Top Story Compliance Related

The FDIC announced yesterday it has issued the lists of institutions scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the first and second quarters of 2018.

OFAC has announced it has designated Colombian national Tito Aldemar Ruano Yandun (Ruano Yandun) and the Ruano Yandun Drug Trafficking Organization as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers (SDNTs) pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) for playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking. OFAC also designated Colombian national Onofre Junior Aguiño Arboleda for acting for or on behalf of Ruano Yandun. As a result of yesterday’s action, all assets of those designated that are under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. For identification information on those designated, see our OFAC Update.

Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1,437,153 per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.

The OCC has released its schedule of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) evaluations to be conducted in the first and second quarters of 2018. The schedule is sorted by state.

OFAC announced yesterday it has issued a Finding of Violation to Dominica Maritime Registry, Inc. (DMRI), headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, for a violation of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, by dealing in the property or interests in property of the National Iranian Tanker Company, an entity identified by OFAC as meeting the definition of the Government of Iran and whose property and interests in property are blocked. OFAC also issued updated FAQs on new Ukraine-/Russia-related General License 1B.

The OCC has published [82 FR 56630] a final rule that adds a new part to its rules to enhance the resilience and the safety and soundness of federally chartered and licensed financial institutions by addressing concerns relating to the exercise of default rights of certain financial contracts that could interfere with the orderly resolution of certain systemically important financial firms. In addition, this final rule makes conforming amendments to the Capital Adequacy Standards and the Liquidity Risk Measurement Standards in its regulations. The requirements of this final rule are substantively identical to those adopted in the final rules issued by the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. Banks with assets of $700 billion or less are generally not subject to the rule, which will become effective January 1, 2018.

The Department of Labor has published in today's Federal Register a final rule to extend to July 1, 2019, the compliance date for, and certain exemptions from, the Department's Fiduciary Rule.

Joseph M. Otting became the 31st Comptroller of the Currency yesterday, after being sworn into office by Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin. Otting was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 16. Mr. Otting takes over from Keith A. Noreika, who has been serving as Acting Comptroller of the Currency since Thomas J. Curry stepped down in May after completing his term as Comptroller.

As a federal court weighs arguments for and against a request from Leandra English, Deputy Director of the CFPB, for a restraining order to prevent the president from appointing Mick Mulvaney acting director of the agency, Mulvaney was at the Bureau yesterday, seizing the reins of the agency, directing employees to ignore any directions from English and ordering an immediate 30-day freeze on Bureau hiring, rulemaking and guidance while he gets "a chance to see exactly what's going on," according to a CNN Politics report.

The Bureau has blogged an article and released a report on some current practices and ways to raise awareness about issues that many limited English proficient (LEP) consumers face when participating in the financial marketplace.

The FDIC has released a list of 14 orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in October, 2017. The administrative enforcement actions in those orders consisted of one consent order; ten Section 19 orders; one civil money penalty; and two terminations of consent orders.

The civil money penalty was assessed against a Wisconsin Bank in the amount of $6,000 for a dozen cited failures to comply with the National Flood Insurance Act and part 339 of the FDIC's Rules and Regulations.