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The FDIC has issued FIL-22-2018 and an Advisory on the development and testing of a standardized export of imaged loan documents in an effort to streamline examination processes. This initiative is anticipated to improve efficiencies during onsite examination activities and provide additional opportunities for conducting examination activities offsite. The FDIC will conduct a teleconference at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, on May 16, 2018, for FDIC-supervised institutions interested in learning more about the project. The FDIC's Advisory has more information on the teleconference.

U.S. house prices rose in February, up 0.6 percent from the previous month, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) news release on its seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.8 percent increase in January was revised upward to 0.9 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. From February 2017 to February 2018, house prices were up 7.2 percent. More information on the HPI can be found on the agency's HPI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

HUD and the Census Bureau have jointly announced statistics on new residential sales for March 2018:

• New Home Sales: Sales of new single-family houses in March 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 694,000. This is 4.0 percent above the revised February rate of 667,000 and is 8.8 percent above the March 2017 estimate of 638,000.
• Sales Price: The median sales price of new houses sold in March 2018 was $337,200. The average sales price was $369,900.
• For Sale Inventory: The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 301,000. This represents a supply of 5.2 months at the current sales rate.

The rumors in this week's press weren't "fake news." Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. has reached a settlement with the CFPB and the OCC, agreeing to reimburse consumers harmed by the bank's administration of a mandatory insurance program related to automobile loans and by how the bank charged some borrowers for mortgage interest rate-lock extensions. The CFPB's press release says that Wells Fargo will remediate harmed consumers and undertake certain activities related to its risk management and compliance management. The Bureau assessed a $1 billion penalty against the bank and credited a $500 million penalty collected by the OCC toward the satisfaction of its fine.

The OCC's press release reports that the bank's actions were unsafe or unsound, and that it has ordered the bank to make restitution and to develop and implement an effective enterprise-wide compliance risk management program. The OCC reserved the right to "take additional supervisory action, including imposing business restrictions and making changes to executive officers or members of the bank’s board of directors." The OCC's order also modifies restrictions placed on the bank in November 2016 relating to the approval of severance payments to employees and the appointment of senior executive officers or board members. The original restrictions related to severance payments applied to all employees, which unnecessarily delayed severance payments to employees who were not responsible for the bank’s deficiencies or violations. This order maintains restrictions on the approval of severance payments to senior and executive officers and the appointment of senior executive officers or board members.

• CFPB consent order
• OCC CMP order
• OCC Cease and Desist order

The Federal Reserve Board has released Consumer Affairs Letter 18-3 with revised interagency examination procedures for Regulations X (RESPA) and Z (TILA), recently developed by the Task Force on Consumer Compliance of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has released its April 2018 report of enforcement actions taken against national banks, federal savings associations, and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with national banks and federal savings associations. The report includes one action taken in February, and seven in March.

• A Seattle, Washington, bank was issued an Order to Cease and Desist based on findings that the bank had deficiencies in its BSA/AML compliance program.
• Three individuals now or formerly affiliated with Merchants Bank of California, NA, of Carson, California, were issued orders to pay civil money penalties totaling $60,000. Two of those individuals were also issued personal cease and desist orders.
• Two former personal bankers with JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, Columbus, Ohio (theft of bank funds from vault on two occasions) , and Wells Fargo Bank, NA, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (misappropriation of over $59,000 from a bank customer), were issued removal/prohibition orders.

The April 2018 issue of the Beige Book has been released by the Federal Reserve Board. The report was prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas based on information collected on or before April 9, 2018. A summary was also released. This document summarizes comments received from contacts outside the Federal Reserve System and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials. The report indicates that the economy continued to grow across all 12 Federal Reserve districts at a modest to moderate pace in March and early April.

The U.S. Senate yesterday approved S.J.Res.57, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the CFPB's guidance relating to "Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act." The CFPB's guidance (CFPB Bulletin 2013-02, March 21, 2013) constitutes a rule under the Congressional Review Act, according to a December 5, 2017, opinion from the Government Accountability Office, and the sixty-legislative-day period provided in the Congressional Review Act was reset when the GAO opinion was issued. The resolution now goes to the House and, if approved there, to the president for signing.

In a speech delivered at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Community Development Gathering in Baltimore, Maryland, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard commented on community development efforts in Baltimore. and offered insights into current regulator efforts to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act's implementing regulations.

The Federal Reserve has released March G.17 industrial production and capacity utilization data. Industrial production rose 0.5 percent in March after increasing 1.0 percent in February; the index advanced 4.5 percent at an annual rate for the first quarter as a whole. Manufacturing production edged up 0.1 percent. The index for utilities was up 3.0 percent.