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Top Story Lending Related

02/01/2024

NCUA bars former Virginia CU employee from industry

The NCUA has reported it has issued a consent prohibition notice against Kelly Givens, a former employee of FedStar Federal Credit Union, Salem, Virginia, after determining that she made unauthorized personal purchases using the Credit Union’s corporate credit card and caused the Credit Union to pay the card balances.

A prohibition order bars its recipient from participating in any way in the business of any insured depository institution or federal depository institution regulatory agency or the Federal Housing Finance Agency or any federal home loan bank without prior written consent of both the NCUA Board and the institution's appropriate regulatory agency.

02/01/2024

Latest Consumer Compliance Outlook available

The Federal Reserve has announced the availability of the latest issue of Consumer Compliance Outlook. The fourth issue of 2023 includes the following articles and features:

  • Top Federal Reserve Compliance Violations in 2022 Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act
  • Top Federal Reserve System Violations in 2022: Regulation E Error Resolution Requirements and Regulation X Escrow Account Requirements
  • Interagency Overview of the Community Reinvestment Act Final Rule
  • Regulatory Calendar
  • Calendar of Events

01/31/2024

MLA system release scheduled

The Department of Defense's Military Lending Act (MLA) website has added a notice that its next system release (version 5.18) is scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2024. It will include security and performance enhancements. The MLA website will be unavailable from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM PST (9 PM to midnight, EST) on February 15.

01/31/2024

FHFA releases 2024 Scorecard for Enterprises and CSS

Yesterday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency released the 2024 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (together, the Enterprises) and their joint venture, Common Securitization Solutions, LLC (CSS). Annually, FHFA releases a Scorecard to communicate and provide public awareness of its priorities and expectations for the Enterprises and CSS.

The 2024 Scorecard articulates specific Enterprise objectives that address multifamily rental housing needs, explore opportunities to mitigate risk in the evolving single-family property insurance market, and promote efficiency in the mortgage market. The Scorecard also identifies objectives for the Enterprises to continue to transfer meaningful credit risk to private investors and explore opportunities to harmonize their processes supporting the Single-Family Selling Representations and Warranties Framework. Further, the Scorecard directs that the Enterprises consider the impact of their objectives in all geographies, including rural areas.

01/31/2024

FHFA house price index up 0.3 percent in November 2023

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced that U.S. house prices rose in November, up 0.3 percent from October, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 6.6 percent from November 2022 to November 2023. The previously reported 0.3 percent price increase in October remained unchanged.

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from October 2023 to November 2023 ranged from -0.2 percent in the New England division to +0.7 percent in the Mountain division. The 12-month changes ranged from +3.1 percent in the West South Central division to +9.8 percent in the New England division.

01/30/2024

FinCEN seeks comment on info to be collected to get BOI data response

FinCEN has published [89 FR 5995] in the January 30, 2024, Federal Register a Notice and Request for Comments on the proposed information collection associated with requests made to FinCEN, by certain persons, for beneficial ownership information, consistent with the requirements of the Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards final rule.

Included in the notice are FinCEN's estimates of the burden to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, and for financial institutions. An appendix to the Notice and Request for Comments summarizes the proposed data fields to be submitted by authorized recipients. Financial institutions would submit the reporting company name, TIN type, and TIN, and a check mark agreeing to a system-provided certification of compliance statement.

Comments will be accepted through April 1, 2024.

Note: This proposal does not in any way change the current rule in 31 C.F.R. § 1010.230 requiring financial institutions to obtain certification of beneficial ownership information from its customers. Amendments to that rule are not expected until at least the end of 2024.

01/29/2024

FHFA house price index up 0.3 percent in October 2023

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has reported that U.S. house prices rose in October, up 0.3 percent from September, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index. House prices rose 6.3 percent from October 2022 to October 2023. The previously reported 0.6 percent price increase in September was revised to a 0.7 percent increase.

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from September 2023 to October 2023 ranged from -0.3 percent in the New England division to +1.1 percent in the Middle Atlantic division. The 12-month changes ranged from +2.6 percent in the Mountain division to +9.9 percent in the Middle Atlantic division.

01/25/2024

Fed ending Bank Term Funding Program March 11

The Federal Reserve Board announced yesterday that the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) will cease making new loans as scheduled on March 11. The program will continue to make loans until that time and is available as an additional source of liquidity for eligible institutions. After March 11, banks and other depository institutions will continue to have ready access to the discount window to meet liquidity needs, said the Board.

As the program ends, the interest rate applicable to new BTFP loans has been adjusted such that the rate on new loans extended from now through program expiration will be no lower than the interest rate on reserve balances in effect on the day the loan is made. This rate adjustment ensures that the BTFP continues to support the goals of the program in the current interest rate environment. This change is effective immediately. All other terms of the program are unchanged.

01/22/2024

CFPB and 7 states sue debt-relief enterprise for illegal actions

The CFPB has announced it has joined seven state attorneys general in suing Strategic Financial Solutions (SFS) and its web of shell companies for running an illegal debt-relief enterprise. The CFPB and state attorneys general also sued the chief architects of the illegal enterprise, Ryan Sasson and Jason Blust. The CFPB and attorneys general allege the enterprise has collected hundreds of millions of dollars in exorbitant, illegal fees from vulnerable consumers. The CFPB and attorneys general filed the suit under seal on January 10, 2024. They are requesting the court to order a stop to the enterprise’s illegal actions, order redress for consumers, and impose a civil money penalty. The seven states joining with the CFPB are Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

The Bureau's announcement says Strategic Financial Solutions markets itself as providing debt relief services. It has offices in New York City and Buffalo, New York. Ryan Sasson is the chief executive officer of SFS. SFS sits at the top of a web of shell companies and façade law firms, which are controlled by Sasson and fellow scheme architect Jason Blust. SFS runs an alleged scheme, involving dozens of entities, to dupe consumers and regulators. The company uses third parties to target financially vulnerable consumers with advertisements. The advertisements lead consumers to believe they may qualify for loans to help pay down debts. SFS employees then discuss these loans with consumers over the phone. Though SFS tells most, if not all, consumers that they do not qualify for the advertised loans, SFS encourages consumers to enroll in its debt-relief services. SFS promises that its network of law firms and lawyers will negotiate lower debt amounts.

In reality, say the CFPB and attorneys general, SFS provides little, if any, debt-relief service. SFS requires customers to make immediate payments into an escrow account. Long before it settles any debts, however, SFS collects the fees from the escrow account. While the illegal fees and false claims of legal assistance leave consumers worse off, Sasson and Blust pad their pockets through their web of shell companies that siphon the fees from the escrow accounts.

The CFPB and seven state attorneys general allege the actions of SFS violate the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The lawsuit also alleges violations of New York and Wisconsin state laws. Specifically, the complaint alleges that SFS harms consumers by charging illegal advance fees before any of a consumer's debts have been settled, and by falsely claiming that contracted law firms will negotiate lower payoff amounts.

01/19/2024

FTC pauses CARS Rule effective date

The Federal Trade Commission reported yesterday that is has issued an order postponing the effective date of the Combatting Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Rule while a legal challenge against the rule is pending.

Two industry groups have petitioned to overturn the rule, asserting that the rule should be stayed while the court challenge is pending. In its order, the Commission notes that these assertions rest on mischaracterizations of what the rule requires. Specifically, the Commission’s order points to the inaccurate argument that the rule will increase compliance costs for car dealers, which is not true for dealers who currently follow the law.

The rule was set to go into effect July 30, 2024.

  • Publication info: Published at 89 FR 13267 in the 2/22/2024 Federal Register

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