Bio:
John Burnett joined Glia Group, Inc., and BankersOnline in 2004, and currently serves as Executive Editor. He is a 1990 honors graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and is an alumnus of the ABA National Compliance School, where he served on the faculty for several years.
John began his banking career in high school when he started as a teller at a $15 million bank that didn't have account numbers for its checking accounts (he says they actually filed by signature!) He moved to Cape Cod Bank and Trust Company in 1971 and assumed the position of Compliance Officer in 1976. He also served as corporate secretary and secretary of CCBT's Board of Directors, and as clerk of the bank's holding company.
He was a member of the Massachusetts Bankers Association Legal and Regulatory Compliance Committee, and of the American Bankers Association Compliance Executive Committee and NCS/NGCS Advisory Board. He is a regular presenter of BOL Learning Connect webinars and a participant in BOL Conferences events.
Questions Answered
07/07/2003
Can we charge a customer's savings account for an NSF check that he wrote from his account at another bank that we cashed for a non-customer? This is the scenario: "John" only has a savings account with us. He wrote a $200 check to "Sara" from another bank. Sara is not our customer, but since John has a savings account with an average balance of $4,000.00, the teller cashed the check. The check was returned NSF. We contacted John, who said he would not take care of it because it is Sara's problem now. Can we charge this back to his savings account?
07/07/2003
We offer passbook savings accounts. We never send statements to our customers, just update their books. The customers are not required to use their passbooks. What regulation governs statement requirements? Can we legally not ever send statements even though we annually print statements, but do not mail them to the customers? What about electronic activity in these savings accounts?
07/07/2003
A customer wrote a check payable to A and mailed it. The check was paid without an endorsement. A said they did not receive the check. The customer sent A the check as proof that it was sent to A. A endorsed the check and resubmitted it and it was paid again. The customer wants their money back. The latest bank refused the return. Where do we go from here?
07/07/2003
How many days do we have to return a "preauthorized" draft from a telemarketer as unauthorized?
07/07/2003
Recently a new SAR form was released and is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2003. However, FinCen has not yet released an updated version of the SARSoft program. What do institutions that file electronically do in the meantime?
07/07/2003
If a person has four different businesses and they are all under a DBA, should we require him to have four separate accounts established for each DBA or can he co-mingle funds from each company into one account?
07/07/2003
Our bank currently handles accounts for a mental institution which tracks accounts for its clients. It sort of serves as the custodian. The account is opened using the client's SSN, but he does not have access to the account and is not a signer. There has been a debate as to whether the client should be listed as an owner because we are using his Social. But my feelings are that if he is listed as an owner, he is automatically a signer, therefore having access to the account. Can you clarify the difference between owner and signer for us?
07/07/2003
Recently we had a customer make a deposit with a cashier's check. We have been notified from the bank titled on the cashier's check that this check is a counterfeit item and that they will be returning the item to us. We took this item in good faith and since the nature of this item is to be guaranteed, we don't feel like our customer should incur this substantial loss. Can we return this item and what is the proper way to do so? I haven't been able to find any documentation of a situation like this and need to know the rules and regulations that apply.
07/07/2003
I sent a claim to Bank “A” for reimbursement on forged endorsement checks against a corporate account. The claim submitted to bank “A” involved numerous checks. All checks were made payable to different employees within the corporation and the person who signed the check was an authorized signer for the company. The maker signed the checks presuming they were for the benefit of the employees, but the corporate accountant never gave those checks to the employees, but instead endorsed and cashed the checks through his or her own personal account. Bank “A” returned the claim to us “Unpaid” due to section 3-405 (Employer's Responsibility for Fraudulent Endorsement by Employee). I disagree with this decision, because the authorized checks were for the benefit of the employees. Additionally, at the time of deposit, bank “A” guaranteed endorsements of all items presented to their bank. Is my belief incorrect and/or do I have another course of action in trying to recover funds for this claim?
07/07/2003
When a consumer's checking account is credited through a credit memo ticket for a refund of a credit balance on the consumer's credit card, is this transaction subject to Regulation E?
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