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Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard spoke on "Cryptocurrencies, Digital Currencies, and Distributed Ledger Technologies: What Are We Learning?" at yesterday's session of the Decoding Digital Currency Conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

FinCEN has circulated a reminder on May 8 that "Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) will no longer be accepted in ACSII format effective June 1, 2018. Financial institutions that batch file must file using the new XML format. If a financial institution is unable, then it must revert to the discrete option to file its reports until it is able to file using the new XML format."

The OCC has announced it will host an Operational Risk workshop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on June 20, 2018, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations supervised by the Agency. The workshop focuses on the key components of operational risk and also covers governance, third-party risk, vendor management, internal fraud, and cybersecurity.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced the launch of an additional online search feature that enables investors to research whether the individual trying to sell investments has a judgment or order entered against them in an enforcement action. The SEC Action Lookup for Individuals – or SALI – is intended to assist the public in making informed investment decisions and avoiding financial fraud.

The FTC has announced it will host a “Decrypting Cryptocurrency Scams” workshop in Chicago on June 25 to examine scams involving cryptocurrencies. The session will bring together consumer groups, law enforcement, research organizations, and the private sector to explore how scammers are exploiting public interest in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Litecoin and to discuss ways to empower and protect consumers.

The SEC has announced that Altaba Inc., the entity formerly known as Yahoo! Inc,. has agreed to pay a $35 million penalty to settle charges that it misled investors by failing to disclose one of the world’s largest data breaches in which hackers stole personal data relating to hundreds of millions of user accounts.

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.

FDIC FIL-21-2018, issued yesterday, announces the agency's move to electronic fingerprinting to facilitate background checks performed in connection with applications and notices submitted to the FDIC, including: applications for federal deposit insurance, notices of acquisition of control, requests for participation in the banking industry by individuals with certain criminal convictions (section 19 requests), and notices to replace board members or senior management in certain institutions. The FDIC will begin using the new process during the second quarter of 2018. Individuals will be able to be fingerprinted at more than 1,000 collection sites, across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, making it convenient to find a location.

The FDIC will host a forum on the Use of Technology in the Business of Banking on Monday, May 7, 2018. Panels will focus on emerging technologies that are transforming banking operations; the impact of emerging technologies on retail banking, including new and innovative delivery channels, enhanced customer experiences, and economic inclusion; and consumer financial data access—balancing rights and security. The forum will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. ET in the FDIC's Sheila C. Bair Auditorium, 3501 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia, 22226.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced the launch of a national education campaign to help small businesses strengthen their cyber defenses and protect sensitive data that they store. The Commission will develop and distribute reader-friendly educational materials with information about cybersecurity that small businesses need. The effort grew out of the Small Business & Cybersecurity Roundtables that the FTC hosted last year with small business owners and non-profit organizations, employees, and managers to learn about the challenges they face when dealing with cyber threats and security and ideas for how the government can help them.