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The CFPB has issued the sixth in its series of requests for information (RFIs) as part of Acting Director Mick Mulvaney's call for evidence to ensure the Bureau is fulfilling the proper and appropriate functions to protect consumers. The latest RFI asks public input about the Bureau's public reporting of consumer complaints. Federal Register publication is expected on March 7, with a 90-day comment period ending June 5, 2018.

The Bureau expects to issue six more RFIs in the "call for evidence" series:

• Rulemaking Processes
• Bureau Adopted Rules
• Inherited Rules
• Guidance and Implementation Support
• Consumer Education
• Consumer Inquiries

UPDATE: The RFI was published in the 3/6/18 Federal Register, with a comment period ending June 4, 2018.

The Federal Trade Commission has released the results of its annual survey of complaints reported by consumers. While the number of complaints about fraud from consumers dropped in 2017, consumers reported losing more money than they did in 2016, according to the Commission’s 2017 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. Although reports about debt collection declined between 2016 and 2017, it remained the top consumer complaint category, making up about 23 percent of all complaints. The high number of debt collection reports was due in part to reports submitted by a data contributor that collects complaints via a mobile app. Identity theft was the second biggest category, making up nearly 14 percent of all the consumer complaints. Credit card fraud was the most common type of identity theft reported by consumers. Tax fraud was the second most common type of identity theft reported despite falling by 46 percent from 2016. The FTC also posted blog articles with the top frauds of 2017 and a recap of the consumer complaint data.

OFAC has announced the amendment and reissuance in its entirety of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations in order to implement Executive Orders and to reference the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 and the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017. Pursuant to these authorities, all property and interests in property of the Government of North Korea and the Workers’ Party of Korea are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them without authorization from OFAC and must block property or interests in property that are in, or come within, the United States or the possession of a U.S. person. In addition, these authorities provide the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, additional tools to disrupt North Korea’s ability to fund its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. OFAC also published new and updated North Korea-related FAQs.

UPDATE:The regulations were published in the Federal Register, and the changes took effect, on March 5, 2018.

OFAC has added counter-terrorism designations to its SDN list for two individuals and seven organizations. For identification information, see our OFAC Update.

The NMLS has posted a notice on its Resource Center that the Conference of State Bank Supervisors has reset the launch of NMLS 2.0 for the second quarter of 2019.

The OCC has published the latest edition of its Community Developments Investments newsletter titled "Expanding Housing Opportunities: Single-Family Rehabilitation Financing Programs." The edition discusses how national banks and federal savings associations can help revitalize communities by establishing housing rehabilitation loan programs. The publication describes how banks can make home renovation loans in distressed areas with guidance for such programs set out in OCC Bulletin 2017-28.

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

The FTC has announced that it has reached a settlement with PayPal, Inc. over allegations that the company told users of its Venmo peer-to-peer payment service that money credited to their Venmo balances could be transferred to external bank accounts without adequately disclosing that the transactions were still subject to review and that funds could be frozen or removed. A complaint filed by the FTC also charged that Venmo misled consumers about the extent to which they could control the privacy of their transactions. In addition, Venmo misrepresented the extent to which consumers’ financial accounts were protected by “bank grade security systems,” and violated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards and Privacy Rules. As part of the proposed settlement, Venmo is prohibited from misrepresenting any material restrictions on the use of its service, the extent of control provided by any privacy settings, and the extent to which Venmo implements or adheres to a particular level of security. Venmo is also required to make certain disclosures to consumers about its transaction and privacy practices, and is prohibited from violating the Privacy Rule and the Safeguards Rule. Consistent with several past cases involving violations of Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Rules, Venmo is required to obtain biennial third-party assessments of its compliance with these rules for 10 years.

Yesterday, OFAC sanctioned six individuals, 24 entities, and seven vessels under Executive Order 13726 for threatening the peace, security, or stability of Libya through the illicit production, refining, brokering, sale, purchase, or export of Libyan oil or for being owned or controlled by designated persons. Illicit exploitation of Libyan oil is condemned by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2146 (2014) as modified by 2362 (2017). As a result of OFAC's action, any property or interest in property of those designated by OFAC within U.S. jurisdiction is blocked. Additionally, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with blocked persons, including entities owned or controlled by designated persons. Identification information for the 37 designees can be seen in our OFAC Update.

The FDIC has released a list of orders of twelve administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in January, including four Section 19 orders, three removal and prohibition orders, two civil money penalties, and three terminations of consent orders.

The two civil money penalties were assessed for flood insurance violations against banks in Michigan ($14,000) and Wisconsin ($5,000). The removal and prohibition orders were issued to individuals formerly affiliated with banks in Honolulu, Hawaii; Altamont, Kansas and Elizabeth, New Jersey.