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Yesterday, OFAC posted a number of removals from and updates to its SDN List. See our OFAC Update for identification information.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced yesterday it had reinforced existing sanctions on Russia by designating or identifying a range of individuals and entities involved in the ongoing conflict under four Executive orders (E.O.s) related to Russia and Ukraine. This action was designed in part to provide additional information to assist the private sector with sanctions compliance. U.S. sanctions on Russia related to the situation in eastern Ukraine will remain in place until Russia fully honors its obligations under the Minsk Agreements. U.S. sanctions related to Crimea will not be lifted until Russia ends its occupation of the peninsula.

OFAC designated 38 individuals and entities under Ukraine-related authorities, including one entity that has engaged in the evasion of existing sanctions, two Russian government officials and two individuals acting for or on behalf of a government official, two entities that are owned or controlled by an individual previously designated, and 11 individuals and entities that operate in the Crimea region of Ukraine.

As a result of OFAC's actions, any property or interest in property of the designated persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked. Additionally, transactions by U.S. persons involving these persons are generally prohibited.

OFAC also identified 20 subsidiaries that are owned 50 percent or more by the previously-designated AK Transneft OAO (Transneft), subject to Directive 2 under E.O. 13662, which prohibits U.S. persons from dealing in new debt of greater than 90 days maturity of the sanctioned entities.

See BankersOnline's OFAC Update for identification information on the individuals and entities involved.

The CFPB events calendar includes a public event on student loan servicing in Raleigh, North Carolina, at 10 a.m. EDT on June 22, 2017. Featured speakers will be Bureau Director Richard Cordray and North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.

The Federal Trade Commission has released the agenda and list of confirmed speakers for its upcoming workshop, The "2017 Military Consumer Financial Workshop: Protecting Those Who Protect Our Nation," to be held in San Antonio, Texas on July 19, 2017.

The FDIC has issued FIL-23-2017 announcing steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and to facilitate recovery in areas of Arkansas affected by severe weather from April 26 to May 19, 2017.

The OCC has announced its Office of Innovation will host Office Hours for national banks, federal savings associations, and financial technology companies, July 24–26, at the OCC’s district office in New York City. Office Hours provide an opportunity for meetings with OCC officials to discuss financial technology, new products or services, partnering with a bank or fintech company, or other matters related to financial innovation. OCC staff will provide feedback and respond to questions. Each meeting will be no longer than one hour. Interested parties may request a session through July 5, and are asked to provide information on why they are interested in meeting with the OCC. Specific meeting times and arrangements will be determined after the OCC receives and accepts the request.

HUD and the Bureau of the Census have jointly announced statistics on new residential construction for May 2017:

• Building permits—Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,168,000, which is 4.9 percent below the revised April rate of 1,228,000, and 0.8 percent below the May 2016 rate of 1,178,000. Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 779,000, 1.9 percent below the revised April figure of 794,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 358,000..
• Housing starts—Privately owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,092,000, 5.5 percent below the revised April estimate of 1,156,000, and 2.4 percent below the May 2016 rate of 1,119,000. Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 794,000, 3.9 percent below the revised April figure of 826,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 284,000.
• Completions—Privately owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,164,000, which is 5.6 percent above the revised April estimate of 1,102,000, and 14.6 percent above the May 2016 rate of 1,016,000. Single-family housing completions in May were at a rate of 817,000, 4.9 percent above the revised April rate of 779,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 335,000.

OFAC has posted new frequently asked questions in connection with last week's White House announcement of changes to U.S. policy with respect to Cuba.

The OCC has released a list of recent enforcement actions taken against national banks, federal savings associations, and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with national banks and federal savings associations. Included was one personal cease and desist order with an order for payment of an $8,000 civil money penalty against a former Illinois mortgage loan originator who sent customer information from his former employer to a prospective new employer without permission. There were also two removal/prohibition orders, and a cease and desist order against a Connecticut federal branch of UBS AG, a Swiss bank.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has reported that it took action Friday against Fared Saal (Saal), an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) facilitator, recruiter, and fighter. Saal is being designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and their supporters. As a result of Friday’s action, all property and interests in property of Saal subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with him. For identification information, see our OFAC Update.