Top Story Lending Related

The Federal Reserve Board has issued an Order of Assessment of a civil money penalty of $37,000 on First State Bank Nebraska for its pattern or practice of unspecified violations of Federal Reserve Regulation H, 12 CFR 208.25, which implements the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Act.

BOL's Andy Zavoina notes that 2019 flood violation civil money penalties to date are 151 percent of the total for all of 2018, at $759,000.

The FDIC has released a list of banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. Bank evaluations are given ratings of Substantial Non-Compliance, Needs to Improve, Satisfactory or Outstanding. Of the 73 banks listed, 68 received Satisfactory ratings, one bank was rated Needs to Improve, and these four banks were awarded Outstanding ratings (links are to their evaluations):

• Live Oak Banking Company, Wilmington, NC
• Community State Bank, Lamar, CO
• Citizens Bank, Byhalia, MS
• Mechanics Bank, Walnut Creek, CA

The September Beige Book has been posted by the Reserve Board, with information collected on or before August 23, 2019, and summarizes comments received from outside the Federal Reserve System.

On balance, reports from Federal Reserve Districts suggested that the economy expanded at a modest pace through the end of August. Although concerns regarding tariffs and trade policy uncertainty continued, the majority of businesses remained optimistic about the near-term outlook. Reports on consumer spending were mixed, although auto sales for most Districts grew at a modest pace. Tourism activity since the previous report remained solid in most reporting Districts. On balance, transportation activity softened, which some reporting Districts attributed to slowing global demand and heightened trade tensions. Home sales remained constrained in the majority of Districts due primarily to low inventory levels, and new home construction activity remained flat.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has published a notice [84 FR 46685] in today's Federal Register identifying communities in Oklahoma scheduled for suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program on September 13, 2019, for failure to comply with the floodplain management requirements of the program.

The communities listed are Afton, Bernice, Bluejacket, Disney, Jay, Miami, Vinita, and unincorporated areas of Craig and Mayes Counties.

The NMLS has announced its launch of a new Temporary Authority to Operate webpage in its Resource Center to help federally registered mortgage loan originators seek state licensure, and state-licensed MLOs seek licensure in another state, as allowed under a provision of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 that amends the S.A.F.E. Act of 2008 effective November 24, 2019.

The FFIEC has announced the availability of data on mortgage lending transactions at 5,683 U.S. financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Covered institutions include banks, savings associations, credit unions, and mortgage companies. Released today are loan-level HMDA data covering 2018 lending activity that were submitted on or before August 7, 2019. The HMDA loan-level data available to the public will be updated, on an ongoing basis, to reflect late submissions and resubmissions. Accordingly, loan-level data downloaded from https://ffiec.cfpb.gov/ at a later date will include any such updated data.

The FFIEC also posted a Modified LAR browser for accessing a downloadable modified LAR file for each HMDA filer that has submitted data on its 2018 (or 2017) lending, along with information on the modified file specifications, schemas, and instructions.

The FDIC has issued the lists of institutions scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the fourth quarter of 2019 and first quarter of 2020.

OFAC has announced the North Korea-related designations of two individuals and three entities, and further identified one vessel as blocked property. Taiwan-based individuals Huang Wang Ken and Chen Mei Hsiang and the Taiwan-based entities Jui Pang Shipping Co Ltd (Jui Pang) and Jui Zong Ship Management Co Ltd (Jui Zong), as well as Hong Kong-based entity Jui Cheng Shipping Company Limited (Jui Cheng) were designated. For identification details, see BankersOnline's OFAC Update.

OFAC also announced its designation of the Adrian Darya 1, an oil tanker transporting Iranian crude oil ultimately benefiting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and the tanker's captain, Akhilesh Kumar. Identification details are in this BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The FDIC has issued a list of recent enforcement actions recently taken against FDIC-supervised institutions and individuals now or formerly associated with FDIC-supervised institutions. Among those actions was a consent order to pay a $12,400 civil money penalty issued to a Marksville, Louisiana, bank for a pattern or practice of violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act.

The FDIC also issued a Prohibition Order to a former accounting clerk at Boonville Federal Savings Bank, Boonville, Indiana, having found that she had transferred over $132,000 in bank funds to an account she controlled and used the funds for her personal benefit. A Notice of Charges and Hearing were issued to a former executive vice president and commercial relationship manager of First NBC Bank (in receivership), New Orleans, Louisiana, notifying the respondent of the FDIC's intention to prohibit him from further participation in the business of banking, and assess a civil money penalty of $125,000. The Notice provides the respondent an opportunity to be heard at an administrative hearing concerning the FDIC's allegations of numerous lending irregularities.

In addition, four financial institutions were issued consent orders to cease and desist.

The Federal Housing Administration has expanded the foreclosure prevention options available to borrowers in Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Areas (PDMDAs) with delinquent FHA-insured mortgages to bring their mortgages current without increasing their interest rates or principal and interest payments. Effective immediately, FHA’s “Disaster Standalone Partial Claim” will now be a standard mortgage relief option available for all victims of natural disasters in all PDMDAs. The Disaster Standalone Partial Claim option provides these homeowners with an opportunity to be evaluated for a permanent loss mitigation solution. This option is a solution for many homeowners seeking to cure arrearages and resume making payments without modifying their loan and re-amortizing the loan term.

A letter regarding the additional options has been transmitted to mortgage servicers.