Does anyone else feel that the amount of new reg info coming down from the agencies is just overwhelming, unbearable, and unworkable? Is it just me? I’m feeling paralyzed. I see all these new regs and rules and requirements sliding down at me, and I don’t know whether to hunker down and get ready for it, or just run like a madman.

LOL - alot of us feel that we could leave Banking forever!
Unfortunately this is not the job market or the time to look at alternative careers

I sure feel that way. I don't have a staff on top of it all. So, staying on top of the changes, maintaining what we need to maintain and somehow fit a vacation in is a little overwhelming these days! (No vacation time yet this year....can't find the time!)

Anon - I think everyone is feeling overwhelmed. Too much coming too fast. Take all the changes coming our way and add budget tightening issues, increasing efficiencies, turnover, training issues, etc...

I'm thinking of heading to the library. I'd like apply for the book shelving job. Wouldn't that be nice, wonderful and quiet? I'm afraid, though, that I will get fired for doing more reading than shelving!

It is very overwhelming! I am fairly new to compliance, started in September and it has been nonstop ever since. Nothing like getting my feet wet. It may be better if staff member kept ontop of regulations themselves but they just expect me to tell them everything! I guess that is why I get paid the big bucks

I am considering either being the guy at Lowes who mixes the paint, or the guy at Kinko's who laminates things... those look like nice, calm, steady jobs.

I've caught myself underwater in my pool wondering if I could just stay there where no one can find me. That's when I remember I don't have gills!

Yes, we're all overwhelmed. You are not alone.

I feel a support group coming on.

What a great analogy, drowning in an avalanche of new compliance issues and regulations. Thank goodness for BOL to realize that you are not alone.

I totally agree. I don't know if I can take it. I just want to run and hide. I have been in banking 30 years and I just have had enough.

Yeah I can mix paint, I did that at small hardware store while in College - Ahh the "good ol days" when I knew nothing about RESPA, HMDA, MDIA, TILA, TISA, HVCC, FRB, OCC, etc.etc.etc.The only acronyms I worried about then were Eng 104 / Sci 101 / Econ 131 . . .

Our local Compliance Officers Association will be getting together shortly, and I anticipate plenty of well justified commiserating

Lord, yes! Now, try being the Compliance Officer, BSA Officer and Security Officer for a 3+ billion dollar bank with only 2 staff persons to assist. And the most frustrating thing of all is THIS...most of the new stuff they are looking to do is either duplicitous, misguided, counterproductive for the bank AND the consumer, or some combination of the three! Hence, my tagline...

On the bright side your job became a little more secure. The question is, do you still want it?

What I am reading and hearing is that in addition to MANY new rules, your relationship with your examiner is or will be changing. There is less partnership philosophy, "we can get along" and more "this is a violation and we are going to cite you" attitude. Examiners need to hang onto their jobs too, and they all "know" that banks have been mismanaged, greedy and taking advantage of customers. Your customer is who the regulator is protecting, from you.

So you'll have more to do, and in a more hostile environment.

OP here...Well, thanks to all of you for your comments. Let's see...my only avalanche knowledge comes from the movie "Alive" so I guess I am to take it that we will all have to dig each other out of the impacted snow of regulatory mush pretty soon, find which ones of us are still breathing, and then together, devour the others. I guess that's what's going on anyway when 5 banks a week are closing and having their deposits "assumed" (consumed) by the survivors.

OP again...My other favorite analogy is the "tsunami of new regulations." They slowly rise, build up, get bigger and more fearsome, then suddenly crash down on all that stand in their way, destroying not just what they intended to destroy but also everything in the vicinity.

OP last time: I would also love to hear a regulator weigh in on this issue. What will you throw at us - a lifejacket or an anchor?

Bottom line? I'm asking for more money!

Wise choice.

Also ask for more help.

Support your request with a list of all regulatory changes affecting your bank during the past 12 months plus everything on the horizon. List separately all the regulatory violations that could lead to massive penalties, formal enforcement actions, MOUs, C&Ds, retroactive reimbursement, prison time, or loss of franchise. Also list every local, state, and federal law, rule, and regulation for which you are responsible. Finally, add your job description and an undated, unsigned letter of resignation.

When discussing your requests, point out that it's humanly impossible for one person to stay on top of that much subject matter. That means it's just a matter of time before something goes wrong.

As you build your case, think about your health. High pressure jobs lead to strokes, heart attacks, and other health problems. Do you really want to risk your future for a job that's viewed by bank management as a disease?

Gee, Richard, don't sugarcoat it on our account. Tell us what you really think!

Seriously, while it's nice to talk about more money and more help and avoiding stress, the reality of the situation is we need our jobs. Our banks aren't approving training sessions so there's no way they're going to approve hiring another compliance person. We're living the ultimate Catch 22.

When you're retired, your perspective changes.


Even if you're laughed out of your boss's office, make the case and present it. Should there be a regulatory "accident", everyone above you will scramble to find a scapegoat. During the interview with your next employer, you want to be able to say "I saw the iceberg ahead, I sounded the alarm through my chain of command, I did everything possible to help save the ship after the collision, and I chose not to go down with that ship."

Actually, I did just that.

Prepped a spreadsheet outlining about two dozen regulatory rule and lae changes coming down the pike in the next 12 months, whether they be final rules to be implemented, to proposed rulemakings most likely to be enacted. Outlined what was changing (what, when and how), who it affected internally and externally, the impacts on policy, procedure, costs and training, where we were currently at and where we needed to be.

Did it on a fairly rough but cohesive level, and in the process of breaking each regulatory change down to a much more granular level right now. But it was enough for them to see everything in one place, and to see how much more we still need to figure out, and that I can no longer do the work of three people.

The rough sheet was enough for upper management to allow me to add 2 new staff members to handle compliance monitoring, so I focus on the rest. I currently am the only department allowed to grow my staff right now. We have brough back a retiree to assist in QC reviews part time, and in the process of hiring the compliance specialist. Anyone interested in moving to Milwaukee? :

Banking's most difficult management challenge today is the federal government. Executives have managed through economic downturns and survived to do it again, but no one has ever dealt with the kind of insanity that seems to know no end in Washington. A seasoned regulatory compliance manager may be the key risk manager needed to spot the most threatening government actions and steer a safe course.

New Anon here, I am counting the days until my bank fails and no one in my area is looking to hire compliance help. I know because I've been looking. I've been trying to keep up with all the changes but sometimes I think my time would be better spent learning to say "Would you like to biggie size that".

this thread is downright depressing reading....

Sure just leem tidy it up first... like I said, its rough but it was effective...

No, no relocation costs, but we have a beautiful branch in Delafield rightoff the interstate you could work at...