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The Federal Reserve Board has published a final rule [83 FR 1182] adjusting the amount of each civil money penalty maximum provided by law within its jurisdiction to account for inflation, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The adjustments apply to penalties assessed on or after January 10, 2018, for violations occurring on or after November 2, 2015. For example, the statutory $2,000 maximum penalty per violation for violations of requirements to require certain violations of the National Flood Insurance Act, which had increased to $2,056 in January of last year, has now been set at $2,133 per violation. A table of the maximum CMP amounts is found in § 263.65 of the Board's Rules of Practice for Hearings, at 12 CFR Part 263.

The FDIC has published a Notice in today's Federal Register that it proposes to update its Statement of Policy (SOP) issued pursuant to Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Section 19 prohibits, without the prior written consent of the FDIC, any person from participating in banking who has been convicted of a crime of dishonesty or breach of trust or money laundering, or who has entered a pretrial diversion or similar program in connection with the prosecution for such an offense. The FDIC is proposing to expand its current de minimis exception to encompass insufficient funds checks of aggregate moderate value; small dollar, simple theft; and isolated, minor offenses committed by young adults. These carefully measured changes are intended to reduce regulatory burden by decreasing the number of covered offenses that will require an application, while ensuring that insured institutions are not subject to risk by convicted persons. Comments on the proposal are due by March 9, 2018.

On Friday, January 5, acting under Executive Order (E.O.) 13692, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four current or former Venezuelan government officials associated with corruption and repression in Venezuela. As a result of Friday’s actions, all assets of the designated current or former officials of the Government of Venezuela that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. For the four individuals' identification information, see our OFAC Update.

• Press release

The FDIC has released a list of 67 state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The list covers ratings assigned in October 2017. Seven of the banks listed received outstanding evaluation ratings. The remaining 60 institutions received satisfactory ratings.

FDIC FIL-4-2018, issued on Friday, addresses revisions to the consolidated reports of condition and income (Call Report) for March and June 2018. The FIL applies to all FDIC-supervised banks and savings associations, including community institutions. Highlights include:

• The burden-reducing changes being implemented by the agencies apply to the new FFIEC 051 Call Report as well as the FFIEC 041 and FFIEC 031 Call Reports.
  • These revisions will take effect as of the June 30, 2018, report date, which is the proposed effective date of further burden-reducing Call Report revisions about which the agencies recently requested comment.
  • For small institutions filing the FFIEC 051, the reporting changes will affect approximately seven percent of the data items collected.
• Revisions will be made to several Call Report schedules as of March 31, 2018, in response to changes in the accounting for equity securities and other equity investments that take effect for some institutions in the first quarter of 2018.
• The agencies' June 2017 proposal also included an instructional revision for determining past-due status for regulatory reporting purposes. Based on the comments received on this aspect of the proposal, the agencies are not introducing this proposed instructional revision at this time.
• Redlined copies of the FFIEC 051, FFIEC 041, and FFIEC 031 report forms showing the Call Report revisions and the related draft instructions are available on the FFIEC's website (https://www.ffiec.gov/ffiec_report_forms.htm). This website also includes draft revised instructions to implement the agencies' regulatory capital transitions final rule in the Call Report for March 31, 2018.
• Review FIL-2-2018 for additional information about the changes to the Call Report requirements.

The FFIEC has posted the edits and file specifications for 2018 CRA filings.

The CFPB has posted its 2017 annual College credit card agreements report to Congress. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (“CARD Act”) requires the Bureau to submit to Congress, and to make available to the public, an annual report that lists information submitted to the Bureau concerning agreements between credit card issuers and institutions of higher education or certain organizations affiliated with such institutions. Affiliated organizations include fraternities, sororities, alumni associations, or foundations affiliated with or related to an institution of higher education.

The Department of Justice announced yesterday that it has issued a memo on federal marijuana enforcement policy announcing a return to the rule of law and the rescission of previous guidance documents. Justice's press release said that, since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1970, Congress has generally prohibited the cultivation, distribution, and possession of marijuana. In the memorandum, Attorney General Jeff Sessions directs all U.S. Attorneys to enforce the laws enacted by Congress and to follow well-established principles when pursuing prosecutions related to marijuana activities. The memo to United States Attorneys includes a list of five previous guidance documents being rescinded, including "Cole #2," issued on February 14, 2014, to all U.S. Attorneys, "Guidance Regarding Marijuana Related Financial Crimes."

The FFIEC has made a download of 2018 CRA Data Entry Software available on its software page.

The Federal Reserve Board has requested comment on proposed guidance that would clarify the Board's supervisory expectations related to risk management for large financial institutions. The guidance is part of a broader initiative to develop a new rating system for large financial institutions that will align with the post-crisis supervisory program. In August 2017, the Board invited comment on the proposed rating system, which would reflect assessments of a firm's capital, liquidity, and governance and controls and also issued a proposal identifying attributes of effective boards of directors. The supervisory expectations described in the proposed guidance, as well as those for boards of directors, would help inform the Federal Reserve's overall supervisory evaluation of a firm's governance and controls. Comments must be received by March 15, 2018. [Published at 83 FR 1351 on 1/11/2018.]