Top Story Compliance Related

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has expanded its eRegulations collection to include CFPB regulations B, D, E, J, K, L, M and Z.

The OCC has issued Bulletin 2015-48 announcing the update of its guidance regarding its risk assessment system (RAS). These updates are reflected in the “Bank Supervision Process,” “Community Bank Supervision,” “Federal Branches and Agencies Supervision,” and “Large Bank Supervision” booklets of the Comptroller’s Handbook and internal guidance for examiners. Other Comptroller’s Handbook booklets will be updated as they are revised.

The FDIC has released a list of 51 state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Included were two outstanding, 46 satisfactory, and three needs-to-improve ratings.

The October 2015 update of the Commercial Bank Examination Manual has bee released by the Federal Reserve Board.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has added a Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C) Small Entity Compliance Guide to its HMDA Rule implementation page to provide plain-language assistance for small entities in their efforts to comply with the upcoming changes to HMDA data collection and filing under amendments to Regulation C.

The SEC has announced that Standard Bank, now ICBC Standard Bank Plc, has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying a $4.2 million penalty and admitting the facts underlying allegations that it failed to disclose certain payments in connection with debt issued by the Government of Tanzania in 2013. As part of a coordinated global settlement, the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office also announced a settlement today in an action it brought against Standard in the U.K. for Standard’s violations of the U.K.’s Bribery Act of 2010. The Bribery Act of 2010 is similar to the United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Standard will pay a total of approximately $36.9 million in monetary relief in the SEC and U.K. actions. See our Penalty entry for the SEC announcement for further information.

CRA examination schedules for the first quarter of 2016 have been released by the OCC and the FDIC.

The FDIC has released a list of fourteen enforcement orders issued in October 2015 (and one from September), including one civil money penalty (CMP), six removal and prohibition orders, one voluntary termination of insurance, one Section 19 order, and six orders terminating earlier enforcement actions. The CMP was a $4,550 order against an Ohio bank for Flood Act violations. See our Flood CMP record of the order for further information.

The Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have jointly announced that the dollar thresholds in Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing), both currently $54,600, will remain unchanged for 2016. Transactions above the thresholds are exempt from the regulations, except that the exemption under Regulation Z does not apply to extensions of credit that are private education loans or loans secured by real property or by personal property that is the consumer's primary residence. The BankersOnline pages for these two regulations have been updated to reflect the announcement. The amendments to the Official Interpretations of the regulations were published in today's Federal Register.

• Final Rule amending Regulation M Supplement I
• Final Rule amending Regulation Z Supplement I

The CFPB November 2016 monthly complaint spotlight highlights bank account and service complaints. The report shows many consumers are experiencing problems opening and managing accounts, while other consumers found their accounts closed without explanation. This month’s snapshot also highlights trends seen in complaints coming from Connecticut.  

• Monthly Complaint Report, Vol. 5