UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K/A
(Amendment No. 1)
| þ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014
or
| ¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from (not applicable)
Commission file number: 1-6880
U.S. Bancorp
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 41-0255900 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
800 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(651) 446-3000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class |
Name of each exchange on which registered | |
| Common Stock, $.01 par value per share |
New York Stock Exchange | |
| Depositary Shares (each representing 1/100th interest in a share of Series A
|
New York Stock Exchange | |
| Depositary Shares (each representing 1/1,000th interest in a share of Series B
|
New York Stock Exchange | |
| Depositary Shares (each representing 1/1,000th interest in a share of Series F
|
New York Stock Exchange | |
| Depositary Shares (each representing 1/1,000th interest in a share of Series G
|
New York Stock Exchange | |
| Depositary Shares (each representing 1/1,000th interest in a share of Series H
|
New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
| Large accelerated filer | þ | Accelerated filer | ¨ | |||
| Non-accelerated filer | ¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | Smaller reporting company | ¨ | |||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ¨ No þ
As of June 30, 2014, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $78.4 billion based on the closing sale price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
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| ||
| Class | Outstanding at January 31, 2015 | |
| Common Stock, $.01 par value per share |
1,781,189,381 | |
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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
| Document |
Parts Into Which Incorporated | |||
| 1. | Portions of the Annual Report to Shareholders for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2014 (2014 Annual Report) | Parts I and II | ||
| 2. | Portions of the Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held April 21, 2015 (Proxy Statement) | Part III | ||
Explanatory Note
This Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A is being filed by U.S. Bancorp to amend its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 27, 2015 (the “Original Filing”). The sole purpose of this Amendment No. 1 is to include the information set forth under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements” in “Item 1. Business,” which was inadvertently omitted from the Original Filing.
Except as described above, no changes have been made to the Original Filing, and this Amendment No. 1 does not modify, amend or update in any way any of the financial or other information contained in the Original Filing.
PART I
| Item 1. | Business |
Forward-Looking Statements
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION APPEARS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: This report contains forward-looking statements about U.S. Bancorp. Statements that are not historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and are based on the information available to, and assumptions and estimates made by, management as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements cover, among other things, anticipated future revenue and expenses and the future plans and prospects of U.S. Bancorp. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. A reversal or slowing of the current economic recovery or another severe contraction could adversely affect U.S. Bancorp’s revenues and the values of its assets and liabilities. Global financial markets could experience a recurrence of significant turbulence, which could reduce the availability of funding to certain financial institutions and lead to a tightening of credit, a reduction of business activity, and increased market volatility. Stress in the commercial real estate markets, as well as a downturn in the residential real estate markets could cause credit losses and deterioration in asset values. In addition, U.S. Bancorp’s business and financial performance is likely to be negatively impacted by recently enacted and future legislation and regulation. U.S. Bancorp’s results could also be adversely affected by deterioration in general business and economic conditions; changes in interest rates; deterioration in the credit quality of its loan portfolios or in the value of the collateral securing those loans; deterioration in the value of securities held in its investment securities portfolio; legal and regulatory developments; increased competition from both banks and non-banks; changes in customer behavior and preferences; breaches in data security; effects of mergers and acquisitions and related integration; effects of critical accounting policies and judgments; and management’s ability to effectively manage credit risk, residual value risk, market risk, operational risk, compliance risk, strategic risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and reputational risk. For discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from expectations, refer to the sections entitled “Corporate Risk Profile” and “Risk Factors” in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report. However, factors other than these also could adversely affect U.S. Bancorp’s results, and the reader should not consider these factors to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and U.S. Bancorp undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.
General Business Description
U.S. Bancorp (“U.S. Bancorp” or the “Company”) is a multi-state financial services holding company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. U.S. Bancorp was incorporated in Delaware in 1929 and operates as a financial holding company and a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. U.S. Bancorp provides a full range of financial services, including lending and depository services, cash
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management, capital markets, and trust and investment management services. It also engages in credit card services, merchant and ATM processing, mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage and leasing.
U.S. Bancorp’s banking subsidiary, U.S. Bank National Association, is engaged in the general banking business, principally in domestic markets. U.S. Bank National Association, with $294 billion in deposits at December 31, 2014, provides a wide range of products and services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities and other financial institutions. Commercial and consumer lending services are principally offered to customers within the Company’s domestic markets, to domestic customers with foreign operations and to large national customers operating in specific industries targeted by the Company. Lending services include traditional credit products as well as credit card services, leasing financing and import/export trade, asset-backed lending, agricultural finance and other products. Depository services include checking accounts, savings accounts and time certificate contracts. Ancillary services such as capital markets, treasury management and receivable lock-box collection are provided to corporate customers. U.S. Bancorp’s bank and trust subsidiaries provide a full range of asset management and fiduciary services for individuals, estates, foundations, business corporations and charitable organizations.
Other U.S. Bancorp non-banking subsidiaries offer investment and insurance products to the Company’s customers principally within its markets, and fund administration services to a broad range of mutual and other funds.
Banking and investment services are provided through a network of 3,176 banking offices principally operating in the Midwest and West regions of the United States, through on-line services and over mobile devices. The Company operates a network of 5,022 ATMs and provides 24-hour, seven day a week telephone customer service. Mortgage banking services are provided through banking offices and loan production offices throughout the Company’s markets. Lending products may be originated through banking offices, indirect correspondents, brokers or other lending sources. The Company is also one of the largest providers of corporate and purchasing card services and corporate trust services in the United States. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Elavon, Inc. (“Elavon”), provides merchant processing services directly to merchants and through a network of banking affiliations. Wholly-owned subsidiaries, and affiliates of Elavon, provide similar merchant services in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and segments of Europe directly or through joint ventures with other financial institutions. The Company also provides corporate trust and fund administration services in Europe. These foreign operations are not significant to the Company.
On a full-time equivalent basis, as of December 31, 2014, U.S. Bancorp employed 66,750 people.
Competition
The commercial banking business is highly competitive. U.S. Bank National Association competes with other commercial banks, savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, finance companies, mortgage banking companies, credit unions, investment companies, credit card companies and a variety of other financial services, advisory and technology companies. In recent years, competition has increased from institutions not subject to the same regulatory restrictions as domestic banks and bank holding companies. Competition is based on a number of factors including, among others, customer service, quality and range of products and services offered, price, reputation, interest rates on loans and deposits, lending limits and customer convenience. The Company’s ability to continue to compete effectively also depends in large part on its ability to attract new employees and retain and motivate existing employees, while managing compensation and other costs.
Government Policies
The operations of the Company’s various operating units are affected by federal and state legislative changes and by policies of various regulatory authorities, including those of the numerous states in which they operate, the United States and foreign governments. These policies include, for example, statutory maximum
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legal lending rates, domestic monetary policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”), United States fiscal policy, international currency regulations and monetary policies and capital adequacy and liquidity constraints imposed by bank regulatory agencies.
Supervision and Regulation
U.S. Bancorp and its subsidiaries are subject to the extensive regulatory framework applicable to bank holding companies and their subsidiaries. This regulatory framework is intended primarily for the protection of depositors, the deposit insurance fund of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), consumers, the stability of the financial system in the United States, and the health of the national economy, and not for investors in bank holding companies such as the Company.
This section summarizes certain provisions of the principal laws and regulations applicable to the Company and its subsidiaries. The descriptions are not intended to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the statutes and regulations described below.
Dodd-Frank Act Substantial changes to the regulation of bank holding companies and their subsidiaries have occurred and will continue to occur as a result of the enactment in 2010 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). Changes in applicable law or regulation, and in their application by regulatory agencies, have had and will continue to have a material effect on the business and results of the Company and its subsidiaries.
The Dodd-Frank Act significantly changed the regulatory framework for financial services companies, and since its enactment has required significant rulemaking and numerous studies and reports that will continue over the next several years. Among other things, it created a new Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “Council”) with broad authority to make recommendations covering enhanced prudential standards and more stringent supervision for large bank holding companies and certain non-bank financial services companies. The Dodd-Frank Act significantly reduced interchange fees on debit card transactions, changed the preemption of state laws applicable to national banks, increased the regulation of consumer mortgage banking and made numerous other changes, some of which are discussed below.
In addition to the Dodd-Frank Act, other legislative and regulatory proposals affecting banks have been made in recent years both domestically and internationally. Among other things, these proposals include significant additional capital and liquidity requirements and limitations on size or types of activity in which banks may engage.
Federal Reserve Regulation The Company elected to become a financial holding company as of March 13, 2000, pursuant to the provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the “GLBA”) that permit qualifying bank holding companies to engage in, and affiliate with financial companies engaging in, a broader range of activities than would otherwise be permitted for a bank holding company. Under the GLBA’s system of functional regulation, the Federal Reserve acts as an umbrella regulator for the Company, and certain of the Company’s subsidiaries are regulated directly by additional agencies based on the particular activities of those subsidiaries. U.S. Bank National Association is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) and also by the Federal Reserve and the FDIC in certain areas. Supervision and regulation by the responsible regulatory agency generally includes comprehensive annual reviews of all major aspects of a bank’s business and condition, and imposition of periodic reporting requirements and limitations on investments and certain types of activities. U.S. Bank National Association, and in some cases the Company and the Company’s non-bank affiliates, must undergo regular on-site examinations by the appropriate regulatory agency, which will examine for adherence to a range of legal and regulatory compliance responsibilities. If they deem the Company to be operating in a manner that is inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices, the applicable regulatory agencies can require the entry into informal or formal supervisory agreements, including board resolutions, memoranda of understanding, written agreements and consent or cease and desist orders, pursuant to which the
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Company would be required to take identified corrective actions to address cited concerns and to refrain from taking certain actions.
If a financial holding company or a depository institution controlled by a financial holding company ceases to meet certain capital or management standards, the Federal Reserve may impose corrective capital and managerial requirements on the financial holding company, and may place limitations on its ability to conduct all of the business activities that financial holding companies are generally permitted to conduct. See “Permissible Business Activities” below. If the failure to meet these standards persists, a financial holding company may be required to divest its depository institution subsidiaries, or cease all activities other than those activities that may be conducted by bank holding companies that are not financial holding companies.
Federal Reserve regulations also provide that, if any depository institution controlled by a financial holding company fails to maintain a satisfactory rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”), the Federal Reserve must prohibit the financial holding company and its subsidiaries from engaging in the additional activities in which only financial holding companies may engage. See “Community Reinvestment Act” below. At December 31, 2014, U.S. Bank National Association met the capital, management and CRA requirements necessary to permit the Company to conduct the broader activities permitted for financial holding companies under the GLBA.
The Dodd-Frank Act codified existing Federal Reserve policy requiring the Company to act as a source of financial strength to U.S. Bank National Association, and to commit resources to support this subsidiary in circumstances where it might not otherwise do so. However, because the GLBA provides for functional regulation of financial holding company activities by various regulators, the GLBA prohibits the Federal Reserve from requiring payment by a holding company to a depository institution if the functional regulator of the depository institution objects to the payment. In those cases, the Federal Reserve could instead require the divestiture of the depository institution and impose operating restrictions pending the divestiture. As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, non-bank subsidiaries of a holding company that engage in activities permissible for an insured depository institution must be examined and regulated in a manner that is at least as stringent as if the activities were conducted by the lead depository institution of the holding company.
Enhanced Prudential Standards In March 2014, the Federal Reserve finalized a rule relating to enhanced prudential standards required under the Dodd-Frank Act for bank holding companies with over $50 billion in consolidated assets. The prudential standards include enhanced risk-based capital and leverage requirements, enhanced liquidity requirements, enhanced risk management and risk committee requirements, a requirement to submit a resolution plan, single-counterparty credit limits and stress tests. The rule incorporates the requirement that the Federal Reserve conduct annual supervisory capital adequacy stress tests of covered companies under baseline, adverse and severely adverse scenarios, and requires covered companies to conduct their own capital adequacy stress tests. The rule provides for notification to a covered company as to which the Council has determined to impose a debt-to-equity ratio of no more than 15-to-1, based upon the determination by the Council that (a) such company poses a grave threat to the financial stability of the United States and (b) the imposition of such a requirement is necessary to mitigate the risk that the company poses to the financial stability of the United States.
Permissible Business Activities As a financial holding company, the Company may affiliate with securities firms and insurance companies and engage in other activities that are financial in nature or incidental or complementary to activities that are financial in nature. “Financial in nature” activities include the following: securities underwriting, dealing and market making; sponsoring mutual funds and investment companies; insurance underwriting and agency; merchant banking; and activities that the Federal Reserve, in consultation with the Secretary of the United States Treasury, determines to be financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity. “Complementary activities” are activities that the Federal Reserve determines upon application to be complementary to a financial activity and that do not pose a safety and soundness risk.
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The Company generally is not required to obtain Federal Reserve approval to acquire a company (other than a bank holding company, bank or savings association) engaged in activities that are financial in nature or incidental to activities that are financial in nature, as determined by the Federal Reserve. However, the Dodd-Frank Act added a provision requiring approval if the total consolidated assets to be acquired exceed $10 billion. Financial holding companies are also required to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve before they may acquire more than 5 percent of the voting shares or substantially all of the assets of an unaffiliated bank holding company, bank or savings association.
Interstate Banking Under the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (the “Riegle-Neal Act”), a bank holding company may acquire banks in states other than its home state, subject to any state requirement that the bank has been organized and operating for a minimum period of time (not to exceed five years). Also, such an acquisition is not permitted if the bank holding company controls, prior to or following the proposed acquisition, more than 10 percent of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions nationwide, or, if the acquisition is the bank holding company’s initial entry into the state, more than 30 percent of the deposits of insured depository institutions in the state (or any lesser or greater amount set by the state).
The Riegle-Neal Act also authorizes banks to merge across state lines to create interstate branches. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, banks are permitted to establish new branches in another state to the same extent as banks chartered in that state.
Regulatory Approval for Acquisitions In determining whether to approve a proposed bank acquisition, federal bank regulators will consider a number of factors, including the following: the effect of the acquisition on competition, financial condition and future prospects (including current and projected capital ratios and levels); the competence, experience and integrity of management and its record of compliance with laws and regulations; the convenience and needs of the communities to be served (including the acquiring institution’s record of compliance under the CRA); the effectiveness of the acquiring institution in combating money laundering activities; and the extent to which the transaction would result in greater or more concentrated risks to the stability of the United States banking or financial system. In addition, under the Dodd-Frank Act, approval of interstate transactions requires that the acquiror satisfy regulatory standards for well-capitalized and well-managed institutions.
Dividend Restrictions The Company is a legal entity separate and distinct from its subsidiaries. Typically, the majority of the Company’s operating funds are received in the form of dividends paid to the Company by U.S. Bank National Association. Federal law imposes limitations on the payment of dividends by national banks.
In general, dividends payable by U.S. Bank National Association and the Company’s trust bank subsidiaries, as national banking associations, are limited by rules that compare dividends to net income for periods defined by regulation.
The OCC, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC also have authority to prohibit or limit the payment of dividends by the banking organizations they supervise (including the Company and U.S. Bank National Association), if, in the banking regulator’s opinion, payment of a dividend would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice in light of the financial condition of the banking organization. Subject to exceptions for well-capitalized and well-managed holding companies, Federal Reserve regulations also require approval of holding company purchases and redemptions of its securities if the gross consideration paid exceeds 10 percent of consolidated net worth for any 12-month period.
In addition, Federal Reserve policy on the payment of dividends, stock redemptions and stock repurchases requires that bank holding companies consult with and inform the Federal Reserve in advance of doing any of the following: declaring and paying dividends that could raise safety and soundness concerns (e.g., declaring and paying dividends that exceed earnings for the period for which dividends are being paid); redeeming or repurchasing capital instruments when experiencing financial weakness; and redeeming or repurchasing common
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stock and perpetual preferred stock, if the result will be a net reduction in the amount of such capital instruments outstanding for the quarter in which the reduction occurs.
In 2010, the Federal Reserve issued an addendum to its policy on dividends, stock redemptions and stock repurchases that is specifically applicable to the 19 largest bank holding companies (including the Company) that are covered by the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program. The addendum provides for Federal Reserve review of dividend increases, implementation of capital repurchase programs and other capital repurchases or redemptions.
The supervisory stress tests of the Company conducted by the Federal Reserve as part of its annual Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (“CCAR”) process also affect the ability of the Company to pay dividends and make other forms of capital distribution. See “Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review” and “Stress Testing” below.
Capital Requirements The Company is subject to regulatory capital requirements established by the Federal Reserve, and U.S. Bank National Association is subject to substantially similar rules established by the OCC. These requirements have changed significantly as a result of standards established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “BCBS”), an international organization which has the goal of creating standards for banking regulation, and the implementation of these standards and of relevant provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act by banking regulators in the United States. Minimum regulatory capital levels will significantly increase as these requirements are implemented and phased in.
Prior to 2014, regulatory capital requirements effective for the Company followed the 1988 capital accord of the BCBS known as Basel I. In implementing Basel I, federal banking regulators adopted risk-based capital and leverage rules that require the capital-to-assets ratios of financial institutions to meet certain minimum standards. The risk-based capital ratio is calculated by allocating assets and specified off-balance sheet financial instruments into risk-weighted categories (with higher levels of capital being required for the categories perceived as representing greater risk), and is used to determine the amount of a financial institution’s total risk-weighted assets (“RWAs”). Under the rules, capital is divided into two tiers: tier 1 capital and tier 2 capital. The amount of tier 2 capital may not exceed the amount of tier 1 capital. Total capital is the sum of tier 1 capital and tier 2 capital. The federal banking regulators also have established minimum leverage ratio guidelines. The leverage ratio is defined as tier 1 capital divided by adjusted average total on-balance sheet assets.
The Federal Reserve and the OCC approved a final rule in 2007 adopting international guidelines established by the BCBS known as Basel II. The Basel II framework consists of three pillars: (a) capital adequacy; (b) supervisory review (including the computation of capital and internal assessment processes); and (c) market discipline (including increased disclosure requirements). In December 2010, the BCBS issued a new set of international standards for determining regulatory capital known as Basel III. The U.S. federal banking regulators published the U.S. Basel III final rule in October 2013 to implement many aspects of these international standards as well as certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The U.S. Basel III final rule focuses regulatory capital on common equity tier 1 capital, introduces new regulatory adjustments and deductions from capital, narrows the eligibility criteria for regulatory capital instruments and makes other changes to the existing Basel I and Basel II frameworks. Specifically, Basel III includes two comprehensive methodologies for calculating risk-weighted assets: a general standardized approach and more risk-sensitive advanced approaches. As of April 1, 2014, the Company exited its parallel run qualification period, resulting in its capital adequacy now being evaluated against the Basel III methodology that is most restrictive. Previously, the Company was required to calculate its capital adequacy under Basel III using the standardized approach only.
Beginning January 1, 2014, the regulatory capital requirements for the Company follow Basel III, subject to certain transition provisions from Basel I over the following four years to full implementation by January 1, 2018. Under the U.S. Basel III final rule, the Company is subject to a minimum common equity tier 1 capital ratio (common equity tier 1 capital to RWA) of 4.5 percent, a minimum tier 1 capital ratio of 6 percent and a minimum total capital ratio of 8 percent on a fully phased-in basis. In addition, the final rule provides that certain
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new items be deducted from common equity tier 1 capital and certain Basel I deductions be modified. The Company is also subject to a 2.5 percent common equity tier 1 capital conservation buffer and, if deployed, up to a 2.5 percent common equity tier 1 countercyclical buffer on a fully phased-in basis by 2019. The U.S. Basel III final rule establishes a minimum leverage ratio of 4 percent for all U.S. banking organizations. The final rule also subjects banking organizations calculating their capital requirements using advanced approaches, including the Company, to a minimum Basel III supplementary leverage ratio of 3 percent that takes into account certain off-balance sheet exposures.
The U.S. banking regulators also published final regulations in June 2011 implementing the Collins Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires that certain institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve, including the Company, be subject to minimum capital requirements that are not less than the generally applicable risk-based capital requirements. Prior to 2015, this minimum “capital floor” was based on Basel I. On January 1, 2015, the U.S. Basel III final rule replaced the current Basel I-based “capital floor” with a standardized approach that, among other things, modifies the existing risk weights for certain types of asset classes. The “capital floor” applies to the calculation of both minimum risk-based capital requirements as well as the capital conservation buffer and, if deployed, the countercyclical capital buffer.
In September 2014, U.S banking regulators approved a final rule that enhanced the regulatory Supplemental Leverage Ratio (“SLR”) requirement for banks calculating capital adequacy using advanced approaches under Basel III. The SLR is defined as tier 1 capital divided by total leverage exposure, which includes both on- and off-balance sheet exposures. The Company is required to calculate and report its SLR beginning in the first quarter of 2015; however, the Company is not subject to the minimum SLR requirement until January 1, 2018. The Company believes it currently exceeds the applicable minimum SLR requirement.
For additional information regarding the Company’s regulatory capital, see Capital Management in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report on pages 63-65.
Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review The Federal Reserve’s Capital Plans rule requires large bank holding companies with assets in excess of $50 billion to submit capital plans to the Federal Reserve on an annual basis and to obtain approval from the Federal Reserve for capital distributions proposed in the capital plan. These capital plans consists of a number of mandatory elements, including an assessment of a company’s sources and uses of capital over a nine-quarter planning horizon assuming both expected and stressful conditions; a detailed description of a company’s process for assessing capital adequacy; a demonstration of a company’s ability to maintain capital above each minimum regulatory capital ratio and above a tier 1 common ratio of 5 percent under expected and stressful conditions; and a demonstration of a company’s ability to achieve, readily and without difficulty, the minimum capital ratios and capital buffers under the Basel III framework as it comes into effect in the United States.
The Federal Reserve has issued a final rule specifying how large bank holding companies, including the Company, should incorporate the U.S. Basel III capital standards into their capital plans. Among other things, the final rule requires large bank holding companies to project both their common equity tier 1 capital ratio using the methodology under existing capital guidelines and their common equity tier 1 capital ratio under the U.S. Basel III capital standards, as such standards phase in over the nine-quarter planning horizon.
The Company submitted its 2015 capital plan to the Federal Reserve on January 5, 2015, in accordance with instructions from the Federal Reserve. Applicable stress testing rules require the Federal Reserve to publish the results of its assessment of the Company’s capital plan, including its planned capital distributions, no later than March 31, 2015.
Stress Testing The Federal Reserve’s CCAR framework and the Dodd-Frank Act stress testing framework require large bank holding companies such as the Company to conduct company-run stress tests and subject them to supervisory stress tests conducted by the Federal Reserve. Among other things, the company-run stress tests
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employ stress scenarios developed by the Company as well as stress scenarios provided by the Federal Reserve and incorporate the Dodd-Frank Act capital actions, which are intended to normalize capital distributions across large U.S. bank holding companies. The Federal Reserve conducts CCAR and Dodd-Frank supervisory stress tests employing its adverse and severely adverse stress scenarios and internal supervisory models. The Federal Reserve’s CCAR and Dodd-Frank Act supervisory stress tests incorporate the Company’s planned capital actions and the Dodd-Frank Act capital actions, respectively. The Federal Reserve and the Company are required to publish the results of the annual supervisory and annual company-run stress tests, respectively, no later than March 31 of each year. In addition, all large bank holding companies are required to submit a mid-cycle company-run stress test employing stress scenarios developed by the Company. The results of this stress test must be submitted to the Federal Reserve for review in early July of each year. The Company is required to publish its results of this stress test no later than the end of September of each year. In 2014, the Federal Reserve began publishing summaries of supervisory stress test results for each large bank holding company under both the adverse and severely adverse stress scenarios developed by the Federal Reserve.
National banks with assets in excess of $50 billion are required to submit annual company-run stress test results to the OCC concurrently with their parent bank holding company’s CCAR submission to the Federal Reserve. The stress test is based on the OCC’s stress scenarios (which are typically the same as the Federal Reserve’s stress scenarios) and capital actions that are appropriate for the economic conditions assumed in each scenario. U.S. Bank National Association submitted its stress test in accordance with regulatory requirements on January 5, 2015. The Company is required to publish the results of this stress test no later than March 31, 2015.
In October 2014, the Federal Reserve promulgated new rules that, beginning in 2016, require participating bank holding companies to submit their capital plans and stress testing results on or before April 5. The OCC adopted a final rule in December 2014 with the same reporting deadline of April 5 for company-run stress test results.
Basel III Liquidity Proposals The BCBS proposed in 2009 two minimum standards for limiting liquidity risk: the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (“LCR”) and the Net Stable Funding Ratio (“NSFR”). The LCR is designed to ensure that bank holding companies have sufficient high-quality liquid assets to survive a significant liquidity stress event lasting for 30 calendar days. The NSFR is designed to promote stable, longer-term funding of assets and business activities over a one-year time horizon.
In October 2014, the federal banking regulators finalized a rule to implement the LCR in the United States. The rule applies the LCR standards to bank holding companies and their U.S. bank subsidiaries calculating their capital requirements using advanced approaches, including the Company and U.S. Bank National Association. The LCR standards in the rule differ in certain respects from the BCBS’s version of the LCR, including a narrower definition of high-quality liquid assets, different prescribed cash inflow and outflow assumptions for certain types of instruments and transactions, a different methodology for calculating the LCR and a shorter phase-in schedule that ends on December 31, 2016. The federal banking regulators have not yet proposed rules to implement the NSFR in the United States. The BCBS, however, finalized the NSFR standard in October 2014 and U.S. regulators are expected to use this framework as a basis for domestic regulation in the coming months. The BCBS contemplates that the NSFR, including any revisions, will be implemented as a minimum standard by January 1, 2018.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (the “FDICIA”) provides a framework for regulation of depository institutions and their affiliates (including parent holding companies) by federal banking regulators. As part of that framework, the FDICIA requires the relevant federal banking regulator to take “prompt corrective action” with respect to a depository institution if that institution does not meet certain capital adequacy standards.
Supervisory actions by the appropriate federal banking regulator under the “prompt corrective action” rules generally depend upon an institution’s classification within five capital categories. The U.S. Basel III final rule revises the capital ratio thresholds in the prompt corrective action framework to reflect the new Basel III capital
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ratios. This aspect of the U.S. Basel III rule became effective on January 1, 2015. The regulations apply only to banks and not to bank holding companies such as the Company; however, subject to limitations that may be imposed pursuant to the GLBA, the Federal Reserve is authorized to take appropriate action at the holding company level, based on the undercapitalized status of the holding company’s subsidiary banking institutions. In certain instances relating to an undercapitalized banking institution, the bank holding company would be required to guarantee the performance of the undercapitalized subsidiary’s capital restoration plan and could be liable for civil money damages for failure to fulfill those guarantee commitments.
Deposit Insurance Under current FDIC regulations, each depository institution is assigned to a risk category based on capital and supervisory measures. A depository institution is assessed premiums by the FDIC based on its risk category and the amount of deposits held. In 2009, the FDIC revised the method for calculating the assessment rate for depository institutions by introducing several adjustments to an institution’s initial base assessment rate. The Dodd-Frank Act altered the assessment base for deposit insurance assessments from a deposit to an asset base, and seeks to fund part of the cost of the Dodd-Frank Act by increasing the deposit insurance reserve fund to 1.35 percent of estimated insured deposits. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires that FDIC assessments be set in a manner that offsets the cost of the assessment increases for institutions with consolidated assets of less than $10 billion. This provision effectively places the increased assessment costs on larger financial institutions such as the Company.
The Dodd-Frank Act also permanently increased deposit insurance coverage from $100,000 per account ownership type to $250,000. In February 2011, the FDIC adopted a final rule implementing the Dodd-Frank Act provisions, which provides for use of a risk scorecard to determine deposit premiums. The effect of the rule was to increase the FDIC premiums paid by U.S. Bank National Association. In 2014, the FDIC adopted a final rule revising its deposit insurance assessment system to reflect changes in the regulatory capital rules that go into effect in 2015 and 2018. The rule (a) revises the ratios and ratio thresholds relating to capital evaluations; (b) revises the assessment base calculation for custodial banks; and (c) requires that all highly complex institutions measure counterparty exposure for assessment purposes using the Basel III standardized approach in the regulatory capital rules.
Powers of the FDIC Upon Insolvency of an Insured Institution If the FDIC is appointed the conservator or receiver of an insured depository institution upon its insolvency or in certain other events, the FDIC has the power to (a) transfer any of the depository institution’s assets and liabilities to a new obligor without the approval of the depository institution’s creditors; (b) enforce the terms of the depository institution’s contracts pursuant to their terms; or (c) repudiate or disaffirm any contracts (if the FDIC determines that performance of the contract is burdensome and that the repudiation or disaffirmation is necessary to promote the orderly administration of the depository institution). These provisions would be applicable to obligations and liabilities of the Company’s insured depository institution subsidiary, U.S. Bank National Association.
Depositor Preference Under federal law, in the event of the liquidation or other resolution of an insured depository institution, the claims of a receiver of the institution for administrative expense and the claims of holders of domestic deposit liabilities (including the FDIC, as subrogee of the depositors) have priority over the claims of other unsecured creditors of the institution, including holders of publicly issued senior or subordinated debt and depositors in non-domestic offices. As a result, those debtholders and depositors would be treated differently from, and could receive, if anything, substantially less than, the depositors in domestic offices of the depository.
Orderly Liquidation Authority The Dodd-Frank Act created a new framework for the orderly liquidation of a covered financial company by the FDIC as receiver. A covered financial company is a financial company (including a bank holding company, but not an insured depository institution), in situations where the Secretary of the Treasury determines (upon the written recommendation of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve and after consultation with the President) that the conditions set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act regarding the potential impact on financial stability of the financial company’s failure have been met. The rule sets forth a comprehensive method for the receivership of a covered financial company. The Company is a financial company and therefore
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is potentially subject to the orderly liquidation authority of the FDIC. In preparation for the potential exercise of this authority, the FDIC created the Office of Complex Financial Institutions. Its duties include the continuous review and oversight of bank holding companies with assets of more than $100 billion.
Resolution Plans The Federal Reserve and the FDIC have adopted a rule to implement the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act regarding annual resolution plans for bank holding companies with assets of $50 billion or more (so-called “Living Wills”). The rule requires each covered company to produce a contingency resolution plan for the rapid and orderly resolution of the Company in the event of material financial distress or failure. Resolution plans must include information regarding the manner and extent to which any insured depository institution affiliated with the company is adequately protected from risks arising from the activities of any nonbank subsidiaries of the company; full descriptions of ownership structure, assets, liabilities and contractual obligations of the company; identification of the cross-guarantees tied to different securities; identification of major counterparties; a process for determining to whom the collateral of the company is pledged; and any other information that the Federal Reserve and the FDIC jointly require by rule or order. Plans must analyze baseline, adverse, and severely adverse economic condition impacts. Plans must demonstrate, in the event of material financial distress or failure of the covered company, a reorganization or liquidation of the covered company under the federal bankruptcy code that could be accomplished within a reasonable period of time and in a manner that substantially mitigates the risk that the failure of the covered company would have serious adverse effects on financial stability in the United States. Covered companies and their subsidiaries are subject to more stringent capital, leverage and liquidity requirements or restrictions on growth, activities or operations if they fail to file an acceptable plan (i.e., the plan is determined to not be credible and deficiencies are not cured in a timely manner). Plans must be updated annually.
In January 2012, the FDIC adopted a final rule requiring an insured depository institution with $50 billion or more in total assets to submit periodically to the FDIC a contingency plan for the resolution of such institution in the event of its failure. The rule requires a covered depository institution to submit a resolution plan that should enable the FDIC, as receiver, to resolve the institution under applicable receivership provisions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act in a manner that ensures that depositors receive access to their insured deposits within one business day of the institution’s failure, maximizes the net present value return from the sale or disposition of its assets and minimizes the amount of any loss to be realized by the institution’s creditors.
The Company filed its resolution plan pursuant to each rule in December 2014, and will periodically revise its plan as required.
Liability of Commonly Controlled Institutions An FDIC-insured depository institution can be held liable for any loss incurred or expected to be incurred by the FDIC in connection with another FDIC-insured institution under common control with that institution being “in default” or “in danger of default” (commonly referred to as “cross-guarantee” liability). An FDIC claim for cross-guarantee liability against a depository institution is generally superior in right of payment to claims of the holding company and its affiliates against the depository institution.
Transactions with Affiliates There are various legal restrictions on the extent to which the Company and its non-bank subsidiaries may borrow or otherwise obtain funding from U.S. Bank National Association. Under the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W of the Federal Reserve, U.S. Bank National Association (and its subsidiaries) may only engage in lending and other “covered transactions” with non-bank and non-savings bank affiliates to the following extent: (a) in the case of any single affiliate, the aggregate amount of covered transactions may not exceed 10 percent of the capital stock and surplus of U.S. Bank National Association; and (b) in the case of all affiliates, the aggregate amount of covered transactions may not exceed 20 percent of the capital stock and surplus of U.S. Bank National Association.
Covered transactions between U.S. Bank National Association and its affiliates are also subject to certain collateralization requirements. All covered transactions, including transactions with a third party in which an affiliate of U.S. Bank National Association has a financial interest, must be conducted on market terms.
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“Covered transactions” are defined to include (a) a loan or extension of credit by a bank subsidiary to an affiliate; (b) a purchase of securities issued to a banking subsidiary by an affiliate; (c) a purchase of assets (unless otherwise exempted by the Federal Reserve) by the banking subsidiary from an affiliate; (d) the acceptance of securities issued by an affiliate to the banking subsidiary as collateral for a loan; and (e) the issuance of a guarantee, acceptance or letter of credit by the banking subsidiary on behalf of an affiliate. The Dodd-Frank Act eliminated the special treatment for transactions with financial subsidiaries and added derivative and securities lending transactions to the definition of “covered transactions.”
Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Activity The Company is subject to several federal laws that are designed to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and transactions with persons, companies, or foreign governments designated by U.S. authorities (“AML laws”). This category of laws includes the Bank Secrecy Act, the Money Laundering Control Act, and the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, or USA PATRIOT Act.
As implemented by federal banking and securities regulators and the Department of the Treasury, these AML laws obligate depository institutions and broker/dealers to verify their customers’ identity, conduct customer due diligence, report on suspicious activity, file reports of transactions in currency, and conduct enhanced due diligence on certain accounts held by foreign banks and foreign persons. Depository institutions and broker/dealers are required by their respective federal regulators to maintain policies and procedures in order to ensure compliance with the above obligations. Federal regulators regularly examine such policies and procedures to ensure their adequacy and effectiveness, and the frequency and extent of such examinations and the remedial actions resulting therefrom have been increasing. Non-compliance with AML laws or failure to maintain adequate policies and procedures can lead to significant monetary penalties and reputational damage, and federal regulators evaluate the effectiveness of an applicant in combating money laundering when determining whether to approve a proposed bank merger, acquisition, restructuring, or other expansionary activity. There have been a number of significant enforcement actions against banking organizations with respect to AML laws and some have resulted in substantial penalties, including criminal pleas.
Community Reinvestment Act U.S. Bank National Association is subject to the provisions of the CRA. Under the terms of the CRA, banks have a continuing and affirmative obligation, consistent with safe and sound operation, to help meet the credit needs of their communities, including providing credit to individuals residing in low-income and moderate-income neighborhoods. The CRA does not establish specific lending requirements or programs for financial institutions, and does not limit an institution’s discretion to develop the types of products and services that it believes are best suited to its particular community in a manner consistent with the CRA.
The OCC regularly assesses U.S. Bank National Association on its record in meeting the credit needs of the community served by that institution, including low-income and moderate-income neighborhoods. The assessment also is considered when the Federal Reserve reviews applications by banking institutions to acquire, merge or consolidate with another banking institution or its holding company, to establish a new branch office that will accept deposits or to relocate an office. In the case of a bank holding company applying for approval to acquire a bank or other bank holding company, the Federal Reserve will assess the records of each subsidiary depository institution of the applicant bank holding company, and those records may be the basis for denying the application.
U.S. Bank National Association received an “outstanding” CRA rating in its most recent examination, covering the period from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008.
Regulation of Brokerage, Investment Advisory and Insurance Activities The Company conducts securities underwriting, dealing and brokerage activities in the United States through U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. (“USBII”) and other subsidiaries. These activities are subject to regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and other authorities, including state regulators. These regulations generally cover licensing of securities personnel, interactions with customers, trading operations and periodic examinations.
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Securities regulators impose capital requirements on USBII and monitor its financial operations with periodic financial reviews. In addition, USBII is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
The operations of the First American family of funds, the Company’s proprietary money market fund complex, also are subject to regulation by the SEC. In July 2014, the SEC finalized rules regarding money market fund reform. The final rules require a floating net asset value for institutional prime and tax-free money market funds. The rules also give the board of directors of the money market funds the ability to limit redemptions during periods of stress (allowing for the use of liquidity fees and redemption gates during such times). Other changes include tightened diversification requirements and enhanced disclosure requirements.
The Company’s operations in the areas of insurance brokerage and reinsurance of credit life insurance are subject to regulation and supervision by various state insurance regulatory authorities, including the licensing of insurance brokers and agents.
Regulation of Derivatives and the Swaps Marketplace Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) has issued and will continue to issue additional rules regarding the regulation of the swaps marketplace and over-the-counter derivatives. The rules require swap dealers and major swap participants to register with the CFTC and require them to meet robust business conduct standards to lower risk and promote market integrity, to meet certain recordkeeping and reporting requirements so that regulators can better monitor the markets, and to be subject to certain capital and margin requirements. U.S. Bank National Association is a registered swap dealer.
In addition, in September 2014, the Federal Reserve, the OCC, the FDIC, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Farm Credit Administration issued a joint proposal concerning swap margin and capital requirements. The reproposed rule supersedes the agencies’ previous proposal issued in April 2011, and incorporates many aspects of the international framework for margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives issued in September 2013 by the BCBS and the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions. If adopted, the proposed rule would require swap entities regulated by the five agencies to collect minimum amounts of initial margin and variation margin from counterparties to non-cleared swaps and non-cleared, security-based swaps.
Other swaps requirements have been modified by legislation. Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank Act required covered U.S. banks acting as dealers in commodity swaps, equity swaps and certain credit default swaps to “push out” such activities and conduct them through one or more non-bank affiliates. In December 2014, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 was signed into law, which contains a provision that narrows the push-out requirements in Section 716 only to “structured finance swaps.”
Future regulations will likely impose additional operational and compliance costs, although the ultimate impact of regulations that have not yet been finalized remains unclear.
The Volcker Rule In December 2013, the SEC, the Federal Reserve, the OCC and the FDIC jointly issued a final rule to implement the so-called “Volcker Rule” under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Volcker Rule prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading, and prohibits certain interests in, or relationships with, hedge funds or private equity funds. The final rule also requires annual attestation by a banking entity’s Chief Executive Officer that the banking entity has in place processes to establish, maintain, enforce, review, test and modify a Compliance Program established in a manner reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the final rule. The final rule became effective on April 1, 2014 and applies to the Company, U.S. Bank National Association and their affiliates.
Financial Privacy Under the requirements imposed by the GLBA, the Company and its subsidiaries are required periodically to disclose to their retail customers the Company’s policies and practices with respect to the sharing of nonpublic customer information with its affiliates and others, and the confidentiality and security of
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that information. Under the GLBA, retail customers also must be given the opportunity to “opt out” of information-sharing arrangements with non-affiliates, subject to certain exceptions set forth in the GLBA.
Incentive-Based Compensation Arrangements In April 2011, the Federal Reserve, the OCC, the FDIC, the SEC, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposed rule under Section 956 of the Dodd-Frank Act that would require the reporting of incentive-based compensation arrangements by a covered financial institution, and prohibit incentive-based compensation arrangements at a covered financial institution that provide excessive compensation or that could expose the institution to inappropriate risks that could lead to material financial loss. The Company expects that these agencies will issue a new incentive-based compensation rule under the Dodd-Frank Act in 2015.
Durbin Amendment A provision of the Dodd-Frank Act known as the Durbin Amendment required the Federal Reserve to establish a cap on the interchange fees that merchants pay banks for electronic clearing of debit transactions. The Federal Reserve issued final rules, effective October 1, 2011, for establishing standards, including a cap, for debit card interchange fees and prohibiting network exclusivity arrangements and routing restrictions. The final rule established standards for assessing whether debit card interchange fees received by debit card issuers were reasonable and proportional to the costs incurred by issuers for electronic debit transactions, and it established a maximum permissible interchange fee that an issuer may receive for an electronic debit transaction, which reduces fee revenue to debit card issuers such as the Company. Under the final rule, the maximum permissible interchange fee that an issuer may receive for an electronic debit transaction is the sum of 21 cents per transaction, a 1 cent fraud prevention adjustment, and 5 basis points multiplied by the value of the transaction.
In July 2013, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in NACS, et al. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, invalidated these regulations, ruling in favor of a group of retailers who argued that the new lower interchange fees had been inappropriately set too high. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in March 2014, reversed the district court, upheld the vast majority of the regulations, and remanded the matter to the district court for the limited purpose of reviewing the Federal Reserve’s treatment of transaction monitoring costs. In January 2015, the Supreme Court declined to review the Court of Appeals decision, which effectively keeps the final interchange fees rules intact.
Consumer Protection Regulation Retail banking activities are subject to a variety of statutes and regulations designed to protect consumers. Interest and other charges collected or contracted for by banks are subject to state usury laws and federal laws concerning interest rates. Loan operations are also subject to numerous laws applicable to credit transactions, such as:
| • | the federal Truth-In-Lending Act and Regulation Z issued by the Federal Reserve, governing disclosures of credit terms to consumer borrowers; |
| • | the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and Regulation C issued by the Federal Reserve, requiring financial institutions to provide information to enable the public and public officials to determine whether a financial institution is fulfilling its obligation to help meet the housing needs of the community it serves; |
| • | the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B issued by the Federal Reserve, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, creed or other prohibited factors in extending credit; |
| • | the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V issued by the Federal Reserve, governing the use and provision of information to consumer reporting agencies; |
| • | the Fair Debt Collection Act, governing the manner in which consumer debts may be collected by collection agencies; |
| • | the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, applying to all debts incurred prior to commencement of active military service (including credit card and other open-end debt) and limiting the amount of interest, |
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| including service and renewal charges and any other fees or charges (other than bona fide insurance) that is related to the obligation or liability; and |
| • | the guidance of the various federal agencies charged with the responsibility of implementing such laws. |
Deposit operations also are subject to consumer protection laws and regulations, such as:
| • | the Truth in Savings Act and Regulation DD issued by the Federal Reserve, which require disclosure of deposit terms to consumers; |
| • | Regulation CC issued by the Federal Reserve, which relates to the availability of deposit funds to consumers; |
| • | the Right to Financial Privacy Act, which imposes a duty to maintain the confidentiality of consumer financial records and prescribes procedures for complying with administrative subpoenas of financial records; and |
| • | the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E issued by the Federal Reserve, which governs automatic deposits to and withdrawals from deposit accounts and customers’ rights and liabilities arising from the use of automated teller machines and other electronic banking services, including remittance transfers. |
The Company and its subsidiaries, as applicable, are also subject to state consumer lender regulation and various other state laws and regulations designed to protect consumers.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Many of the foregoing laws and regulations are subject to change resulting from provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act, which in many cases calls for revisions to implementing regulations. In addition, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) created by the Dodd-Frank Act has assumed all authority to prescribe rules or issue orders or guidelines pursuant to any federal consumer financial law. The CFPB regulates and examines the Company and its bank and other subsidiaries with respect to matters that relate to these laws and consumer financial services and products. The CFPB undertook numerous rule-making and other initiatives in 2014, and will continue to do so in 2015. The CFPB’s rulemaking, examination and enforcement authority has and will continue to significantly affect financial institutions involved in the provision of consumer financial products and services, including the Company, U.S. Bank National Association and the Company’s other subsidiaries. These regulatory activities may limit the types of financial services and products the Company may offer, which in turn may reduce the Company’s revenues.
A number of significant rules that impact many aspects of the lifecycle of a residential mortgage became effective in 2014. These rules implement the Dodd-Frank Act amendments to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The final rules require banks to, among other things: (a) develop and implement procedures to ensure compliance with a new “ability to repay” requirement and identify whether a loan meets a new definition for a “qualified mortgage”; (b) implement new or revised disclosures, policies and procedures for servicing mortgages including, but not limited to, early intervention with delinquent borrowers and specific loss mitigation procedures for loans secured by a borrower’s principal residence; and (c) comply with additional rules and restrictions regarding mortgage loan originator compensation and the qualification and registration or licensing of loan originators. Additional rulemaking affecting the residential mortgage business and mortgage disclosures will go into effect in 2015.
The CFPB and other federal agencies have also jointly finalized rules imposing credit risk retention requirements on lenders originating certain mortgage loans, which require sponsors of a securitization to retain at least 5 percent of the credit risk of assets collateralizing asset-backed securities. Residential mortgage-backed securities qualifying as “qualified residential mortgages” will be exempt from the risk retention requirements. The final rule maintains revisions to the proposed rules that cover degrees of flexibility for meeting risk retention requirements and the relationship between “qualified mortgages” and “qualified residential mortgages.” These
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rules and any other new regulatory requirements promulgated by the CFPB could require changes to the Company’s mortgage origination and servicing businesses, result in increased compliance costs and affect the streams of revenue of such businesses.
Supervisory Ratings Federal banking regulators regularly examine the Company to evaluate its financial condition and monitor its compliance with laws and regulatory policies. Key products of such exams are supervisory ratings of the Company’s overall condition, commonly referred to as the CAMELS rating for U.S. Bank National Association (which reflects the OCC’s evaluation of certain components of the bank’s condition) and the RFI/C(D) rating for U.S. Bancorp (which reflects the Federal Reserve System’s evaluation of certain components of the holding company’s condition). Violations of laws and regulations or deemed deficiencies in risk management practices may be incorporated into these supervisory ratings. A downgrade in these ratings could limit the Company’s ability to pursue acquisitions or conduct other expansionary activities for a period of time, require new or additional regulatory approvals before engaging in certain other business activities or investments, affect U.S. Bank National Association’s deposit insurance assessment rate, and impose additional recordkeeping and corporate governance requirements, as well as generally increase regulatory scrutiny on the Company.
Other Supervision and Regulation The Company is subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), both as administered by the SEC, by virtue of the Company’s status as a public company. As a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), the Company is subject to the rules of the NYSE for listed companies.
Website Access to SEC Reports
U.S. Bancorp’s internet website can be found at usbank.com. U.S. Bancorp makes available free of charge on its website its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as well as all other reports filed by U.S. Bancorp with the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.
Additional Information
Additional information in response to this Item 1 can be found in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report on page 24 under the heading “Acquisitions”; and on pages 67 to 71 under the heading “Line of Business Financial Review.” That information is incorporated into this report by reference.
PART IV
Item 15 – Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
3. Exhibits
| Exhibit Number |
Description | |
| 31.1 | Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. | |
| 31.2 | Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. | |
| 32 | Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 1350 as adopted pursuant to section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on February 27, 2015, on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| U.S. BANCORP | ||
| By | /s/ Richard K. Davis | |
| Richard K. Davis Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | ||
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