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The FDIC has issued FIL-36-2016 on the Summary of Deposits (SOD), the annual survey of branch office deposits as of June 30 for all FDIC-insured institutions, including insured U.S. branches of foreign banks. All institutions with branch offices are required to submit the survey; institutions with only a main office are exempt. All survey responses are required by July 31, 2016. The FDIC emphasized two key instructions for this year's submission:

• Beginning this year, the SOD survey will be collected using the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's (FFIEC) Central Data Repository (CDR). The use of FDICconnect to submit the survey has been discontinued. The notice was issued earlier than usual this year to provide ample time for institutions to prepare for this change.
• The individual responsible for submitting an institution's SOD survey must have an account with the CDR. A separate CDR account is not necessary if the SOD submitter and Call Report submitter are the same individual. Instructions for requesting a CDR account are provided under "Accessing the Central Data Repository" on page 2 of the FIL. SOD reporting instructions, survey worksheets, access to the CDR, and additional details are available on the FDIC's Bank Financial Reports webpage.

The FDIC has issued a list of institutions that the agency has scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the third quarter of 2016.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has released a list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in April, 2016. The 44 orders listed included one cease and desist order; three consent orders; 15 removal and prohibition orders; seven Section 19 orders; seven civil money penalties; one amended order to pay; eight terminations of consent orders and cease and desist orders; and two notices. A Minnesota bank was ordered to pay $2,000 for violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act. CMPs were levied against five individuals in amounts ranging from $25,000 to $90,000 for unspecified infractions. Each of the five was also issued a removal and prohibition order.

The NCUA has begun a multi-pronged outreach effort to collect experiences and ideas from credit union system stakeholders through its Exam Flexibility Initiative. Credit unions are requested to evaluate the agency’s examination and supervision program. The initiative will include meetings and teleconferences, and the agency has already opened an email account for credit unions to provide comments, and created a webpage to provide information about the initiative.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced the filing of an administration consent order against a former Wells Fargo employee for an illegal mortgage fee-shifting scheme. The CFPB found that David Eghbali referred a substantial number of loan closings to a single escrow company, which shifted its fees from some customers to others at Eghbali’s request. Eghbali could then manipulate loan costs and ultimately increase the number of loans he closed, increasing his commissions. The consent order requires Eghbali to pay an $85,000 civil money penalty and bans him from working in the mortgage industry for one year.

A Save the Date has been posted on the Bureau Blog for a meeting of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 9 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT. The meeting will discuss an auto lending education initiative, trends and themes, and payday lending.

The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida have announced actions taken against two operations charged with running phony student loan debt relief schemes, and defendants in a similar FTC action brought earlier this year have agreed to a ban on participating in any debt relief business, as part of a consumer protection crackdown to combat such frauds.

In the first case, the operators of Consumer Assistance Project lured borrowers with promises such as “GET RID OF YOUR DEBT TODAY!” and charge illegal up-front fees for their purported services, typically $250, plus monthly fees of up to $303 for as long as 36 months. In the second case. an operation called Student Aid Center Inc. enticed people with promises such as “Get Your Student Loans Forgiven Now!” and “$17,500 in Up Front Forgiveness."

The operators of another student debt relief scheme have agreed to a settlement with the FTC that will permanently ban them from the debt relief business. The FTC alleged that Tobias West and his wife, Komal West, the owners of Good EBusiness, Select Student Loan Help LLC, and Select Document Preparation Inc., charged consumers up-front fees of $500 to $800 based on phony claims that they could renegotiate, settle, or alter payment terms on student loan debt. In addition, the FTC charged that two of the defendants deceptively marketed home loan and student modification services under the name “AAP Firm,” and illegally charged advance fees ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

OFAC has announced the designation of two terrorist groups. See our OFAC Update for details.

The OCC will hold a workshop for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations in Santa Ana, California., at the DoubleTree Santa Ana-Orange County Airport Hotel, July 11–13. The "Building Blocks for Directors" workshop combines lectures, discussion, and exercises to provide practical information on the roles and responsibilities of board participation for both new and experienced directors.

The May issue of the CFPB's Monthly Complaint Report focuses on credit reporting complaints. The Bureau reports that consumers continue to complain about incorrect information on their credit reports as well as difficulty having errors resolved. This month’s report also highlights trends seen in complaints coming from New Mexico.