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In remarks at the 2015 BITS Emerging Payment Forum in Washington, Comptroller Curry discussed emerging payment systems technology, innovation, access, and cybersecurity in banking.

FinCEN has announced the assessment of a $75 million civil money penalty (CMP) against Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investments, Ltd., d/b/a Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, in the Northern Mariana Islands, for willful and egregious violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). According to the order, Tinian Dynasty failed to develop and implement an anti-money laundering (AML) program. No member of Tinian Dynasty staff was delegated responsibility for day-to-day compliance with the BSA. The casino failed to develop and implement policies and procedures designed to ensure AML compliance, or to detect suspicious transactions; it also never conducted an independent test of its systems to ensure compliance. Further, casino personnel were not trained in BSA recordkeeping requirements or in identifying, monitoring, and reporting suspicious activity. Tinian Dynasty also accommodated patrons who desired to conduct financial transactions with large amounts of cash without the casino reporting the transactions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has posted a Bureau Blog article reminding all parties of the impending August 1, 2015, effective date of the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule. The article also announced that the CFPB had delivered a letter to Members of Congress "stating that our oversight of the implementation of the Know Before You Owe mortgage rule (also known as the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule) will be sensitive to the progress made by those entities that have been squarely focused on making good-faith efforts to come into compliance with the rule on time. We have spoken with our fellow regulators to clarify this approach. This is consistent with our approach in the implementation of the Title XIV mortgage rules." In the Blog article, the letter to Congress and a fact sheet addressed to consumers, the Bureau included an error in which it said that a change in APR of more than 1/4% for "adjustable-rate loans" would trigger the need for a new disclosure and waiting period before closing. The reference should have been to "irregular transactions."

The NCUA has issue a press release announcing that credit unions boosted lending and cut long-term investments in the first quarter 2015. In addition, loan delinquencies and charge-off ratios fell to the lowest level in eight years and loan balances rose 10.6 per cent.

The Federal Reserve Board has delivered its 2014 Annual Report to Congress. It is the 101st Annual Report to be submitted. The report includes minutes of Federal Open Market Committee meetings, financial statements of the Board and combined financial statements of the Reserve Banks, financial statements for Federal Reserve priced services, information on other services provided by the Reserve Banks, directories of Federal Reserve officials and advisory committees, statistical tables, and maps showing the System's District and Branch boundaries.

The federal banking agencies (FRB, FDIC and OCC) have issued a reminder of the disclosure requirements for the Dodd-Frank annual stress tests to be conducted by financial institutions with total consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion. Beginning in June 2015, the financial institutions are required to publicly disclose certain information, including:

• a description of the types of risks included in the stress test;
• a summary description of the methodologies used in the stress test;
• estimates of losses, revenue, and net income;
• post-stress capital ratios; and
• an explanation of the most significant causes for the changes in regulatory capital ratios.

The regulations covering these disclosures were published in October 2012 by the Board [77 FR 62378], the OCC [77 FR 61238], and the FDIC [77FR 62417].

Holders of second mortgages gained a victory in Monday's unanimous Supreme Court ruling against borrowers who try to nullify junior mortgages under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code when their homes have dropped in value below their first mortgage balance. The Court declared that when a creditor's claim is both secured by a lien and allowed under section 502 of the Bankruptcy Code, the lien remains, even if the property has lost all of its value.

The CFPB has issued a Consumer Advisory Bulletin on the topic of planning for diminished capacity and illness. The Bulletin, created with the aid of the SEC, includes advice on planning for one's financial future, getting one's documents in order, and watching out for financial exploitation.

The OCC has released its Third Quarter 2015 Evaluation Schedule under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

The Federal Reserve has released the May 2015 G.5 Foreign Exchange Rates Report.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has posted instructions for creditors and others who wish to add their logos to the cover of "Your Home Loan Toolkit," the consumer guide designed to replace the current Settlement Cost booklet when the Integrated Disclosures go into effect on August 1, 2015. Those interested should review the instructions and required disclaimer.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced the filing of federal court changes in two cases. The first concerns the indictment in Dallas of four individuals for allegedly using stolen personal information to illegally obtain tax refunds they used to purchase more than $1 million in used cars they sent to Nigeria. The second involves three individuals in San Juan, Puerto Rico, who allegedly provided false statements in loan applications, and were arrested Friday by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

FinCEN has announced the imposition of $12,000 civil money penalty (CMP) against King Mail & Wireless Inc. and its owner, Ali Al Duais, for willful and repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). King Mail and Al Duais failed to maintain a required anti-money laundering program, and engaged in high-risk transactions including processing millions of dollars in wire transactions to Yemen without maintaining proper records or performing any due diligence on the individuals involved in the transactions.

A statement has been issued by FHFA Director Watt concerning the formal approval of the voluntary merger of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle. FHLB Des Moines is the continuing institution.

OFAC has announced the designation of the Shining Path (a.k.a. Sendero Luminoso) as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker appropriate for sanctions pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Also designated today for their material support to the narcotics trafficking of the Shining Path are Victor Quispe Palomino, Jorge Quispe Palomino, and Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala. Shining Path and the three leaders' names have been added to the SDN List with the SDNK identifier. Details of the SDN List additions can be viewed in OFAC's June 1, 2015, Update.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced the execution of a Written Agreement with the Massachusetts Division of Banks, State Street Corporation (a Massachusetts bank holding company) and State Street Bank and Trust Company, its state-chartered bank, concerning the adoption of a compliance risk management program relating to all applicable, laws, rules, and regulations relating to the Bank Secrecy Act.

FDIC FIL-23-2015 announces steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and to facilitate recovery in areas of Texas affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding.

• The FDIC is encouraging banks to work constructively with borrowers experiencing difficulties beyond their control because of damage caused by the severe weather.
• Extending repayment terms, restructuring existing loans, or easing terms for new loans, if done in a manner consistent with sound banking practices, can contribute to the health of the local community and serve the long-term interests of the lending institution.
• Banks may receive favorable Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration for community development loans, investments, and services in support of disaster recovery.
• The FDIC also will consider regulatory relief from certain filing and publishing requirements.

Three orders have been issued by NCUA prohibiting individuals from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution:

• Amy Waikiki, a former employee of the former Kulia Ohana Federal Credit Union in Wailuku, Hawaii, who had previously pleaded guilty to embezzlement and misapplication of monies by a federal credit union employee, and had been sentenced to 44 months in prison, five years supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $193,589.58.
• Latisha Cochran, a former employee of Middle Tennessee Federal Credit Union in Cookeville, Tennessee, who had pleaded guilty to the charge of credit union embezzlement. Cochran had been sentenced to 27 months in prison, four years supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $370,144.23.
• Sandra Sicking, a former employee of CinFed Federal Credit Union in Cincinnati, Ohio, who had pleaded guilty to eight charges of theft. Sicking had been sentenced to one year in prison, received five years of probation, and was ordered to pay restitution of $147,115.66.

The NCUA has announced plans to work with credit unions located in flooded areas of Oklahoma and Texas. Under the agency's disaster relief policy NCUA will, where necessary:

• Encourage credit unions to make prudent loans with special terms and reduced documentation to affected members;
• Reschedule routine examinations of affected credit unions, if necessary;
• Guarantee lines of credit for credit unions through the Share Insurance Fund; and
• Make loans to meet the liquidity needs of member credit unions through the Central Liquidity Facility.

The federal bank regulatory agencies have issued a joint press release with a notice requesting comment on a third set of regulatory categories -- consumer protection; directors, officers and employees; and money laundering -- as part of their review to identify outdated or unnecessary regulations applied to insured depository institutions.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced it has named Gordon Werkema as Payments Strategy Director, with responsibility for leading major payment system improvement initiatives described in its previously published "Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System" paper. Werkema currently serves as First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Product Director for the Federal Reserve System's National Customer Relations and Support Office.

The Federal Reserve Board has issued to Congress its 2014 Annual Performance Plan and Report.

The OCC has announced consent orders to cease and desist and for a $30 million civil money penalty (CMP) against Bank of America, National Association, and ordered remediation to approximately 73,000 affected customer accounts. The actions regarded violations of law and unsafe or unsound practices in connection with the bank's non-home loan compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), and unsafe or unsound practices in connection with non-home debt collection litigation practices.

The FDIC has announced its third quarter 2015 CRA examination schedule.

The list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in April 2015 has been released by the FDIC. Included were one consent order, one prompt corrective action, four removal and prohibition orders, one section 19 order, four civil money penalties, one notice of hearing, and one decision and order. One civil money penalty in the amount of $5,280 was assessed against Premier Valley Bank, Fresno, California, for violations of the Flood Act. Information regarding that order has been posted on the BOL Flood Penalties Watch page.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced a final judgment by a federal court on a complaint filed in 2014 by the Bureau and the Florida Attorney General against the Hoffman Law Group, its three operators, and four corporate affiliates accused of using deceptive marketing practices and scamming distressed homeowners into paying illegal advance fees. The scam tricked consumers into paying millions of dollars in illegal upfront fees to join frivolous lawsuits that the companies falsely claimed would pressure banks to modify their loans or provide foreclosure relief. The Hoffman Law Group was a law firm set up to give the appearance that consumers in financial distress needing to modify their mortgage loans or save their homes from foreclosure would get specialized help from attorneys. The court found the corporate defendants liable for $11,730,579 -- the full amount of illegal fees paid by consumers -- and ordered them to pay a $10 million civil penalty to the CFPB, in addition to a $6 million civil penalty to the State of Florida.

The FDIC has issued FIL-22-2015 with guidance to help financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Oklahoma recently affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding. The OCC has issued a Proclamation authorizing national banks, federal savings associations and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in areas of Oklahoma and Texas affected by flooding.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced the publication of two lists of institutions using data available to the Board regarding compliance with the Regulation II debit card interchange fee standards. The lists are intended to help payment card networks and others determine which issuers qualify for the statutory exemption from the interchange fee standards. A debit card issuer that, together with its affiliates, has assets of less than $10 billion is exempt. The lists have been generated from the set of institutions in existence on December 31, 2014, according to the available data.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its April 2015 Mortgage Index, which indicates:

• The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders index was 3.78 percent for loans closed in late April, down 2 basis points.
• The average interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.78 percent, down 2 basis points from 3.80 in March.
• The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less was 3.93 percent, a decrease of 2 basis points.
• The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.94 percent in April, down 1 basis point from 3.95 percent.
• The average loan amount for all loans was $310,600 in April, down $200 from $310,800.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced that a written agreement has been executed with Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, Illinois, an Illinois Bank Holding Company that owns and controls Discover Bank, Greenwood, Delaware, to remedy deficiencies in the bank's BSA/AML compliance program.

A joint complaint has been filed in federal court by the CFPB and the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Provident Funding Associates for charging higher broker fees on mortgage loans to African-American and Hispanic borrowers. The agencies also filed a proposed consent order that, if entered by the court, would require Provident to pay $9 million in damages to harmed African-American and Hispanic borrowers. The agencies allege that Provident violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by charging African-American and Hispanic borrowers more in total broker fees than white borrowers based on their race and national origin and not based on their credit risk. The DOJ also alleges that Provident violated the Fair Housing Act, which also prohibits discrimination in residential mortgage lending.

The OCC has issued two alerts regarding counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the name of First Financial Bank, N.A., Abilene, Texas, and Community National Bank & Trust, Chanute , Kansas. Information regarding each alert has been posted on the BOL Alerts and Counterfeits page.

The video of the April 30, 2015, meeting of the NCUA Board has been posted online.

The FDIC has announced the publication of the First Quarter 2015 Quarterly Banking Profile, which reports insured institutions earned $39.8 billion, up $2.6 billion (6.9 %) from 2014. The increase in earnings was mainly attributable to a $4.3 billion rise in net operating revenue (net interest income plus total noninterest income). Nearly two-thirds (62.7 percent) of the 6,419 reporting institutions had year-over-year growth in quarterly earnings. The proportion of banks that were unprofitable during the first quarter fell to 5.6 percent from 7.4 percent a year earlier.

The OCC will host two workshops in Des Moines, Iowa, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations. The Risk Governance workshop will be held on July 14 and the Compliance Risk workshop on July 15.

The Federal Reserve has announced it will conduct today (May 28) a floating-rate offering of term deposits with an early withdrawal feature through its Term Deposit Facility (TDF). Seven-day term deposits with a rate set equal to the sum of the interest rate paid on excess reserves (currently 25 basis points) plus a fixed spread of 1 basis point will be offered. The maximum tender amount per institution will be $5,000,000,000. The offering window will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT, and awarded deposits will settle later in the day.

The Federal Reserve Board has released the results of its 2014 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, which provides new insight into Americans' economic security, housing and living arrangements, banking and credit access, education and student loan debt, savings behavior, and retirement preparedness. The Report on the Economic Well-being of U.S. Households in 2014 indicates individuals' overall perceptions of financial well-being improved modestly between 2013 and 2014 but their optimism about future financial prospects increased significantly. Sixty-five percent of adult respondents consider their families to be either "doing okay" or "living comfortably" financially -- an increase of 3 percentage points from the 2013 survey. Twenty-nine percent of survey respondents say they expect their income to be higher in the year following the survey, compared to 21 percent of 2013 respondents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay $55 million to settle charges it filed misstated financial reports during the height of the financial crisis that failed to take into account a material risk for potential losses estimated to be in the billions of dollars. An SEC investigation found that Deutsche Bank overvalued a portfolio of derivatives consisting of "Leveraged Super Senior" (LSS) trades through which the bank purchased protection against credit default losses. Because the trades were leveraged, the collateral posted for these positions by the sellers was only a fraction (approximately 9 percent) of the $98 billion total in purchased protection.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced an agreement with Associated Bank, N.A., Green Bay, Wisconsin, to resolve a disparate treatment redlining case, one of the largest redlining complaints brought by the federal government against a mortgage lender. At over $200 million, it is the largest settlement of this kind HUD has ever reached. The complaint filed by HUD alleged that from 2008-2010, the bank engaged in discriminatory lending practices regarding the denial of mortgage loans to African-American and Hispanic applicants, and in and the provision of loan services in neighborhoods with significant African-American or Hispanic populations. Over the next three years, Associated will pay nearly $10 million in the form of lower interest rate home mortgages and down payment/closing cost assistance to qualified borrowers in majority-minority census tracts in the housing market areas of Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Racine (WI), Kenosha (WI), and Lake County (IL). In addition, the bank agrees to:

• Invest nearly $200 million through increased home mortgage lending activity in majority-minority census tracts in these areas;
• Provide nearly $3 million to help existing homeowners repair their properties in these predominantly minority communities;
• Pay $1.4 million to support affirmative marketing of loans in the above census tracts
• Commit $1.35 million for community reinvestment and fair lending education and training;
• Open four loan production offices in majority-minority census tracts (three in the Chicago area and one in the Milwaukee area), subject to regulatory approval, in addition to three branches Associated has opened or is committed to opening in or near majority-minority census tracts in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Racine since HUD's complaint was filed; and
• Offer fair housing training to all its employees and agents with substantial residential lending activity within six months and maintain a second level review process for all denied residential loans.

The Board of Governors (Board) has published [80 FR 30246] its request for comments on enhancements that the Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) are considering to their current same-day automated clearing house (ACH) service. The enhancements would require receiving depository financial institutions (RDFIs) to participate in the service and originating depository financial institutions (ODFIs) to pay a fee to RDFIs for each same-day ACH forward transaction. Comments will be accepted through July 2, 2015.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's recent notice that it is establishing and will maintain a method for assessing the national average single-family house price for use in adjusting the conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been published [80 FR 30237] in this morning's Federal Register. Comments on the proposal will be accepted through July 27, 2015.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve Board discount rate meetings for March 30 through April 27, 2015, have been released.

HUD and the Census Bureau have released their report of new residential sales in April 2015. Sales of new single-family houses were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, 6.8 percent above the revised March rate and 26.1 percent above the April 2014 estimate. The median sales price of new houses sold was $297,300 and the average sales price was $341,500. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 205,000, a supply of 4.8 months at the current sales rate. In addition, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its First Quarter 2015 House Price Index (HPI). U.S. house prices rose 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2015, the fifteenth consecutive quarterly price increase in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index. FHFA's seasonally adjusted monthly index for March was up 0.3 percent from February. The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Bureau has posted an article, "Here's why childhood is an important time to learn about money,” which discusses ways to teach money management to children as young as five years old.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has posted an article with an overview of the agency's current rulemaking agenda, including the following major initiatives:

• Updates to HMDA
• TILA and RESPA integrated disclosures
• Dodd-Frank mortgage reform implementation rules
• Prepaid financial products
• Payday, auto title, and certain other loans
• Overdrafts
• Larger participants
• Debt collection
• Arbitration

In a presentation at the Providence Chamber of Commerce, Federal Reserve Board Chair Yellen discussed the outlook for the U.S. economy. She discussed the recession and the recovery so far, factors affecting the outlook, implications for monetary policy, and longer-run growth. She noted that "the economy is still recovering from the Great Recession, the worst downturn since the terrible episode of the 1930s that inspired its name." Yellen indicated, "Because of the substantial lags in the effects of monetary policy on the economy, we must make policy in a forward-looking manner. Delaying action to tighten monetary policy until employment and inflation are already back to our objectives would risk overheating the economy. … If the economy continues to improve as I expect, I think it will be appropriate at some point this year to take the initial step to raise the federal funds rate target and begin the process of normalizing monetary policy. … If conditions improve more rapidly than expected, it may be appropriate to raise interest rates more quickly; conversely, the pace of normalization may be slower if conditions turn out to be less favorable."

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has published a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on proposed revisions to the HUD Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application, also known as the 92900-A, the loan certification document signed by lenders. HUD is providing a 60-day comment period ending on July 14, 2015, on proposed revisions to the form, which include changes to:

• Differentiate between the initial and final Uniform Residential Loan Application;
• Revise mortgagee certification on debarment and suspension to be loan specific;
• Remove references to Handbooks no longer in use by Single Family Housing;
• Update language regarding acceptable sources of funds;
• Provide current non-discrimination language; and
• Update terminology reflected in the new Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that, based on a complaint filed by the Commission, a federal court has issued a temporary restraining order against a Florida-based sweepstakes operation that took more than $28 million from consumers throughout the United States and other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. According to the complaint and other court filings, the defendants mailed personalized letters falsely telling consumers that they had won large cash prizes, typically more than $2 million. The prizes were "guaranteed," according to the letters, but to collect the money, consumers had to mail the defendants a $20-$30 fee in cash, or by check or money order. In reality, of course, there was no sweepstakes, nor were there any prizes.

OFAC has added the names of six individuals and three entities to the SDN list with the SDNTK designation. Several entries were also deleted from the list. Details of the SDN List additions were listed in a Treasury press release and an OFAC Recent Actions update.

FinCEN has posted a notice to E-Filers of CTRs. The CTR will be updated in August 2017 to adhere to the changes defined in FinCEN's February 2016 Federal Register notice [see "FinCEN wants to revise CTR," February 2, 2016]. The new CTR will include new and updated data fields, both in the discrete filing version and in batch files. Batch files will have to be submitted in XML rather than ASCII format within nine months of the yet-to-be-determined August go-live date.

FinCEN will host a technical webinar on June 21, 2017, to provide an overview of the XML specifications and address questions regarding the XML User Guide.