Top Story Compliance Related

The Federal Reserve Board has issued a prompt corrective action directive to Fayette County Bank, St. Elmo, Illinois.

HUD will provide federal disaster assistance to the Commonwealth of Virginia and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to Hurricane Matthew. A Presidential disaster declaration has been issued for the cities of Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach which allows HUD to offer foreclosure relief and other assistance.

The Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published at 81 FR 76863 in today's Federal Register a final rule to make a number of technical amendments. This final rule updates various sections of the regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act (``BSA'') by removing or replacing outdated references to obsolete BSA forms, removing references to outdated recordkeeping storage media, and replacing several other outdated terms and references. The changes, which affect 31 CFR parts 1010, 1020, 1021, 1022, 1023, 1024, 1025, and 1026, are effective today.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has published a final rule at 81 FR 76870 in today's Federal Register that identifies communities in California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Texas where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that are scheduled for suspension TODAY for noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program.

It's official. The National Credit Union Administration published at 81 FR 76495 in this morning's Federal Register a notice renaming its Office of Consumer Protection. The new name, effective today, is the Office of Consumer Financial Protection and Access. Credit unions have another new bureaucratic abbreviation to remember. Out with "OCP" and in with "OCFPA."

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a new program, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Enforcement Support Pilot Program, to support enforcement efforts related to protecting the rights of current and former military personnel as part of the department’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative. The new pilot program funds Assistant U.S. Attorney and trial attorney positions to assist with SCRA enforcement, and also designates military judge advocates currently serving as legal assistance attorneys to serve as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys to support the department’s enforcement efforts related to the SCRA. U.S. Attorneys throughout the country will also be appointing Initiative Liaisons to work with local military and veteran communities.

The CFPB, in partnership with the New York Attorney General, has filed a federal district court complaint against the leaders of a massive debt collection scheme based out of Buffalo, N.Y. The complaint alleges that Douglas MacKinnon and Mark Gray operate a network of companies that harass, threaten, and deceive millions of consumers across the nation into paying inflated debts or amounts they may not owe. The Bureau is seeking to shut down this operation and to obtain compensation for victims and a civil penalty against the companies and partners. The CFPB alleges that the defendants violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The CFPB and the New York Attorney General also allege that the defendants violated the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the consumer financial marketplace.

The CFPB has posted information on changes to the submission process listed in the Filing Instructions Guide for HMDA data collected in 2017. Beginning with the HMDA data collected in 2017, filers will submit their HMDA data to the CFPB using a web interface referred to as the HMDA Platform. HMDA filers will interact directly with the HMDA Platform to file their HMDA data. The Data Entry Software currently provided by the FFIEC will no longer be available as a method of data entry or data submission.

The OCC has released a list of 33 Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluations that became public during the month of October. Two of the institutions on the list were rated Outstanding, 30 were rated Satisfactory, and one was rated Needs to Improve.

NCUA has advised credit unions that qualify for consulting assistance from the agency that they have have until November 30 to submit their nominations.