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The Federal Reserve Board is publishing amendments to Regulations A and D in today's Federal Register. The Regulation A amendment changes the interest rates in § 201.51(a) for primary credit and in § 201.51(b) for secondary credit provided to depository institutions by the Federal Reserve Banks to 2.25 percent and 2.75 percent, respectively, effective today, and applicable to credit extended beginning March 22. The Regulation D amendment increases the interest rates in § 204.10(b)(5) paid by the Federal Reserve Banks on required and excess reserves to 1.75 percent effective today and applicable to reserve balances beginning March 22. Both changes have been posted to BankersOnline's Regulations pages.

The Treasury Department has announced that, in a coordinated action with the U.S. Department of Justice, OFAC has designated one Iranian entity and 10 Iranian individuals under Executive Order (E.O.) 13694, “Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities,” as amended. The entity and individuals designated on March 23 engaged in the theft of valuable intellectual property and data from hundreds of U.S. and third-country universities and a media company for private financial gain.

As a result of Friday’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. For identification information, see our March 23, 2018, OFAC Update.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced that it is seeking to permanently bar Raysos Villalobos, a/k/a Ray Galvan, a former employee of Frost Bank, San Antonio, Texas, from employment in the banking industry and to impose a $9,819 fine and require a payment of $35,000 in restitution to Frost Bank. The former personal banker is alleged to have misappropriated approximately $30,000 from a bank customer's safe deposit box. The Board's notice of enforcement action alleges that Villalobos’ conduct constituted violations of law and unsafe or unsound banking practices.

The CFPB has announced the ninth in its planned series of a dozen requests for information (RFIs) as part of Acting Director Mack Mulvaney's "call for evidence" to ensure the Bureau is fulfilling it proper and appropriate functions to best protect consumers. This RFI focuses on the Bureau's inherited regulations and inherited rulemaking authorities. The RFI is scheduled for publication on March 26, to be followed by a 91-day comment period ending on June 25, 2018.

OFAC has released an SDN List Update adding an individual and an entity, and updating an individual listing. See our OFAC Update for related identity information.

The members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) have announced an update on the FFIEC's Examination Modernization Project, undertaken as a follow-up to the review of regulations under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA). The agencies plan to focus initial efforts on four areas that have the potential for the most meaningful supervisory burden reduction:

• Highlight and reinforce regulator communication objectives before, during, and after examinations;
• Leverage technology and shift, as appropriate, examination work from onsite to offsite;
• Continue to tailor examinations based on risk; and
• Improve electronic file transfer systems to facilitate the secure exchange of information between institutions and supervisory offices or examiners.

The Examination Modernization Project is expected to be a long-term endeavor and other areas of improvement may emerge. As a first step, and to address the first theme, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the State Liaison Committee have each committed to issue reinforcing and clarifying guidance to examination staff about the importance of being clear and transparent to community bankers during examination processes.

The CFPB is publishing in the March 22, 2018, Federal Register three notices extending the comment periods on Requests for Information relating to Acting Director Mick Mulvaney's "call for evidence" campaign.

• The comment deadline on the RFI regarding Bureau Rules of Practice for Adjudication Proceeds is changed from April 6 to May 7, 2018
• The deadline for comments on the RFI regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes is changed from March 27 to April 26, 2018
• The comment deadline on the RFI regarding Bureau Enforcement Processes was moved from April 13 to May 14, 2018

We've adjusted the dates in our Compliance Deadlines Calendar.

The Financial Action Task Force has issued reports on Spain’s and Norway’s progress in strengthening measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced they have reported on their 2017 activities to combat illegal debt collection practices. The annual report to Congress on the administration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) details the agencies' efforts to stop unlawful debt collection practices, including vigorous law enforcement, education and public outreach, and policy initiatives. The agencies share enforcement responsibilities under the FDCPA.

The NMLS Mortgage Industry Report for the fourth quarter of 2017 is now available. Updates to the Money Services Businesses Fact Sheet and Debt Collection Fact Sheet have also been posted.

• NMLS Reports Page