Some of our executives can access their email by their smartphone while on their 5 consecutive days? Will this cause issues with insurance bonding?

doesn't cause an issue with our bonding agent, but you would need to ask yours...

we dont require 5 consecutiver days so no issue for us

I do not think accessing e-mail during their days off is a big deal. They should not be involved in making decisions during their days off.

Making decisions is not the issue. It is access in order to run transactions, other entries, or other take other actions to cover potential embezzlements, etc.

All executives along with most IT departent and most of the mortgage department have laptops that they take everywhere including on vacation.
I am getting complete pushback when I say the laptop needs to stay at work when they are on vacation.

Anyone else have this issue? How are you handling?

You have to go back and look at several factors. What access to systems and platforms do these folks have? Can they just look, or can they perform actual transactions and postings? Is it simply a mortgage application portal, or access to much more? What dual control or review pieces are in place, and are they utilized, and are the reviewes or checks evidenced?

It is more than just having a laptop, it is what level of access have you premitted or granted to them and to what systems. For example, our LO's have access to the loan origination platform and look only rights at our deposit/servicing platforms. They physically cannot run any transactions, GL postings, account maintenance, etc, what-so-ever. Data is not stored on their laptop, so if they lose their laptop, the loss is minimal.

Based on this, if they want to work on their vacation, let the fools do so... no way I am taking mine with me when I go on vacation!

Show them where the insurance company requires this and they'll agree with you. But, since I have never heard of such a thing, you're going to lose this one.

My laptop is with me everywhere. I check email on my phone twice a day while on vacation and have the laptop with me so I can log in as needed. Laptop stays locked in the hotel room safe (I can VPN into the network via my iPhone if an emergency pops, which happened last year while I was in line at Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom). Most trips I never open the laptop, but it is a requirement for most execs and senior officers to have the ability to conduct business on the road. Oddly enough, the bank stays open while I'm on vacation and those pesky things .... what do you call them .... ah yes, customers have issues that can't wait until I get back.

Consider the root reason for this rule and then consider what this person can and cannot do while on vacation. If the system locks them out, some do, the person can use the laptop for basic things but not access to GL accounts or the like. They they're fine.

At the bank I was a one person department. Now I didn't do anything with internal accounts, loans, deposits, GLs, etc. so it was somewhat moot, but if I didn't do my work for the period of vacation before that vacation, I had to do it all after or during. I check email more than Milby and always do some light work. Again, that is only so I can come back to a not overflowing in-box.

I agree with everyone else... the FIL that requires people to take vacation days is a bit antiquated in execution and understanding. The main point is to keep people from being able to access things that allow them to perpetrate or hide financial fraud... If they can't do it form their laptop or phones, then using those things just doesn't matter...

I will say that there might be a need to potentially step up your "big brother" monitoring of their e-mails while they are out of the office though. I wouldn't put it past people (especially high level people) from assigning duties to subordinates which would continue their fraud... while on vacation. You know one of those, "Oh yea every friday I move money from this GL to this GL then to my swiss account" kind of e-mails that they think wouldn't draw attention to themselves.

Just an additional thought...

Cheers!

Do the 5 consecutive days have to be business days? For example, a holiday falls in the middle of the week and an employee takes the whole week off - does this count as 5 days?

SB, the 5 days would be with your regulator and/or bonding company.

The discussions here are processing transactions. I remember "years" ago, when my bank's EVP Comptroller went on vacation for 2 weeks in November - his secretary was cleaning up his office and found a letter buried near the bottom dated March from the State Treasurer indicating that documentary stamp fees doubled effective July 1. The loan department had 5 months of catching up to do, and it was all found because of a mandated vacation.

in our bank, a holiday would count as one of the 5 days.so, taking the week of Thanksgiving would be 5 days off, 4 vacation days used.

Our IT and Senior management also VPN and have access to email while on vacation.
IT, under dual control, review reports of VPN activity of persons on vacation. Auditors/examiners are satisfied with this security procedure.

At our bank the holiday does not count. According to our compliance team the 5 days must all be days where the bank is open for business. If the employee is someone lower level (teller, banker) who is regularly scheduled to work Saturdays, we are allowed to count Saturday.