Top Story Compliance Related

The Treasury Department yesterday issued two announcements of OFAC sanctions activity.

OFAC has sanctioned two Haitian individuals: a former member of Haiti’s parliament, Prophane Victor, for his role in forming, supporting, and arming gangs and their members that have committed serious human rights abuse in Haiti; and Luckson Elan, the current leader of the Gran Grif gang, for his involvement in serious human rights abuse related to gang activity in Haiti’s Artibonite department.

OFAC has also sanctioned one individual and more than a dozen entities and vessels for their involvement in the shipment of Iranian crude oil and liquid petroleum gas to Syria and East Asia on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Hizballah.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals, entities and vessels involved in the two OFAC actions, see yesterday’s BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced it has revised the Agency's proposal to amend the Suspended Counterparty Program (SCP). The SCP regulation requires a regulated entity to report to FHFA if an individual or institution that it does business with has committed certain types of misconduct within the prior three years. It also authorizes FHFA to order its regulated entities to cease doing business or refrain from entering into new business with certain counterparties. Final suspension orders are published on FHFA’s website.

FHFA is publishing this re-proposal after considering issues that commenters had raised about the original proposed rule, issued in July 2023. This includes distinguishing between misconduct that poses material risk to the safety and soundness of the regulated entities from behavior with de minimis impact.

Specifically, the re-proposal would:

• Authorize the suspension of business between a regulated entity and a counterparty whose misconduct resulted in a federal prohibition order or a civil money penalty above a specific threshold; and
• Authorize the suspension of business between a regulated entity and a counterparty that has committed criminal or civil misconduct related to the management or ownership of real property.

Comments on the re-proposed rule will be accepted for 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced action it is taking against Invitation Homes, the largest landlord of single-family homes in the U.S., for an array of unlawful actions against consumers, including deceiving renters about lease costs, charging undisclosed junk fees, failing to inspect homes before residents moved in, and unfairly withholding tenants’ security deposits when they moved out.

The FTC reports that Invitation Homes has agreed to a proposed settlement order that would require the company to turn over $48 million to be used to refund consumers harmed by its actions. The corporate landlord will also be required to clearly disclose its leasing prices, establish policies and procedures to handle security deposit refunds fairly, and stop other unlawful behavior.

The CFPB has released its Office of Servicemembers Affairs’ annual report, which covers the top financial concerns facing servicemembers, veterans, and military families, based on the complaints they submitted to the CFPB. Servicemembers told the CFPB about issues they were having when trying to contact or get help from their federal student loan servicer. The report also highlights other areas of concern in student lending such as transcript withholding and fraud and scams.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC sanctioned five Colombian nationals and two Mexico-based businesses under authority of Executive Order 14059, “Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade.” The Colombian individuals sanctioned are leaders within Colombia’s Clan del Golfo—also known as Los Urabeños—which is one of the country’s largest drug trafficking organizations and a key contributor to human smuggling through the Darién Gap.

The companies sanctioned yesterday are located in Mexico and owned by designated Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl traffickers. One of the most notorious and pervasive drug trafficking organizations in the world, the Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entities, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced it has charged Tallahassee, Florida, housing providers Greenbriar Partners, LLC, Jackson Properties and Financial Services, LLC, and Erwin D. Jackson (the “Respondents”) with violating the Fair Housing Act by failing to grant a tenant with a disability a reasonable accommodation to allow the tenant to live with an emotional support animal.

HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that the Respondents failed to grant the Complainant’s requested reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal. That denial led to economic loss, lost housing opportunity, and emotional distress. The Charge of Discrimination also alleges that the Respondents violated the Act when they threatened the Complainant with an eviction because of her reasonable accommodation request.

HUD's Charge will be heard by a United States Administrative Law Judge unless any party to the Charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court.

FinCEN has announced it will hold a virtual information session on beneficial ownership information reporting requirements and how to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act on its YouTube channel at 2 p.m. EDT tomorrow, September 25, 2024.

The CFPB has posted the 2025 version of its HMDA Filing Instruction Guide (FIG), a compendium of resources to help lenders file annual HMDA data collected in 2025 with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) in 2026.

The Bureau also released the Online Supplemental Guide for Quarterly Filers for 2025, which includes 2025 calendar year quarterly deadlines. This guide will help financial institutions that are required to file HMDA data on a quarterly basis.

The Online 2025 Filing Instructions Guide and the Supplemental Guide for Quarterly Filers for 2025 can also be accessed at https://ffiec.cfpb.gov under Guides for HMDA Filers.

The CFPB has announced a proposed rule with a narrow amendment to disclosure requirements for certain international money transfers, or remittances. The proposed amendment would provide consumers clearer information about the types of inquiries that may be better handled by their remittance company before contacting the CFPB or the relevant state regulator.

The proposal would amend certain disclosures to clarify that consumers should contact their remittance company for issues specific to their money transfer. The proposal can potentially save consumers time by resolving their inquiries more quickly. Additionally, it may reduce the number of inquiries sent to states and the CFPB that would be more appropriately addressed initially by the providers themselves.

Comments will be accepted through November 4, 2024.

The NCUA has announced that its Board of Directors yesterday approved a final rule incorporating its Second Chance Interpretive Ruling and Policy Statement and the Fair Hiring in Banking Act into its regulations, and a final rule that would simplify share insurance regulations by establishing a “trust accounts” category, aligning the Share Insurance Fund coverage for federally insured credit union members’ trust accounts with the coverage provided by the FDIC’s coverage of trust accounts at federally insured banks.