Comments are due on or before July 9, 2021. 05.10.2021 Tax Allocation Agreements - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the agencies) are inviting comment on a proposed rule (proposal) under section 39 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act that would establish requirements for tax allocation agreements between institutions and their holding companies in a consolidated tax filing group. The proposal would promote safety and soundness by preserving depository institutions’ ownership rights in tax refunds and ensuring equitable allocation of tax liabilities among entities in a holding company structure. Under the proposal, national banks, state banks, and savings associations that file tax

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