Top Story Compliance Related

The Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC have issued revised macroeconomic scenarios for their 2017 stress testing program to correct a data series error. The scenarios previously released contained incorrect historical values for the BBB corporate yield in 2016. As a result of the correction, BBB corporate yields peak at slightly lower levels in the severely adverse and adverse scenarios. The correction also lowered yields in the baseline scenario, but the revision is more modest than for the other scenarios.

The Federal Trade Commission has provided the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with an annual summary of its activities enforcing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).

The OCC has issued a proclamation allowing national banks and federal savings associations affected by severe winter weather in the northeastern United States to close, "for as long as deemed necessary for bank operation or public safety."

The OCC has announced that it will host a "Building Blocks for Directors" workshop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center, March 27-29, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations supervised by the OCC. The workshop combines lectures, discussion, and exercises to provide practical information on the roles and responsibilities of board participation for both new and experienced directors.

The Treasury Department's final rule adjusting maximum civil money penalties for inflation (see "OFAC CMP caps adjusted for inflation") also included adjustments to maximum CMP amounts for Bank Secrecy Act violations. The new maximum penalties are found in revised Table 1 of § 1010.821 of FinCEN's regulations at 31 CFR Part 1010, amended on publication, and applicable retroactively to penalty assessments since January 15, 2017.

The Treasury Department has published, in today's Federal Ledger, a final rule to adjust OFAC-enforced civil monetary penalties (“CMPs”) for inflation as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (collectively referred to herein as “the Act”). This rule adjusts CMPs within the jurisdiction of OFAC to the maximum amount required by the Act. The rule is effective upon publication, and can be applied retroactively to violations since January 15, 2017.

As of January 15, the applicable statutory maximum civil penalty per violation for each statute enforced by OFAC is as follows:

• International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — greater of $289,238 or twice the amount of the underlying transaction;
• Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) — $85,236;
• Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (FNKDA) — $1,437,153;
• Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) — greater of $76,351 or twice the amount of which a financial institution was required to retain possession or control; and
• Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) — $13,066.

The CFPB has posted its January 2017 monthly complaint report. Each edition includes spotlight reports on a product or service and on a geographic area. The January report focuses on mortgage complaints and on complaints from Tennessee.

The NCUA has announced that the twenty-eight credit unions subject to civil monetary penalties for filing late Call Reports in the third quarter of 2016 have consented to penalties totaling $17,485.

The Federal Reserve Board has posted an update of the FRB/US model packages. The main FRB/US model package is a self-contained set of equations, data, programs and documentation that enables various types of simulations and provides information about the model's structure.

OFAC has provided four frequently asked questions (FAQS) related to the recently imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation's Federal Security Service and the issuance of General License 1 authorizing certain transactions otherwise prohibited under Executive Order (E.O.) 13694 of April 1, 2015 ("Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities"), as amended by E.O. 13757 of December 28, 2016 ("Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities").