Search the News Archive

American Bankers Association Comment Letter to SEC on Possible 4 p.m. Deadline for Fund Orders (PDF)

5 pages. Excerpt: We are concerned ... that the regulatory solutions suggested to date ... ignore the operational complexities and other problems associated with these proposed changes, particularly as they impact the retirement savings of millions of 401(k) plan participants. We believe there are alternative solutions that can satisfy the need to curb late trading, while, at the same time, minimize problems associated with some of these suggested solutions.

American Bankers Association Comment Letter to DOL in Response to RFI on Possible Agency Actions to Protect Life Savings and Pensions from Threats of Climate-Related Financial Risk

"[S]ingling out climate-related financial risk for mandatory consideration and reporting, regardless of the actual presence or degree of its risk, [1] undercuts a plan fiduciary's authority and duty under ERISA to appropriately consider and manage all relevant risks, [2] imposes unnecessary costs to plans and their participants, and [3] undermines ERISA standards and Department regulations on investment duties that require deference to the judgment of the plan fiduciary rather than the substitution of the Department's judgment."

American Bankers Association HSA Council Comment Letter to IRS on 'Cadillac Tax' (PDF)

"[T]his ability to use your own money as you see fit is what constitutes ownership and ownership has to mean something; it can't be the case that the excise tax rules lump HSAs into the same category as every other product, because HSAs are the only product where someone other than the employer owns a portion of the dollars being counted.... [T]he IRS has the necessary discretionary authority to characterize employee contributions to the employee's HSA, even if facilitated by the employer through Section 106 authority, as 'excludable' without also being included in the definition of 'applicable coverage' precisely because employers don't own any of the money in an employee's HSA."

Comments of American Bankers Association to SEC on Duties of Brokers, Dealers and Investment Advisers (PDF)

"We continue to support efforts to mitigate investor confusion regarding the standard of care a financial intermediary exercises when providing personalized investment advice to its retail clients. However, such efforts should not reduce investor choice or access to the investor education that helps them better understand concepts and options available to them when they make important financial decisions.... [We] strongly believe that the term 'fiduciary' may be a misleading or confusing term for investors as well as the courts if incorporated into the Commission's regulatory provisions."

Text of American Bankers Association Comments on Proposed DOL Regs on Disclosure in Self-Directed DC Plans (PDF)

15 pages. Excerpt: Our concerns are based primarily on the fact that the Department has proposed a disclosure regime appropriate only for mutual fund products, not one that works well for many other fiduciaries, the institutions that serve those fiduciaries, plan participants, or many of the investment products offered to those participants. Specifically, we have strong reservations about this proposal and its impact on bank collective funds.

American Bankers Association Comment Letter to EBSA on Proposed Regs on Default Investment Alternatives (PDF)

5 pages. Excerpt: [W]e request clarification: (1) That the prohibition on imposing financial penalties does not preclude compliance with SEC Rule 22c-2; (2) That bank trustees are not precluded from serving as investment manager of a QDIA; (3) That the 30-day notice requirement would not apply under certain limited circumstances (such as in the case of new hires) where such notice may not be practical;[.]

Text of American Bankers Association Comments on Proposed Revision of Form 5500 (PDF)

11 pages. Excerpt: [T]he proposal will require massive technology changes across the financial industry since 'plan specific' information as opposed to plan aggregate information is not currently tracked. In addition, significant clarification is needed regarding indirect compensation and its allocation.... Finally, changing the Form 5500 in the manner proposed will not, we believe, achieve the public policy goal of better disclosure. Increased disclosure is not meaningful disclosure.

American Bankers Association Comments on Proposed Oct. 16, 2006 Compliance Date for SEC Rule 22c-2 (PDF)

8 pages. Excerpt: Additional time is necessary for intermediaries and others to receive and to negotiate contracts with mutual funds, to revise various operational systems to allow intermediaries to interface with mutual funds ..., to obtain the necessary regulatory assurances from the banking regulators and the Department of Labor and to notify, where appropriate, clients of their contractual obligation to provide confidential information to unaffiliated third party mutual funds on request.

Text of American Bankers Association Comments on Proposed DOL Regs on Automatic Rollovers (PDF)

3 pages. Excerpt: The proposed regulation includes a safe harbor provision that would require that fees and expenses not exceed those charged for a comparable account, as well as a requirement that fees and expenses only be charged against the income earned ... Banks are concerned that the limitation proposed on charging fees against the account will lead to these accounts needing to be subsidized by the IRA custodian, and, in effect, by other individual retirement account holders.

American Bankers Association Comment Letter to SEC on Proposed 4 p.m. Hard Close Rule (PDF)

5 pages; dated February 13, 2004. Excerpt: We continue to strongly oppose a mandatory 4 p.m. hard close. A 4 p.m. hard close to the mutual fund or its agents disadvantages investors by denying them the choice of distribution channels and limiting their investment options.