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HUD has announced that has entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement-Conciliation Agreement (VCA-CA) with Cushing Housing Inc. requiring Cushing House to pay $300,000 to individuals, including former tenants, who were subjected to housing discrimination at Cushing’s property.

The agreement stems from a complaint filed by tenants alleging Cushing Housing violated civil rights laws when it failed to address serious, racially motivated harassment that denied them the ability to peacefully enjoy their housing. The harassment was so severe that it left them fearful of leaving their apartment and took a substantial toll on their mental health. The VCA-CA resolves HUD’s October 26, 2022 Letter of Findings, which found Cushing House discriminated against the tenants in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In addition to the $300,000 payment to complainants and an aggrieved individual, the agreement requires Cushing Housing to establish an anti-harassment policy as well as a fair housing and civil rights compliance policy. Both policies must be made available to all tenants and include formal grievance procedures. Respondents are also required to obtain fair housing and civil rights training for all officers, agents, and employees.

OFAC has announced it has entered into a settlement with Nasdaq, Inc. for $4,040,923 related to apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations by its former Armenian subsidiary, Nasdaq OMX Armenia OJSC, the former owner and operator of the Armenian Stock Exchange (ASE).

Nasdaq OMX Armenia processed trades and settled payments through the ASE platform involving the OFAC-designated Armenian subsidiary of Iran's state-owned Bank Mellat. In doing so, Nasdaq OMX Armenia knowingly engaged in the exportation of services to Iran and the Iranian government, thereby committing 151 apparent violations of the OFAC sanctions on Iran. The settlement amount reflects OFAC’s determination that the apparent violations were non-egregious and voluntarily self-disclosed.

For additional information on OFAC's settlement with Nasdaq, Inc., see this BankersOnline Penalty page.

FinCEN has announced it will host a webinar on beneficial ownership information reporting requirements on Wednesday, December 13, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

Note: Registration for the webinar has closed, due to high demand.

Yesterday, the Department of the Treasury reported that OFAC has sanctioned two former Afghan government officials — Mir Rahman Rahmani (M. Rahmani) and his son, Ajmal Rahmani (A. Rahmani), collectively known as “the Rahmanis” — for their extensive roles in transnational corruption, as well as 44 associated entities. These individuals and entities were designated under Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. Through their Afghan companies, the Rahmanis perpetrated a complex procurement corruption scheme resulting in the misappropriation of millions of dollars from U.S. Government-funded contracts that supported Afghan security forces.

Concurrently, the Department of State designated Mir Rahman Rahmani, Ajmal Rahmani, and their immediate family members, under Section 7031(c) of the annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for involvement in significant corruption as a public official.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entities, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The FDIC on Monday reported that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors established to oversee an independent third-party review of the agency's workplace culture has issued a statement:

“The Special Committee has appointed the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to conduct an independent review into allegations of sexual harassment and interpersonal misconduct, as well as issues relating to the workplace culture at the FDIC. The team at Cleary Gottlieb will be led by Joon H. Kim, the former Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jennifer Kennedy Park, and Abena Mainoo.

“This team at Cleary Gottlieb has conducted numerous investigations into workplace misconduct and hostile work culture, including being appointed by the New York State Attorney General’s Office to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and other related misconduct involving the former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Executive Chamber.”

“The Special Committee is committed to an independent and thorough review,” said committee co–chair Michael J. Hsu. “There is no question that the Cleary Gottlieb team has both the experience and the expertise to lead this review.”

The Special Committee encourages both past and current FDIC employees who witnessed or experienced any sexual harassment or hostile, abusive, unprofessional, inappropriate or other interpersonal misconduct at the FDIC to share their experiences with the Cleary Gottlieb team.

The independent counsel team has established a telephone hotline and email address to gather information related to the review. If you have information relevant to the review, please call 202-974-1643 or contact the independent counsel team via email at fdicinvestigation@cgsh.com.

Reports can be left anonymously. The independent counsel team will handle all reports confidentially and, as appropriate, can discuss with those reporting into the hotline any restrictions the individual wishes to impose on how the information is used.

The Treasury Department has announced that OFAC has sanctioned 20 individuals for their connection to human rights abuse in nine countries. An additional two individuals were sanctioned under the Department of State’s counterterrorism authority. Furthermore, the Department of State likewise designated individuals in Russia, Indonesia, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for visa restrictions pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Annual Appropriations Act. These actions were taken in concert with measures imposed by partners in the United Kingdom and Canada, which have similarly utilized economic measures to deter human rights abuse globally.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties, a related Global Magnitsky FAQ, and a reminder on OFAC's plan to shut down an FTP server, see this BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Treasury Department on Friday released a Joint Statement on the recent EU – U.S. Financial Regulatory Forum, which took place on December 4–5, 2023, hosted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the European Commission.

The Forum emphasized close ongoing EU and U.S. cooperation in a range of areas and focused on six themes: (1) market developments and financial stability; (2) regulatory developments in banking and insurance; (3) anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT); (4) sustainable finance; (5) regulatory and supervisory cooperation in capital markets; and (6) operational resilience and digital finance. Agency participation varied across themes, with representatives expressing views on issues in their respective areas of responsibility.

A proposed rule to change the Regulation Z exemption of overdraft fees from the definition of finance charges could be on the horizon, based on the CFPB's Fall 2023 Regulatory Agenda. The agenda lists a potential December 2023 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the topic, and indicates that the CFPB is considering developing proposed amendments to Regulation Z with respect to the special rules on OD fees that were included by the Federal Reserve Board in 1969.

The Bureau also includes a potential December 2023 NRPM on Fees for Insufficient Funds on the agenda with a December 2023 target date.

Also listed on the agenda in proposed rule stage are the CFPB's proposed rulemaking on Personal Financial Data Rights, a proposal on Mortgage Servicing, a proposal on Supervision of Larger Participants in Consumer Payment Markets, and a proposal on Financial Data Transparency.

Included on the Agenda in the Final Rule stage are amendments to FIRREA Concerning Automated Valuation Models (target date June 2024), a rule on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing (October 2024), a rule to establish a Registry of Nonbank Covered Persons Subject to Certain Agency and Court Orders (March 2024), a rule establishing a Registry of Supervised Nonbanks that use Form Contracts with Terms Seeking to Waive or Limit Consumer Legal Protections (March 2024), and the CFPB's proposed rule on Credit Card Penalty Fees (December 2023).

The target dates on federal agency rulemaking agendas are tentative, and are often inaccurate, and the status of the actions listed can change.

Yesterday, the FDIC’s Board of Directors released its second semiannual update of 2023 on the Restoration Plan for the agency’s Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF). The Federal Deposit Insurance Act requires that the FDIC Board adopt a restoration plan when the DIF’s reserve ratio—the ratio of the fund balance relative to insured deposits—falls below 1.35 percent.

As of June 30, 2023, the DIF balance stood at $117.0 billion. Increased loss provisions, including for the bank failures that occurred in March and May, coupled with strong insured deposit growth, resulted in a decline in the reserve ratio from 1.25 percent as of December 31, 2022, to 1.10 percent as of June 30, 2023. Despite this decline, the FDIC projects that the reserve ratio is likely to reach the statutory minimum of 1.35 percent by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2028.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency yesterday reported the key issues facing the federal banking system in its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Fall 2023.

The OCC highlighted credit, market, operational, and compliance risks as the key risk themes in the report. The report also highlights artificial intelligence (AI) in banking as an emerging risk.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC, in coordination with the United Kingdom, designated two individuals associated with an advanced persistent threat (APT) group that is sponsored by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and has targeted individuals and entities in the United States, United Kingdom, and other allied and partner countries.

Treasury also announced that OFAC has sanctioned 13 individuals and entities responsible for providing tens of millions of dollars’ worth of foreign currency generated from the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), to the Houthis in Yemen.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entities, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued guidance to OCC-supervised institutions to address the risks associated with "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) lending.

The guidance, included in OCC Bulletin 2023-37 (12/6/2023), focuses on the risk management of BNPL loans, which are payable in four or fewer installments and carry no finance charges. The guidance notes that banks should maintain underwriting, repayment terms, pricing, and safeguards that minimize adverse customer outcomes and should ensure that marketing materials and disclosures are clear and conspicuous.

The OCC expects banks that offer BNPL loans to do so in a manner that is safe and sound, provides fair access to financial services, supports fair treatment of consumers, and complies with applicable laws and regulations.

Yesterday, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen announced during her travel to Mexico that OFAC has sanctioned 15 Mexican individuals — several of whom are U.S. fugitives — and two Mexico-based companies linked, directly or indirectly, to the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO), which continues to be one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world and is heavily involved in the transportation and distribution of deadly drugs, including fentanyl, to the United States. It has been one of the largest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market for over two decades.

This action was coordinated closely with the Government of Mexico, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit), consistent with the Bicentennial Framework, which was adopted at the inaugural meeting of the High-Level Security Dialogue in October 2021 and continues to guide bilateral security cooperation between the United States and Mexico.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entities, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The CFPB announced this morning it has taken action against Atlantic Union Bank for illegally enrolling thousands of customers in checking account overdraft programs. The CFPB found that Atlantic Union misled consumers who enrolled in this overdraft service by phone and failed to provide proper disclosures. The CFPB is ordering Atlantic Union to refund at least $5 million in illegal overdraft fees and pay a $1.2 million penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

The Electronic Fund Transfer Act and its implementing regulation require banks to describe their overdraft service in writing before getting a consumer to opt-in to overdraft coverage for ATM withdrawals and one-time debit card transactions. The CFPB’s consent order describes the bank’s illegal conduct and how it improperly communicated with and enrolled consumers in its overdraft program. Specifically, the bank violated federal law by:

• Charging fees without proper consent: At Atlantic Union Bank branches, employees gave oral descriptions of the bank’s overdraft coverage to new customers who opened checking accounts. Employees sought oral confirmation from customers to enroll in overdraft coverage before providing them with the required written disclosures describing the terms of service.
• Misleading customers about the terms and costs of overdraft coverage: For customers who enrolled in overdraft coverage by phone, Atlantic Union Bank employees did not clearly explain which transactions were covered by the service, and made other misleading statements about the terms and conditions of the service. In some calls, bank employees also omitted key information about the cost of the service and the fact that consumers could incur a hefty overdraft fee for each transaction covered by the service.

For additional information, see "Atlantic Union Bank to pay $6.2M for illegal overdraft fees" in the BankersOnline Penalty Pages.

On Tuesday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC has designated 11 entities and seven individuals pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14038 and one individual pursuant to E.O. 14024. This action increases the pressure on Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s authoritarian regime for its brutal suppression of Belarus’s democratic civil society, corrupt financial enrichment of the Lukashenka family, and complicity in Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine.

Treasury also reported that OFAC has targeted a network led by Belgium-based Hans De Geetere that is involved in procuring electronics with military applications for Russian end-users. The network consists of nine entities and five individuals based in Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands.

Concurrent with OFAC’s action, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed two separate indictments against Hans De Geetere related to his years-long scheme to unlawfully export sensitive, military-grade technology from the United States to end users located in the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. The U.S. Department of Commerce is also concurrently adding Hans De Geetere and five entities to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List. Additionally, Belgian authorities took action against De Geetere on charges related to his global illicit procurement scheme.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entities and information on a related Belarus General License, see Tuesday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The FDIC this morning published, in the Federal Register, a notice that it has terminated, as of December 1, 2023, its receiverships of ten banks:

• Michigan Heritage Bank Farmington Hills MI
• Westsound Bank, Bremerton WA
• Community Bank of West Georgia, Villa Rica GA
• Community Bank of Arizona, Phoenix AZ
• Community Bank & Trust, Cornelia GA
• First Georgia Banking Company, Franklin GA
• Atlantic Bank & Trust, Charleston SC
• Carolina Federal Savings Bank, Charleston SC
• Montgomery Bank & Trust, Ailey GA
• Gulfsouth Private Bank, Destin FL

The OCC has reported that Deputy Comptroller for Compliance Policy and Acting Deputy Comptroller for the Office of Financial Technology Donna Murphy yesterday testified on the activities and initiatives of the OCC's Office of Financial Technology before the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, Committee on Financial Services of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In her testimony, Ms. Murphy discussed the OCC’s supervision and regulation related to banks’ use of new and emerging financial technologies. She also highlighted the OCC’s work to engage with banks as they navigate rapid financial technology developments to balance safety, soundness and fairness with innovation and growth.

• Oral statement
• Written testimony

The Special Committee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors established to oversee an independent third–party review of the agency’s workplace culture issued a statement yesterday.

The statement says that, following its establishment, "under the authorities granted by the Board of Directors, the Special Committee began an expedited solicitation of law firms to engage one or more to conduct the independent review.

“The Special Committee is committed to finalizing the selection of the third–party reviewer as soon as practicable and completing the onboarding process soon thereafter.”

The Treasury Department's Fiscal Service has reported it recently completed the eleven millionth enrollment into electronic solutions such as direct deposit through Treasury's Go Direct program.

“This milestone represents one more step towards our vision for delivering an improved, inclusive payment experience for all Americans,” said Tim Gribben, Commissioner, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. “Today, thanks to efforts like Go Direct, nearly 99 percent of the over 1 billion Treasury-disbursed benefit payments are delivered electronically, ensuring Americans receive their federal payment on time without having to wait on the mail or pay fees to cash a paper check.”

The FDIC has released its December 2023 list of 45 banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. The list includes two banks — one in Waterloo, Alabama, and one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — whose evaluations were rated "Needs to Improve," and 40 banks whose evaluations were rated "Satisfactory."

The following three banks are to be congratulated on receiving "Outstanding" ratings on their evaluations:

• United Citizens Bank of Southern Kentucky, Columbia, Kentucky
• Exchange Bank, Kearney, Nebraska
• First Bank, Ketchikan, Alaska

Yesterday, the Treasury Department announced the launch of a Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force to marshal Treasury’s resources and expertise in a coordinated and streamlined operation to combat the trafficking of illicit fentanyl. This Strike Force brings together personnel, expertise, intelligence, and resources across key Treasury offices and is jointly led by the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) and IRS Criminal Investigation (CI).

The Strike Force will leverage Treasury’s core competencies and unique expertise in identifying and countering financial crimes. Its mission will advance the Administration's counternarcotics priorities, including targeting the global illicit supply chain with sanctions and other disruptive actions; working with Mexico and Canada to counter illicit fentanyl through the North American Drug Dialogue, and, when possible, through joint investigations; and liaising with the private sector to share financial intelligence, red flags, trends, and typologies.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced its 2024 schedule of free, virtual workshops for directors, senior management, and other key executives of national community banks and federal savings associations. The OCC examiner-led workshops provide practical training and guidance to directors and senior management of national community banks and federal savings associations in a virtual learning environment to support the safe and sound operation of community-based financial institutions.

The workshops will be held from 1 – 4 p.m. EST on the dates indicated:

• January 9: Credit Risk: Recognizing and Responding to Risk
• January 18: Operational Risk: Navigating Rapid Changes
• February 15: Building Blocks: Developing Strong Management
• February 22: Risk Governance: Improving Effectiveness
• March 5: Compliance Risk: Understanding the Rules

Registration is required.

On Monday, a Treasury Department news release reported that OFAC was targeting three individuals for their role in undermining the peace, security, and stability of Sudan. The designations support diplomatic efforts by the international community to end the conflict and demonstrate the U.S. commitment to achieve a civilian government and a transition to democracy.

Monday's action was taken under the authority of Executive Order 14098, which imposes sanctions on certain persons destabilizing Sudan and undermining the goal of democratic transition.

For the names and identification information of the three designated individuals, see Monday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

Our monthly research in the Federal Reserve System's archive of Community Reinvestment Act evaluations found that the Reserve Banks made public 16 evaluations during November. Fourteen of the evaluations listed were assigned ratings of "Satisfactory." We offer congratulations to two banks whose evaluations were rated "Outstanding":

• Washington Savings Bank, Lowell, MA
• Community First Bank of the Heartland, Mount Vernon, IL

The FDIC recently announced updates to its Technical Assistance Video Program, a series of educational videos designed to provide useful information to bank directors, officers, and employees on areas of supervisory focus and regulatory changes. These resources are intended for community bank directors, officers, and employees.

The FDIC recently added the following Technical Assistance Videos:

• Cybersecurity Awareness for Board Members: This video provides background information on cybersecurity and discusses the board’s role in overseeing their bank’s cybersecurity efforts.
• Cybersecurity Awareness for Bankers: This video discusses the important role bank offers have in designing and maintaining information security programs in a dynamic and evolving cyber threat environment.
• Information Technology: This video provides information for bank directors and trustees regarding oversight of a bank’s information technology program and FDIC information technology examinations.

These videos are available on the FDIC’s Technical Assistance Video Program webpage and on the FDIC’s YouTube channel.

The OCC has issued Bulletin 2024-36 to inform national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks of fees and assessments charged by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for calendar year 2024.

For calendar year 2024, the OCC is maintaining the general assessment, independent trust, and independent credit card fee schedules from 2023. There will be no inflation adjustment to assessment rates.

The OCC is increasing the hourly fee for special examinations and investigations to $170 from $161. The increase is to ensure adequacy in recovering the cost of conducting special examinations and investigations.

The OCC’s assessment schedule continues to include a surcharge for banks that require increased supervisory resources. The surcharge ensures that fees reflect the increased cost of supervision applying to banks rated 3, 4, or 5 under the Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System. The surcharge also ensures that fees reflect the increased cost of supervision for these banks.

FinCEN has updated its Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Frequently Asked Questions, Small Entity Compliance Guide, quick reference materials, and informational video. These guidance materials now reflect the reporting deadline extension for companies created or registered in 2024 to file their initial BOI reports.

On Friday, the Treasury Department announced that OFAC had sanctioned Luis Miguel Martinez Morales (Martinez) for his role in corruption in Guatemala wherein he engaged in widespread bribery schemes, including schemes related to government contracts. Martinez was designated under Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.

Treasury also reported the imposition of OFAC sanctions on three entities and identification as blocked property three vessels that used Price Cap Coalition services while carrying Russian crude oil above the Coalition-agreed price cap.

For detailed information on the designated parties and vessels, see Friday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The OCC has released a list of 42 CRA performance evaluations that became public In November. Of the evaluations listed, 29 are rated satisfactory, and the following 13 are rated outstanding:

• Community West Bank, N.A., Goleta, GA
• San Luis Valley Federal Bank. Alamosa, CO
• Citizens Bank & Trust, Inc., Trenton, GA
• The Citizens National Bank of Quitman,, Quitman, GA
• Central FS & LA, Cicero, IL
• The First National Bank of Ava, Ava, IL
• Home FS&LA of Grand Island, Grand Island, NE
• Valley National Bank, Passaic, NJ
• Pioneer Bank, Roswell, NM
• BNY Mellon, N.A., Pittsburg, PA
• The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, SD
• Home Federal Bank of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
• Skyline National Bank, Independence, VA

The OCC has announced it is soliciting academic research papers on depositor behavior, bank liquidity, and run risk in the banking system for submission by January 15, 2024.

The OCC will invite authors of selected papers to present to OCC staff and invited academic and government researchers at OCC Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on June 5-7, 2024. Authors of selected papers will be notified by March 1, 2024, and will have the option of presenting their papers virtually.

The FDIC has issued FIL-62-2023 with guidance to help financiaol institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Illinois affected by severe storms and flooding from September 17–18, 2023.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) this morning announced it has published a toolkit for financial authorities and financial institutions for their third-party risk management and oversight.

The toolkit was developed in response to concerns over the extent and nature of financial institutions’ interactions with a broad and diverse ecosystem of third-party service providers, which could have implications for financial stability.

The primary emphasis of the toolkit is on critical third-party services, given the potential impact of their disruption on financial institutions’ critical operations and financial stability. It also looks holistically at financial institutions’ third-party risk management in light of changing industry practices and recent regulatory and supervisory approaches to operational resilience.

The toolkit, which incorporates feedback from a public consultation conducted over the summer, aims to (i) reduce fragmentation in regulatory and supervisory approaches to third-party risk management across jurisdictions and different areas of the financial services sector; (ii) strengthen financial institutions’ ability to manage third-party risks and financial authorities’ ability to monitor and strengthen the resilience of the financial system; and (iii) facilitate coordination among relevant stakeholders (i.e. financial authorities, financial institutions and third-party service providers).

The FSB promotes international financial stability by coordinating national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies as they work toward developing strong regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies. It fosters a level playing field by encouraging coherent implementation of these policies across sectors and jurisdictions. Working through its members, it seeks to strengthen financial systems and increase the stability of international financial markets. The policies developed in the pursuit of this agenda are implemented by jurisdictions and national authorities.

The FDIC has issued FIL-60-2023 to announce it is extending the comment period on its proposal to issue Guidelines as Appendix C to FDIC’s standards for safety and soundness regulations in Part 364 and make conforming amendments to parts 308 and 364 of its regulations.

These Guidelines would apply to all insured state nonmember banks, state-licensed insured branches of foreign banks, and insured state savings associations that are subject to Section 39 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act), with total consolidated assets of $10 billion or more on or after the effective date of the final Guidelines. The notice of proposed rulemaking stated that the comment period would close on December 11, 2023. The FDIC has determined that an extension of the comment period until February 9, 2024, is appropriate.

In Financial Institution Letter FIL-59-2023, issued yesterday, the FDIC notified banks that the Office of the Ombudsman, which is responsible for administering the Post-Examination Surveys (Survey), is updating the Survey and the transmission process for Risk Management and Compliance and/or CRA examinations. The updated Survey solicits additional feedback on the virtual aspects of examinations.

The Office of the Ombudsman will—

• Update the Survey and the transmission process for Risk Management and Compliance and/or CRA examinations effective January 1, 2024
• Send updates Surveys to the Executive Officers
• Send notices and provide reminders about the Survey from FDICSurveys-noreply@fdic.gov
• Continue to serve as the point of contact for banks regarding the Survey and follow-up requests
  A copy of the Post-Examination Survey (Risk Management Examination) and the Post-Examination Survey (Compliance and/or CRA Examination) were provided with the Financial Institution Letter.

The FDIC has issued its November 2023 update of its Consumer Compliance Examination Manual. The Manual provides supervisory information regarding consumer compliance examinations, Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluations, and other supervisory activities. It includes supervisory policies and examination procedures for evaluating financial institutions’ compliance with federal consumer protection laws and regulations. The Manual is designed to promote consistency and efficiency in the examination process and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Financial institutions can use the Manual to obtain more information about the FDIC’s examination process.

The November Update updated several sections of the Manual related to the FDIC's shift from SOURCE to FOCUS. In addition, the Table of Contents was updated to reflect corrections to chapter names; the chapter on Enforcement Actions was updated to explain how the FDIC will publish inflation adjustments to the maximum civil money penalty; and the chapter on the Flood Disaster Protection Act was updated to include interagency flood Q&As.

The Treasury Department yesterday announced that OFAC had sanctioned three Mexican individuals and 13 Mexican companies that are linked, directly or indirectly, to timeshare fraud led by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). CJNG, a violent Mexico-based organization, traffics a significant proportion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs that enter the United States. OFAC coordinated this action with the Government of Mexico, including its Financial Intelligence Unit, as well as U.S. Government partners, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entities, see this BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The FDIC has issued the lists of institutions scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the first quarter 2024 and second quarter 2024.

The OCC also released its schedule of CRA evaluations to be conducted in the first and second quarters of 2024.

The Federal Reserve System posts CRA examination schedules on its website.

Yesterday, Treasury reported that OFAC sanctioned eight foreign-based Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) agents that facilitate sanctions evasion, including revenue generation and missile-related technology procurement that support the DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. Additionally, OFAC sanctioned cyber espionage group Kimsuky for gathering intelligence to support the DPRK’s strategic objectives. OFAC acted in coordination with Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entity, see this BankersOnline OFAC Update.

FinCEN has published [88 FR 83499] a final rule extending the filing deadline for initial reports of beneficial ownership information by entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, from 30 calendar days to 90 calendar days after their creation or registration, to give those entities additional time to understand the new reporting obligation and collect the necessary information to complete their filings.

Entities created or registered on or after January 1, 2025, will continue to have 30 calendar days to file their BOI reports with FinCEN.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has released the November 29, 2023, Beige Book, which summarizes comments and information on economic activity collected on or before November 17, 2023, from contacts outside the Federal Reserve System.

The Report's summary of overall economic activity indicates —

• On balance, economic activity slowed since the previous report, with four Districts reporting modest growth, two indicating conditions were flat to slightly down, and six noting slight declines in activity.
• Retail sales, including autos, remained mixed; sales of discretionary items and durable goods, like furniture and appliances, declined, on average, as consumers showed more price sensitivity.
• Travel and tourism activity was generally healthy. Demand for transportation services was sluggish.
• Manufacturing activity was mixed, and manufacturers' outlooks weakened.
• Demand for business loans decreased slightly, particularly real estate loans.
• Consumer credit remained fairly healthy, but some banks noted a slight uptick in consumer delinquencies.
• Agriculture conditions were steady to slightly up as farmers reported higher selling prices; yields were mixed.
• Commercial real estate activity continued to slow; the office segment remained weak and multifamily activity softened.
• Several Districts noted a slight decrease in residential sales and higher inventories of available homes.
• The economic outlook for the next six to twelve months diminished over the reporting period.