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The Federal Reserve Board has issued an Order assessing a Nebraska bank a $33,785 penalty for a pattern or practice of violations of section 208.25 of Regulation H, which implements the National Flood Insurance Act. For more information, see this entry in our Penalties pages.

In a presentation at the Lendit USA 2017 conference, Comptroller Curry discussed financial technology innovation. His remarks highlighted the potential for responsible innovation to expand financial inclusion and improve the delivery of banking products and services. During the speech, the Comptroller also provided an update on initiatives by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to support responsible innovation within the federal banking system. At the same conference CFPB Directory Cordray delivered prepared remarks on three broad areas of special interest to the Bureau. First, the approach the CFPB takes to encouraging consumer-friendly innovations in consumer finance. Second, the Bureau's consideration of the issue of consumer control over their personal financial data. Third, the benefits and risks of using unconventional sources of data to underwrite loans as a way to open access to credit for more consumers.

The FDIC has issued a list of 76 state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in December 2016. Two were rated outstanding, 71 were rated satisfactory, and three received a needs to improve rating.

The NMLS has posted a reminder of the need for any mortgage loan originator who failed to complete the renewal process by December 31, 2016, to reactivate that registration before acting as a mortgage loan originator in 2017.

A CFPB Blog article provides a list of several companies that have indicated they offer existing credit card customers free access to one of their credit scores. The article advised, “If the company is on our list, check the comments they provided, or contact the company, to find out if the particular credit card that you have is eligible for the service. Make sure to also review the educational content the company provides along with the credit score to better understand the factors that affect your score. If your credit card company is not on our list, check the company’s website to see if they offer free credit scores.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a special edition of Supervisory Highlights -- Credit Reporting, detailing the problems in the credit reporting industry that the Bureau has uncovered and corrected through its oversight work. The Bureau reported that, since launching its supervision of the credit reporting market, it has identified significant issues with the quality of the credit information being provided by furnishers and maintained by credit reporting companies. The report outlines the actions that the CFPB has taken to address these ongoing problems, such as fixing data accuracy at credit reporting companies, repairing the broken dispute process, and cleaning up information being reported.

Bureau Director Richard Cordray spoke about the report and the work the Bureau is doing in the consumer reporting marketplace at the March 2 meeting of the CFPB Consumer Advisory Board in Washington.

The OCC has announced it will host two workshops at the Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, April 11-12, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations supervised by the OCC.

• The Credit Risk workshop on April 11 focuses on credit risk within the loan portfolio, such as identifying trends and recognizing problems. The workshop also covers the roles of the board and management, how to stay informed of changes in credit risk, and how to effect change.
• The Operational Risk workshop on April 12 focuses on the key components of operational risk—people, processes and systems. The workshop also covers governance, third-party risk, vendor management, and cybersecurity.

The CFPB Blog features an article advising consumers how to deal with bad credit or no credit when they want to buy a home.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has released the CRA evaluations for 17 national banks and federal savings associations. One institution was rated outstanding, 15 were rated satisfactory and one received a "needs to improve" rating.

The Federal Reserve Board has released the March 1, 2017 issue of the Beige Book. The report was prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, based on information collected through February 17, 2017. It summarizes comments received from contacts outside the Federal Reserve System.