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The OCC has released a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public in April 2017. Of the 18 institutions listed this month, one is rated "outstanding," 16 are rated "satisfactory" and one is rated "needs to improve."

The Bureau has added two new articles with advice for consumers to its Blog:

• making a decision to rent or buy a home
• taking time to consider when to claim Social Security benefits

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced yesterday the selection of Scott Schainost to be Deputy Comptroller for Midsize Bank Supervision and Troy Thornton to be Deputy Comptroller for the OCC’s Southern District.

Federal Reserve Bank Services has added a video providing a brief tutorial on proper techniques for packaging contaminated currency.to its Contaminated Currency and Coin page. It demonstrates how to properly double-bag a contaminated deposit and how to package less than a full bundle of contaminated notes in either a fan or linear fashion so that more than 50 percent of the note is visible in the bag.

• FRBS notice

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the OCC and Comptroller Curry to challenge the OCC's recent decision to create a new special-purpose national bank charter for financial technology and other nonbank companies, arguing that the OCC's licensing of such companies would go "far beyond the limited authority granted to it by Congress under the National Bank Act and other federal banking laws." The CSBS also alleges in its complaint that the OCC's decision to offer these special-purpose charters was in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief declaring the OCC's creation of the nonbank charter to be unlawful and enjoining the OCC from pursuing it.

• CBSC complaint

The NCUA announced on Monday it has received, on behalf of U.S. Central Federal Credit Union and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union, $445 million from UBS for claims arising from losses related to purchases of residential mortgage-backed securities by those corporate credit unions.

The FDIC has released a final handbook to assist parties interested in establishing new banks. As part of the FDIC's ongoing commitment to work with organizers, the handbook – Applying for Deposit Insurance – A Handbook for Organizers of De Novo Institutions – was designed to provide a plain-language overview of the requirements and considerations significant to the application process, and to provide organizers a clear and transparent explanation of the path to obtaining deposit insurance. The handbook offers guidance for navigating the three phases of establishing an insured institution: pre-filing activities, the application process, and pre-opening activities. It provides useful information for organizers of a new depository institution, and reflects comments from organizers and other interested parties during recent industry outreach events. The handbook does not establish new policy or guidance, or modify existing policy or guidance.

• See also FIL-17-2017

The White House has released the text of the remarks made by the president to the members of the Independent Community Bankers Association who visited the White House on May 1, 2017.

The Federal Reserve Board has posted G.5 foreign exchange rates data for April 2017.

The FDIC has released a list of 34 orders and one adjudicated decision for the month of March 2017. The administrative enforcement actions included five removal and prohibition orders, six Section 19 orders, two civil money penalties, four voluntary terminations of insurance; seven terminations of prior orders, and the adjudicated decision. Of note:

• A Nebraska bank was ordered to pay a $6,500 civil money penalty for violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act and Part 339 of the FDIC's Rules and Regulations
• An individual now or formerly an institution-affiliated person of a South Dakota bank was ordered to pay $15,000 in civil money penalties for unspecified transgressions
• Orders for termination of insurance (without deposits) were approved for:
  • Republic Bank, Bountiful, Utah
  • Builders Bank, Chicago, Illinois
  • Bank of Pine Hill, Pine Hill, Alabama
  • Banamex USA, Century City, California

The National Credit Union Administration reported that in April it issued five notices of prohibition to individuals who have been convicted of crimes of dishonesty and, as a result, are prohibited from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution. Four of those individuals had been ordered to make restitution in amounts ranging from a low of $5,180.63 to a high of $14.1 million.

The Federal Reserve has posted the February 2017 G.20 Finance Companies report of owned and managed receivables outstanding and auto loans: terms of credit.

In remarks at an event sponsored by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Comptroller Curry discussed the state of financial innovation and its potential to improve the lives of ordinary Americans and the bottom lines of businesses. He also highlighted what the OCC is doing to encourage responsible innovation within the federal banking system.

First NBC Bank, New Orleans, was closed on April 28, 2017, by the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Whitney Bank, Gulfport, Mississippi. At the time of closing, the receiver immediately transferred all transactional deposit accounts—checking, savings, NOW, and money market—of First NBC Bank to Whitney Bank. Whitney Bank also assumed certificates of deposit (CDs) securing loans. The FDIC will mail checks for time deposit accounts, including all other CDs, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and brokered deposits, directly to account holders on Monday, May 1. Whitney Bank will reopen all 29 branches of First NBC Bank for normal business hours as Whitney Bank in Louisiana (24 branches) and as Hancock Bank In Florida (five branches). First NBC Bank is the fourth FDIC-insured institution to fail this year, and the first in Louisiana. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Central Progressive Bank, Lacombe, on November 18, 2011.

OFAC has added the name of Mubarak Mohammed A Alotaibi, a Saudi national, to the Specially Designated Nationals List as a global terrorist. For identification information, see our OFAC Update.

The FHFA Index for March 2017 shows that nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from February to March, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts.

• The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.12 percent for loans closed in late March, down 15 basis points from 4.27 percent in February.
• The average interest rate on all mortgage loans was 4.12 percent, down 13 basis points from 4.25 in February.
• The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $424,100 or less was 4.24 percent, down 17 basis points from 4.41 in February.
• The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was 4.25 percent in March, down 13 basis points from 4.38 in February. The effective interest rate accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.
• The average loan amount for all loans was $312,700 in March, up $11,100 from $301,600 in February.

The OCC has announced it will host two workshops in Oklahoma City at the Aloft Oklahoma City Downtown-Bricktown, June 6-7, 2017, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations.

• The Risk Governance workshop on June 6 provides practical information for directors to effectively measure and manage risks. The workshop also focuses on the OCC’s approach to risk-based supervision and major risks in the financial industry.
• The Compliance Risk workshop on June 7 focuses on the critical elements of an effective compliance risk management program. The workshop also focuses on major compliance risks and critical regulations. Topics of discussion include the Bank Secrecy Act, Flood Disaster Protection Act, Fair Lending, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Community Reinvestment Act, and other compliance areas of interest.

The CFPB has released a report summarizing strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion used by mortgage industry participants. It highlights the business case for diversity along with current approaches and practices used in the mortgage industry, such as establishing buy-in from top leadership, integrating principles of inclusion in recruiting and hiring, and the importance of data in assessing the impact of diversity on keeping organizations competitive. The report is the result of the CFPB’s collaboration with the financial services industry to raise awareness of the importance of strengthening diversity and inclusion within organizations.

• Diversity and Inclusion in the Mortgage Industry: Readout from an Opening Roundtable

The CFPB has filed a complaint against four online lenders – Golden Valley Lending, Inc., Silver Cloud Financial, Inc., Mountain Summit Financial, Inc., and Majestic Lake Financial, Inc. – for deceiving consumers by collecting debt that the consumers did not legally owe. In the complaint, the CFPB alleges that the four lenders could not legally collect on these debts because the loans were void under state laws governing interest rate caps or the licensing of lenders. The CFPB also alleges that the lenders made deceptive demands and illegally took money from consumer bank accounts for debts that consumers did not legally owe. The CFPB seeks to stop the unlawful practices, recoup relief for harmed consumers, and impose a penalty.

The Bureau's complaint states that the four companies are owned and incorporated by the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake Indian Tribe, whose Rancheria is located in California.

• CFPB's Press Release

A message on the Department of Defense's Military Lending Act website states that the MLA service will be unavailable from 2–5 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, April 29, due to scheduled maintenance.

The CFPB took another swipe at SNAAC - - Security National Automotive Acceptance Company -- with a consent order that the Ohio-based auto lender specializing in loans to servicemembers pay an additional $1.25 million in penalties for noncompliance with an October 28, 2015, CFPB Administrative Order. According to the Bureau's press release the CFPB determined that SNAAC failed to provide more than $1 million in refunds and credits due under the earlier order to more than 1,000 consumers. In 2015, SNAAC paid a $1 million civil penalty and was supposed to make approximately $2.28 million in redress payments. Yesterday's CFPB press release reports that SNAAC treated accounts that were settled-in-full as having a positive account balance instead of providing refunds. These "account credits" were worthless to consumers who no longer owed SNAAC money and couldn't use the credits toward another loan with SNAAC, said the Bureau. SNAAC gave consumers whose accounts were discharged in bankruptcy the same worthless-credit treatment.

To ensure that the yet-to-be-completed redress payments will be properly delivered, the Bureau has now ordered SNAAC to pay the funds to the Bureau for redistribution to the consumers involved, along with a fee of $75,000 to the Bureau to cover the Bureau's costs involved. In addition, SNAAC must pay an additional civil money penalty of $1.25 million to the Bureau's Civil Penalty Fund. For additional information, see "CFPB hits SNAAC with another $1.25M CMP," in our Penalty Pages.

A SNAAC statement released yesterday reports that the settlement with the Bureau "resolves a disagreement between SNAAC and the CFPB over the interpretation of part of a Consent Order issued by the Bureau in October 2015," and that SNAAC agreed to the settlement "to close the matter and move forward in serving customers in the respectful, honorable manner that has been the company's tradition."

In remarks delivered yesterday at the FDIC Economic Inclusion Summit in Arlington, VA, Chairman Gruenberg focused on FDIC efforts to enhance economic inclusion and the lessons learned along the way. He noted that, since 2009, the FDIC has monitored consumer engagement with the banking industry through the biennial National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. The survey, conducted in cooperation with the Census Bureau, provides reliable measurements on access to and use of mainstream and alternative financial services at the national and state level and for 68 large metropolitan areas. In addition, the FDIC has undertaken a number of initiatives to expand economic inclusion. A key area of focus has been creating access to low-cost, safe transaction accounts.

The Bureau has released the Spring 2017 issue of Supervisory Highlights, announcing that its recent supervisory work has found that some student loan and mortgage servicers are violating the law by failing to provide struggling borrowers with legal protections. CFPB examiners found that some student loan servicers failed to refund charges imposed on borrowers who had been wrongly denied the right to defer payments while enrolled in school. The report also found that some mortgage servicers did not deliver the required foreclosure protections to borrowers seeking to save their homes, mishandled escrow accounts, and sent incomplete bills. The report also announced that non-public supervisory activities have led to the recovery of about $6.1 million for 16,000 consumers harmed by auto loan originators.

UPDATE: The Bureau is publishing this issue of Supervisory Highlights in the May 12, 2017, Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-09658.

The CFPB Events page includes an announcement of a May 10, 2017, field hearing in Los Angeles about small business lending. The hearing, scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. in Los Angeles), will be open to members of the public who register for the event no later than 10 a.m. EDT on May 10, and will be webcast live. Additional information can be found on the registration page for the hearing.

Because Bureau field hearings are often held in conjunction with related announcements from the agency, there is a possibility that Director Cordray will announce progress toward a rulemaking under Dodd-Frank Act section 1071 to require financial institutions to collect and maintain data related to credit applications from women- or minority-owned businesses and small businesses.

The Internal Revenue Service has published [82 FR 19455] in today's Federal Register a notice and request for comments concerning the Mortgage Interest Statement -- Form 1098. In the notice, the IRS noted that the form has been altered to add information on the mortgage's outstanding principal balance and origination date, and information on the mortgaged property.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency continued a series of after-the-fact publications of community suspensions from the National Flood Insurance Program for noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. In today's Federal Register, FEMA announced April 19, 2017, suspensions of communities in Louisiana (portions of St. Mary Parish), and Minnesota (portions of Fillmore, Goodhue, Lake of the Woods, Olmsted and Roseau Counties). [82 FR 19190]

U.S. house prices rose in February, up 0.8 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). In addition, HUD and the Census Bureau have jointly announced new residential sales statistics for March 2017:

• Sales of new single-family houses in March 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000, 5.8 percent above the revised February rate of 587,000 and 15.6 percent above the March 2016 estimate of 537,000.
• The median sales price of new houses sold in March 2017 was $315,100. The average sales price was $388,200.
• The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 268,000. This represents a supply of 5.2 months at the current sales rate.

The OCC has issued a consent order for the assessment of a $15 million civil money penalty against U.S. Bank National Association for bankruptcy filing violations. The OCC found that, between 2009 and 2014, the bank engaged in filing practices in bankruptcy courts with respect to proofs of claim, payment change notices, and post-petition fees, among others, that did not comply with bankruptcy rules and constituted unsafe or unsound banking practices. In addition to the civil money penalty, U.S. Bank has made or will make about $29 million in remediation payments to approximately 22,000 account holders.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has conducted an assessment of Sweden’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) system, based on the 2012 FATF Recommendations. The FATF indicates all the elements of Sweden’s AML/CFT supervisory system are in place, but there are weaknesses in applying risk-based supervision. Compliance by financial institutions and by designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) of their obligations is generally adequate: large banks have made significant efforts to enhance AML/CFT compliance, but there is a need to improve smaller financial institutions’ and DNFBPs’ understanding of the risks they are exposed to. There are also several remaining areas where Sweden’s AML/CFT regulations should be updated to reflect the 2012 FATF standards, reports the FATF. The full report and an executive summary were made available

The CFPB complaint snapshot for April 2017 highlights consumer complaints about student loans. The April summary shows that both private and federal student loan borrowers nationwide report persistent servicing breakdowns that may sideline their path to repayment. The report's geographic focus for April was on complaints coming from Nevada.

In one of the largest sanctions actions in its history, OFAC yesterday designated 271 employees of Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), the Syrian government agency responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons and the means to deliver them. The action was taken in response to the April 4, 2017 sarin attack on innocent civilians in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, by the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. This action was taken pursuant to E.O. 13582, which targets the Government of Syria and its supporters. As a result of this action, 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, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. For further information, see our OFAC Update.

The FDIC and the Federal Reserve have announced that Wells Fargo & Company has adequately remediated the deficiencies in its 2015 resolution plan. As a result, the firm will no longer be subject to growth restrictions imposed last year.

The OCC has issued a notice that it will host a public meeting of the Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee (MSAAC) on May 9, 2017, beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT at 400 7th Street SW, Washington, D.C.

The FDIC has announced its advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion (ComE-IN) will meet on April 27 to discuss measures banks may consider to reach underserved populations, such as collaborations with community-based organizations, resources for affordable mortgage lending, and new research that may be used to more effectively target resources to promote broader access to bank branches in underserved neighborhoods. The meeting will be open to the general public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the FDIC's Board Room, 6th Floor, 550 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Meeting agenda

A federal court, at the request of the FTC, has ordered Timothy Ford, the president of Commercial Recovery Systems Inc. (CRS), to pay a $2 million civil penalty for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by falsely threatening debtors. The lawsuit filed in 2015 by the FTC alleged that CRS's collectors falsely claimed the company would sue debtors, garnish their wages, levy their bank accounts, or seize their property unless their debts were paid.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint against a vice president in the risk management department of a New York-based investment bank charging him with insider trading on confidential information he learned in advance of a private equity firm’s acquisition of a publicly-traded technology company. The SEC alleges that Avaneesh Krishnamoorthy learned that Golden Gate Capital planned to acquire Neustar Inc., and he then began trading in Neustar securities. The trading took place in two brokerage accounts that Krishnamoorthy allegedly kept hidden from his employer, which had been approached by Golden Gate Capital to finance the transaction. According to the SEC’s complaint, Krishnamoorthy made approximately $48,000 in illicit profits.

The CFPB has published [82 FR 19142] its proposal to make technical corrections and to clarify certain requirements in the Bureau's HMDA (Regulation C) final rule published on October 28, 2015. Comments on the proposal are due by May 25, 2017.

U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement has announced that an El Paso woman was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison following her conviction for theft of government property and conspiracy to violate the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute. Dalia Valencia, who pleaded guilty in May 2016, was also ordered to pay over $80,000 in restitution to the families of her victims, and $49,897 to the Social Security Administration. A money judgment for $12,480,000 is to be paid jointly with her brothers Emmanuel Velasco Gurrola and Samuel Velasco Gurrola. Valencia is also to forfeit to the government real estate properties she owned in El Paso. Dalia Valencia's sister, Monica Velasco, remains a fugitive in this case.

The CFPB has posted a listing of online classes and seminars in support of Money Smart Week (April 22-29). They include: Ask CFPB, an online tool to find hundreds of clear, unbiased answers to common money questions; Owning a Home, a tool that guides one through the process; and Money as You Grow, which helps children build money skills, habits, and attitudes that can serve them well as adults.

The Federal Reserve Board has released the minutes of the April 14, 2017, meeting of the Community Depository institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC).