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FinCEN has announced it has issued Advisory FIN-2017-A006 warning financial institutions of widespread public corruption in Venezuela and the methods Venezuelan senior political figures and their associates may use to move and hide proceeds of their corruption. The advisory also describes a number of financial red flags to assist in identifying and reporting suspicious activity that may be indicative of corruption.

In addition to background information on corruption among Venezuelan officials and on sanctions actions taken by OFAC, the Advisory includes suggested "red flags" that financial institutions should be alert for:

• Transactions involving Venezuelan government contracts that are directed to personal accounts.
• Transactions involving Venezuelan government contracts that are directed to companies that operate in an unrelated line of business (e.g., payments for construction projects directed to textile merchants).
• Transactions involving Venezuelan government contracts that originate with, or are directed to, entities that are shell corporations, general “trading companies,” or companies that lack a general business purpose.
• Documentation corroborating transactions involving Venezuelan government contracts (e.g., invoices) that include charges at substantially higher prices than market rates or that include overly simple documentation or lack traditional details (e.g., valuations for goods and services). Venezuelan officials who receive preferential access to U.S. dollars at the more favorable, official exchange rate may exploit this multi-tier exchange rate system for profit.
• Payments involving Venezuelan government contracts that originate from non-official Venezuelan accounts, particularly accounts located in jurisdictions outside of Venezuela (e.g., Panama or the Caribbean).
• Payments involving Venezuelan government contracts that originate from third parties that are not official Venezuelan government entities (e.g., shell companies).
• Cash deposits instead of wire transfers in the accounts of companies with Venezuelan government contracts.
• Transactions for the purchase of real estate—primarily in the South Florida and Houston, Texas regions—involving current or former Venezuelan government officials, family members or associates that is not commensurate with their official salaries.
• Corrupt Venezuelan government officials seeking to abuse a U.S. or foreign bank’s wealth management units by using complex financial transactions to move and hide corruption proceeds.

The Federal Reserve Board has issued the Federal Open Market Committee statement, the economic projections and projection materials from the September FOMC meeting.

The OCC has issued Bulletin 2017-37 reminding national banks and federal savings associations of the June 21, 2017, issuance by the OCC, FRB and FDIC of the host state loan-to-deposit (LTD) ratios used to determine compliance with section 109 of the Riegle–Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (IBBEA).

A federal court has found that Jeremy Foti and Charles Marshall, acting through Brookstone Law and Advantis Law, "made numerous false and/or misleading material statements to consumers" when selling legal services for purported mortgage relief. The court found that Foti and Marshall controlled or participated in the scheme, knew they were deceiving consumers, and illegally took more than $18 million from them. The Federal Trade Commission has asked the court to impose monetary judgments on Foti and Marshall, and ban them from any debt relief activities in the future.

• FTC press release

The CFPB has posted an article with tips for student loan borrowers with disabilities. Examples and eligibility for loans to be discharged are discussed.

The CFPB has announced a final rule modifying Regulation B to provide additional flexibility for mortgage lenders in the collection of consumer ethnicity and race information. The changes will provide greater clarity for mortgage lenders regarding their obligations under the law, while promoting compliance with rules intended to ensure consumers are treated fairly. Separately, the CFPB also seeks comment on proposed policy guidance describing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data the Bureau proposes to make available to the public beginning in 2019, including modifications to protect consumers’ privacy.

The Regulation B amendments will be effective January 1, 2018, except for the removal of the existing "Uniform Residential Loan Application" (URLA) from Appendix B will be effective January 1, 2022. Comments on the proposed policy guidance will be accepted for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register.

UPDATES: The proposed policy guidance was published at 82 FR 44586 on September 25, 2017. Comments will be accepted through November 24, 2017. The Regulation B amendments will be published on October 2, 2017.

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

• Building permits: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,300,000. This is 5.7 percent above the revised July rate of 1,230,000 and 8.3 percent above the August 2016 rate of 1,200,000. Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 800,000, 1.5 percent below the revised July figure of 812,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 464,000 in August.
• Housing Starts: Privately owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,180,000. This is 0.8 percent below the revised July estimate of 1,190,000 and 1.4 percent above the August 2016 rate of 1,164,000. Single-family housing starts in August were at a rate of 851,000, which is 1.6 percent above the revised July figure of 838,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 323,000.
• Housing Completions: Privately owned housing completions in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,075,000. This is 10.2 percent below the revised July estimate of 1,197,000 but is 3.4 percent above the August 2016 rate of 1,040,000. Single-family housing completions in August were at a rate of 724,000, 13.3 percent below the revised July rate of 835,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 348,000.

The CFPB filed a complaint in federal court and issued a proposed consent order yesterday against Top Notch Funding and two individuals associated with the company for lying in loan offerings to consumers who were awaiting payment from settlements in legal cases or from victim-compensation funds. These consumers included former National Football League players suffering from neurological disorders, victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil-rig disaster, and 9/11 first responders. In the complaint and proposed consent order, the CFPB is seeking to prevent Top Notch, its owner Rory Donadio, and his business associate John "Gene" Cavalli from offering or providing such products in the future, and to require them to pay $70,000 in civil money penalties to the CFPB's Civil Penalty Fund. The proposed penalties take into account the defendants' inability to pay more.

• CFPB press release

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced disaster assistance for storm victims in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the State of Georgia.

The FDIC has issued FIL-43-2017 with an update of previous information to reflect a major disaster declaration in Georgia. The FDIC encourages depository institutions to consider all reasonable and prudent steps to assist customers in communities affected by recent storms. The FDIC recognizes that efforts to work with borrowers in the affected communities can be consistent with safe-and-sound banking practices and in the public interest.