Top Story Compliance Related

The OCC has Issued Bulletins 2017-35 and 2017-36 to announce the revision of the "Flood Disaster Protection Act" and "Foreword" booklets of the Comptroller's Handbook.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has conducted an assessment of Ireland’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) system, based on the 2012 FATF Recommendations. This assessment reviews both the level of effectiveness of Ireland’s AML/CFT regime as well as its level of technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations. The assessment found Ireland has a sound and substantially effective regime to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing, but could do more to obtain money laundering and terrorist financing convictions and demonstrate its effectiveness in confiscating proceeds of crime.

The FDIC has issued FIL-40-2017 to announce the FFIEC's launch of a new Industry Outreach website for financial institutions, trade associations, third-party providers, and consultants. The website also provides access to upcoming FFIEC-sponsored webinars and includes an archive of past webinars.

In two final rules published in today's Federal Register, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has listed communities scheduled for suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program for noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program.

• 82 FR 42240—communities in Carroll County, IA, effective 9/15/2017
• 82 FR 42241—communities in Volusia County, FL; Hawaii County, HI; Henderson County, KY; Kittson County, MN; Chester County, PA; and Jackson County, WI, effective 9/29/2017

The Department of the Treasury announced multiple actions on Wednesday in response to the continued deterioration of the humanitarian situation in South Sudan and the role of officials of the South Sudanese Government in undermining the peace, security, and stability of the country. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two South Sudanese government officials and one former official for their roles in destabilizing South Sudan and three companies that are owned or controlled by one of the officials. Additionally, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory [FIN-2017-A004] to financial institutions concerning the potential movement of assets belonging to South Sudanese politically exposed persons.

For identification information on the designated individuals and entities, see our OFAC Update.

The CFPB announced Wednesday that it had taken action against an online lead aggregator for steering consumers toward lenders who offered illegal or unlicensed loans that were void in the consumer’s state. The CFPB's press release said Zero Parallel, LLC sold consumers’ payday and installment loan applications to lenders it knew were likely to make void loans that the lenders had no legal right to collect. The CFPB also submitted a proposed order in a separate case that would resolve a pending lawsuit against Zero Parallel’s owner, Davit Gasparyan, for engaging in similarly illegal conduct at his prior company, T3Leads. The CFPB ordered Zero Parallel to end its illegal conduct and pay a $100,000 penalty. The proposed order against Gasparyan, said the CFPB, would prohibit him from engaging in the same abusive practice and require him to pay a $250,000 penalty.

• Consent order against Zaro Parallel, LLC<.li>
• Proposed order with respect to Gasparyan
• Previous complaint against Gasparyan

On Wednesday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and state bank regulators issued a joint statement that they recognize the serious impact of Hurricane Irma on the customers and operations of many financial institutions and will provide regulatory assistance to affected institutions subject to their supervision. The agencies encouraged institutions in the affected areas to meet the financial services needs of their communities.

The regulators urged bankers to work constructively with borrowers in communities affected by the hurricane, adding that financial institutions may receive CRA consideration for community development loans, investments, or services that revitalize or stabilize federally designated disaster areas in their assessment areas or in the states or regions that include their assessment areas. They also encouraged bankers to appropriately monitor investments in municipal securities and loans that might be affected by the storm, and make prudent efforts as needed to stabilize such investments.

The statement also related a number of regulatory accommodations and other assistance available to assist banks that are heavily impacted by the storm.

FinCEN and the CFPB have issued a joint memorandum on financial institution and law enforcement efforts to combat elder financial exploitation.

OCC Bulletin 2017-33, issued Friday, announced an updated version of the "Change in Bank Control" booklet of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual.

The OCC has released ratings for 27 national banks and federal savings associations recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Seven institutions were rated outstanding, nineteen satisfactory, and one needs to improve.