Top Story Compliance Related

The OCC has announced it will host two workshops at the Crowne Plaza San Antonio Airport in San Antonio, Texas, May 23-24, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations. The Credit Risk workshop on May 23 focuses on credit risk within the loan portfolio, such as identifying trends and recognizing problems. The workshop also covers the roles of the board and management, how to stay informed of changes in credit risk, and how to effect change. The Operational Risk workshop on May 24 focuses on the key components of operational risk—people, processes and systems. The workshop also covers governance, third-party risk, vendor management, and cybersecurity.

The OCC also reported that space is still available at its community bank workshops in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 25-26. The agency has expanded the invitation to the Charlotte workshops to include executive management and other key management officials of OCC-supervised institutions.

The CFPB has filed a complaint in a federal district court against the debt collection law firm, Weltman, Weinberg & Reis, Cleveland, Ohio, for falsely representing in millions of collection letters to consumers that attorneys were involved in collecting the debt. The law firm made statements on collection calls and sent collection letters creating the false impression that attorneys had meaningfully reviewed the consumer’s file, when no such review had occurred. The CFPB is seeking to stop the unlawful practices and recoup compensation for consumers who have been harmed.

• Press release

The Federal Emergency Management Agency published in today's Federal Register a corrected list of communities in the State of Washington that were suspended on March 7, 2017, from the National Flood Insurance Program for non-compliance with the flood plain management requirements of the program. The list corrects the list published in FEMA's final rule published on March 13, 2017. The communities in the updated list are the cities of Lakewood and Ruston, both in Pierce County.

The OCC Office of Innovation will host two days of office hours for national banks, federal savings associations, and financial technology companies (fintech companies) wishing to discuss the OCC’s perspective on responsible innovation. This initial round of meetings will be held in the OCC's San Francisco Field Office on May 16 and 17, 2017. For more information see the agency's Innovation Home Page.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a proposed rule to help financial institutions comply with the 2015 HMDA Final Rule by clarifying the information they will be required to collect and report about their mortgage lending. The proposed rule contains a number of clarifications, technical corrections, and minor changes to the HMDA regulation. These include clarifying certain key terms, such as "temporary financing" and "automated underwriting system." The proposal would also, for example, establish transition rules for reporting certain loans purchased by financial institutions. Another proposed change would facilitate reporting the census tract of a property, using a new geocoding tool the CFPB plans to provide online. Comments on the proposal will be accepted for 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

• UPDATE:Published at 82 FR 19142 on April 25, 2017, with a comment deadline of May 25, 2017.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added one entity and six individuals to its SDN List with a combination of designations under OFAC's SDGT, LIBYA3, ISIL and IRAN-HR sanctions programs. See our OFAC Update for additional information.

The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop in San Antonio, Texas, on July 19, 2017, to examine financial issues and scams that can affect military consumers, including active duty servicemembers in all branches and veterans. The workshop also will discuss Commission resources available to military consumer advocates and representatives on financial readiness and fraud prevention, including the Commission's Military Consumer Toolkit. The toolkit allows personal financial managers, counselors, and others in the military community to share practical financial readiness tips. It can be individually customized and easily shared on social media.

• Press Release

The OCC has issued Bulletin 2017-15 to introduce a new “Retail Lending” booklet for the Comptroller’s Handbook. This new booklet, part of the “Safety and Soundness” category of the Handbook, discusses the risks associated with retail lending and provides a framework for evaluating retail credit risk management activities. This booklet supplements the core assessment sections of the “Large Bank Supervision,” “Community Bank Supervision,” and “Federal Branches and Agency Supervision” booklets of the Handbook. Examiners should refer to the “Retail Lending” booklet when specific retail lending products, services, activities or risks warrant review beyond the core assessment because they have a material impact on the risk profile and financial condition of national banks and federal savings associations.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has added two individuals to its list of Specially Designated Nationals under its Central African Republic (CAR) sanctions. The office also removed a Zimbabwe sanctions listing. For additional information, see our OFAC Update.

The FDIC has announced it will host an Economic Inclusion Summit on Wednesday, April 26, in Arlington, Virginia, to discuss "Strategies to Bring Consumers into the Financial Mainstream." The summit will bring together representatives from banks, bank trade associations, non-profit organizations, national, state, and local government agencies, and the public.