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The CFPB has filed a complaint in federal district court against Access Funding, LLC for an illegal scheme in which victims of lead-paint poisoning and others signed away future settlement payments in exchange for a significantly lower lump-sum payout. The CFPB alleges that Access Funding steered victims to receive “independent advice” from a sham advisor, an attorney who was actually paid directly by the company and provided virtually no advice, indicating to consumers that the transactions required little scrutiny. In its suit, the CFPB seeks to put an end to the company’s unlawful practices, obtain relief for the harmed consumers, and impose penalties.

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The FDIC has issued FIL-78-2016 announcing the regulator will co-host an interagency webinar scheduled for December 1, 2016, that will focus on the Military Lending Act (MLA) regulations and the related, recently released Interpretive Rule.

Treasury has announced that its Federal Insurance Office (FIO) has released the first annual “Report on the Protection of Consumers and Access to Insurance.” The first-of-its-kind report addresses a range of consumer protection issues that are critical to the functioning of a stable and fair insurance marketplace.

The FDIC has published at 81 FR 83174 a proposal to remove subpart I of 12 CFR Part 390, the transferred OTS regulation on Consumer Protection in Sales of Insurance, and to amend 12 CFR Part 343 to consolidate its rules on that subject in a single regulation. Comments are due by January 20, 2017.

The CFPB has announced that the ceiling on allowable charges under section 612(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act will remain unchanged at $12.00, effective for 2017.

In remarks at the 11th Annual Community Banker Symposium in Chicago, Comptroller Curry discussed the agency’s supervisory priorities for community national banks and federal savings associations, responsible innovation, and how community banks can use collaboration to meet business goals and better serve bank customers.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced the issuance of SR 16-16 / CA 16-7 broadening the scope of post-employment restrictions applicable to Federal Reserve Bank senior examiners and officers. By law, senior bank examiners are prohibited for one year from accepting paid work from a financial institution that they had primary responsibility for examining in their last year of Reserve Bank employment. The revised policy expands the number of Reserve Bank examiners subject to this one-year post-employment restriction to include central points of contact (CPCs), deputy CPCs, senior supervisory officers (SSOs), deputy SSOs, enterprise risk officers, and supervisory team leaders. In addition, a new policy prohibits former Federal Reserve Bank officers from representing financial institutions and other third parties before current Federal Reserve System employees for one year after leaving their Federal Reserve positions. The restriction on former officers will be effective on December 5, 2016, and the revised senior examiner policy will be effective on January 2, 2017.

Treasury has announced that seventeen entries for individuals and entities have been deleted from the SDN List. Changes were made to three existing entries. See BankersOnline's OFAC Update for details.

OFAC has announced that registration is open for its 2016 Fall Symposium. The event will include presentations on OFAC regulations affecting all U.S. persons, as well as targeted reviews of sanctions concerns for new and updated OFAC programs. In addition to formal presentations, OFAC staff will be available throughout the day to answer questions on issues unique to a number of regulated industries.

The Treasury Department has announced that 120 organizations nationwide will receive a total of $7 billion in New Markets Tax Credit awards from its Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). The New Markets Tax Credit Program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a non-refundable tax credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). CDEs that receive the tax credit allocation authority under the program are domestic corporations or partnerships that provide loans, investments, or financial counseling in low-income urban and rural communities. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period.