Top Story Compliance Related

The CFPB has announced the publication [81 FR 50484] in the Federal Register of a request for OMB approval for a new information collection aimed at further improving the complaint process for consumers and companies. The notice indicates the Bureau intends to give consumers the option to provide feedback on the company’s response to and handling of their complaints. The consumer would have the ability to rate the company’s handling of a complaint on a one-to-five scale and provide a narrative description in support of the rating. Consumer feedback will be shared with the company that responded to the complaint to inform its complaint handling and used to inform the CFPB's work to supervise companies and monitor the market for consumer financial products and services.

Comments on the proposed information gathering are due by September 30, 2016.

The NCUA has announced it has issued eight notices of prohibition to former employees of credit unions, each of whom had been convicted of crimes of dishonesty and, as a result, are now prohibited from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution.

FDIC seeks comments on appeals guidelines and lending guidance
The FDIC has announced it is seeking comments on updates to its guidelines for institutions to appeal certain material supervisory determinations and on draft examination guidance on third-party lending. The two items are part of a package issued by the FDIC Board to improve the transparency and clarity of the FDIC's supervisory policies and practices, and to ensure that institutions have clear and fair avenues to pursue when there are differences of opinion regarding supervisory matters. The proposed supervision appeals guidelines expand the circumstances under which banks may appeal a material supervisory determination. Comments on the supervision appeals guidelines will be accepted until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The proposed third-party lending guidance outlines the risks that may be associated with third-party lending as well as the expectations for a risk-management program, supervisory considerations, and examination procedures related to third-party lending. Comments on the third-party lending guidance will be accepted until September 12, 2016.

Update: On August 4, 2016, the FDIC announced it had extended the comment deadline for its draft exam guidance on third-party lending to October 27, 2016.

The FDIC has released a list of 20 orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in June. Included were one consent order, seven removal and prohibition orders, seven Section 19 orders, two terminations of insurance, three terminations of consent orders and cease and desist orders, and one adjudicated decision. One of the removal and prohibition orders included a $195,000 civil money penalty assessed on a former institution-affiliated party of a New York bank for engaging in unauthorized cash and ATM withdrawals from four bank customer accounts and forging customers’ signatures on checks to pay his own debts.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Bulletin 2016-25 has announced the issuance of a “Corporate and Risk Governance” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook. The new booklet updates, consolidates and rescinds a number of older booklets in the Handbook.

HUD has reached a Conciliation Agreement with Philadelphia-based Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania and Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank, collectively known as Citizens Bank, settling allegations that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act when it told a female applicant that she would need to return to work before her application for a home equity line of credit could be approved. The woman filed a complaint alleging that Citizens Bank discriminated against her based on her familial status when it delayed the processing of her loan application because she was on maternity leave, despite the fact that she was receiving her full pay. Under the terms of the agreement, Citizens Bank will pay the woman $40,000, provide fair housing training to its staff, and adopt a parental leave policy making it clear that all loan products are to be made available, regardless of an applicant's parental status. Citizens Bank will also make a $75,000 donation to a HUD-approved fair housing or advocacy organization.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray hinted months ago that the Bureau was working on amendments to clarify and refine the "Know Before You Owe" TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule, and that it was likely to be ready in July 2016. The proposal was announced Friday, July 29, the last business day of the month. The Bureau reports that the proposed amendments memorialize the Bureau’s informal guidance on various issues and include clarifications and technical amendments. The Bureau is also proposing tolerance provisions for the total of payments, an adjustment to a partial exemption mainly affecting housing finance agencies and nonprofits, extension of coverage of the integrated disclosure requirements to all cooperative units, and guidance on sharing the disclosures with various parties involved in the mortgage origination process. Comments on the proposal are due by October 18, 2016.

Update: The proposed rule was published on August 15, 2016, at 81 FR 54317, in the Federal Register.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published [81 FR 49869] in this morning's Federal Register a CFR correction to add Comment 41(e)(5) Consumers in bankruptcy and paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 to Supplement I to Regulation Z. This portion of the Official Interpretations of the regulation was issued earlier (and is included on BankersOnline's Regulation Z § 1026.41 page), but was mistakenly omitted when updating the official Code of Federal Regulations.

The NCUA has announced that credit union board members can learn more about the purpose, process and components of an NCUA examination in a new four-part video released on the National Credit Union Administration’s YouTube channel. The video provides an overview of the NCUA examination process, including the small credit union examination program. Viewers will learn more about:

• What risk categories NCUA assesses during the examination process,
• How CAMEL ratings are determined, and
• How a credit union can prepare for an exam.

The FFIEC's CRA/HMDA Software Downloads page has been updated to provide downloads of CRA and HMDA data entry software, version 2016 R-2. This version facilitates data entry for calendar year 2016 data that must be submitted by March 1, 2017.