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The Conference of State Bank Supervisors has released an optional BSA/AML self-assessment tool that can be used by a financial institution to help in its risk assessment process. The tool is not a substitute for other parts of an institution's BSA/AML risk management program, but can be a supplement for such programs. The tool (available as a .ZIP file), instructions and a tutorial can be found on the CSBC Job Aids webpage. Before attempting to download the file, check with your IT security staff to determine whether .ZIP file downloads are permitted.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced yesterday that it has issued a Consent Order to UniRush LLC (headquartered in Ohio) and Mastercard International Incorporated (Purchase, New York), in connection with a botched conversion of UniRush's RushCard prepaid card accounts to the Mastercard processing platform that affected tens of thousands of consumers, who were unable to access their own funds to pay for basic necessities.

RushCard is a reloadable prepaid debit card. UniRush LLC is the program manager for RushCard and oversees operations such as the cardholder website. One of Mastercard International's units, Mastercard Payment Transaction Services, is the current payment processor for RushCard. After more than a year of preparation, processing for RushCard accounts, which include accounts that receive government benefits or payroll funds, was switched to Mastercard's platform in mid-October, 2015. At the time, there were about 650,000 active users, about 270,000 of whom received direct deposits to their card accounts. The CFPB reported that it received about 830 consumer complaints from RushCard users in the weeks that followed the switch in payment processors. By comparison, the CFPB received 147 complaints about prepaid cards from November 2014 to January 2015. The CFPB has ordered Mastercard and UniRush to pay an estimated $10 million in restitution to tens of thousands of harmed customers. The CFPB also fined Mastercard and UniRush $3 million.

See "Mastercard and UniRush pay $13M for botched conversion," in our Penalties pages, for details.

[Note: Forbes reported on January 30 that Green Dot Corporation has agreed to purchase UniRush LLC for "at least $167 million."]

The CFPB has added a small entity compliance guide to its Prepaid Rule implementation guide page. The Prepaid Rule will be effective October 1, 2017.

The NCUA has announced it has issued a notice of prohibition under Section 205(d) of the National Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1785(d)) to a former employee of Southern Mississippi Federal Credit Union in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, who had pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement.

The Federal Reserve Board has released nineteen Section 19 letters issued in July, August and September 2016. A Section 19 letter prohibits the named individual from becoming or continuing as an institution-affiliated party with respect to any insured depository institution, and is issued when a regulator is made aware that the individual has been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty or breach of trust or money laundering, or has agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion or similar program in connection with a prosecution for such an offense. The prohibition requirement is found in Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. 1829, and is mirrored for insured credit unions in Section 205(d) of the National Credit Union Act, 12 U.S.C. 1785(d).

The CFPB has taken action against Prospect Mortgage, LLC, a major mortgage lender, for paying illegal kickbacks for mortgage business referrals. The CFPB also took action against two real estate brokers and a mortgage servicer that took illegal kickbacks from Prospect. Under the terms of the action announced today, Prospect will pay a $3.5 million civil penalty for its illegal conduct, and the real estate brokers and servicer will pay a combined $495,000 in consumer relief, disgorgement, and penalties. See "Kickbacks cost Prospect Mortgage $3.5 million" for details on the Bureau's findings and consent orders.

The CFPB has announced it has filed a lawsuit against a "ring" of law firms and attorneys, alleging that they collaborated to charge illegal fees to consumers seeking debt relief. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the CFPB alleges that Howard Law, P.C., the Williamson Law Firm, LLC, and Williamson & Howard, LLP, as well as attorneys Vincent Howard and Lawrence Williamson, ran this debt relief operation along with Morgan Drexen, Inc., which shut down in 2015 following the CFPB’s lawsuit against that company. The CFPB seeks to stop the defendants’ unlawful scheme, obtain relief for harmed consumers, and impose penalties.

The FRB has finalized a rule adjusting its capital plan and stress testing rules, effective for the 2017 cycle. The final rule removes large and noncomplex firms from the qualitative assessment of the Federal Reserve's Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), reducing significant burden on these firms and focusing the qualitative review in CCAR on the largest, most complex financial institutions. The final rule removes the qualitative assessment of CCAR for bank holding companies and U.S. intermediate holding companies of foreign banking organizations with total consolidated assets between $50 billion and $250 billion and total nonbank assets of less than $75 billion that are not identified as global systemically important banks (GSIBs).

The OCC has issued Bulletin 2017-8 announcing the publication of a final rule at 82 FR 8584 in the Federal Register adjusting the maximum amount of each civil money penalty (CMP) for which the OCC is responsible. The effective date of this final rule is January 27, 2017, and the adjusted maximum amounts apply only to penalties assessed after January 15, 2017, for violations that occurred on or after November 2, 2015.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued a Cease and Desist Order to BB&T Corporation, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (BB&T), a registered bank holding company that owns and controls Branch Banking and Trust Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a state-chartered bank. The most recent inspection of BB&T conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond identified significant deficiencies in BB&T’s firm-wide compliance program with respect to compliance with the BSA/AML requirements.