The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released new guidelines Thursday for North Dakota banks and customers who were affected by spring flooding.
The steps are intended to provide regulatory relief to banks and help facilitate recovery in areas hit by flooding, according to a news release.
Specifically, the guidelines are for flooding that began Feb. 26 and caused property damage in several North Dakota counties: Barnes, Benson, Cass, Dickey, Emmons, Foster, Grand Forks, LaMoure, Logan, Mercer, Morton, Nelson, Pembina, Ramsey, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman, Traill, Walsh and Wells, along with portions of the Spirit Lake Reservation.
Federal disasters were declared for the areas April 30.
Here's what the FDIC recommends:
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- Bankers should work "constructively" with borrowers in areas affected by flooding. "The FDIC recognizes that efforts to work with borrowers in communities under stress can be consistent with safe-and-sound banking practices as well as in the public interest."
- Bankers should monitor municipal loans affected by flooding, and the FDIC encourages "prudent efforts to stabilize such investments."
- FDIC-supervised financial institutions affected this spring should notify the Kansas City Regional Office if they expect a delay in filing required reports or won't be able to meet publishing requirements.
- Customers with consumer loans have an option to waive or modify the three-day recisssion period when a personal financial emergency exists.
- The Kansas City Regional Office will expedite requests to operate temporary banking facilities if the bank's offices have been damaged or the temporary location will provide more convenient service to those affected by flooding.
