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06/07/2016

Bureau updates eRegulations to include Regs C, X, and DD

The CFPB has announced the update of its eRegulations platform by adding Regulations C (HMDA), X (RESPA), and DD (TISA). In addition, the Regulation Z eRegulation has been updated to include all amendments through May 2016.

06/06/2016

Board approves insurance companies proposals

The Federal Reserve Board has announced it has approved an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) inviting comment on conceptual frameworks for capital standards that could apply to systemically important insurance companies and to insurance companies that own a bank or thrift. The Board also approved a proposed rule that would apply enhanced prudential standards to systemically important insurance companies designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Update: The ANPR on Capital Requirements for Supervised Institutions Significantly Engaged in Insurance Activities was published at 81 FR 38631 on June 14, 2016. Comments are due August 17, 2016. The proposed rule on Enhanced Prudential Standards for Systemically Important Insurance Companies was published at 81 FR 38610 on June 14, 2016. Comments are due August 17, 2016.

Update: On 7/25/16, the Board announced an extension of the comment period through September 16, 2016.

06/06/2016

FDIC CRA ratings

The FDIC has released the ratings received by 67 state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. Three of the banks were rated outstanding, 63 were found to be satisfactory, and one obtained a needs to improve rating.

06/06/2016

OFAC Kingpin Act designation removed, license added

OFAC has announced the removal of an entity with an SDNTK designation from the SDN list. See our OFAC update for the details. OFAC also published a new Kingpin Act/Panama-related General License.

06/06/2016

Credit union growth continues

The NCUA has announced that March 31, 2016 Call Report data indicate credit unions continued to increase their lending, with loans outstanding increasing 10.7 percent in the year ending in the first quarter of 2016. Chairman Metsger remarked on the data, saying, “Overall, new and used auto lending was especially strong, and the system gained one million members. With an influx of deposits, federally insured shares at credit unions also neared the $1 trillion mark coming in at $991.7 billion. As credit union lending has increased, long-term investments have declined and reduced the system’s interest rate risk. However, delinquency and charge-off rates are slightly higher than a year ago, and member business loan delinquencies are rising even more. Credit unions making such loans should take note and ensure that they perform proper due diligence to mitigate the risk.”

06/06/2016

FTC charges precious metals scheme with fraud

The Federal Trade Commission has charged a nationally advertised gold and silver marketing operation with bilking millions from consumers. The FTC seeks to recover money from the defendants to return to their customers, many of whom allegedly lost thousands of dollars to the scheme. According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants marketed gold and silver as investments, but often failed to deliver the goods. Operating as Discount Gold Brokers, the defendants offered gold and silver “at discounted prices,” with “zero commissions, fees, or expenses,” and at “zero percent above dealer cost.” In response, many consumers used their retirement savings to buy the precious metals, with individual orders ranging from $1,000 to $300,000. The complaint alleges that the defendants required up-front payment via check or wire and some consumers used their family trust or retirement accounts to pay.

The defendants—DiscountMetalBrokers Inc. (formerly known as Discount Gold Brokers Inc. and Discount Metal Brokers Inc., and doing business as Discount Gold Brokers and North American Discount Gold.com); Donald Lee Dayer; Katherina Dayer; and Michael Scott Berman—are charged with violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s Mail, Internet or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, which requires sellers soliciting orders via mail, internet, or phone to have a reasonable basis to expect that they can ship merchandise within any advertised time frame, or within 30 days if no specific time frame is promised.

06/05/2016

June FedFocus

Federal Reserve Financial Services' June 2016 FedFocus features an article on how Trustmark National Bank's use of the Fed's Accelerated Imaged Returns Delivery Service has enabled the bank to speed up its returns processing, reducing the risk of releasing funds before a return item is charged back. There are also articles on FedCash Services, and on the "fathers" of the Federal Reserve System.

06/03/2016

OFAC designates Burundi officials

OFAC has announced the designation of two pro-government officials, Marius Ngendabanka and Ignace Sibomana, and one member of an armed opposition group, Edouard Nshimirimana, for engaging in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Burundi. See our OFAC Update for additional information

06/03/2016

Settlement in mortgage-backed securities case

The FDIC, as receiver for five failed banks, has announced a $190 million settlement of certain residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) claims with Barclays Capital Inc.; BNP Paribas Securities Corporation; Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.; Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P.; Goldman, Sachs & Co; RBS Securities Inc.; and UBS Securities LLC. The settlement funds will be distributed among the failed bank receiverships for:

  • Colonial Bank of Montgomery, Alabama
  • Franklin Bank, S.S.B. of Houston, Texas
  • Guaranty Bank of Austin, Texas
  • Security Savings Bank of Henderson, Nevada
  • Strategic Capital Bank of Champaign, Illinois

06/03/2016

OCC CRA ratings released

The OCC has released a list of the CRA evaluation ratings received by 21 national banks and federal savings associations that became public during May. Five received an outstanding rating, fifteen were rated satisfactory and one garnered a needs to improve rating.

06/03/2016

Same Day ACH testing dates

Federal Reserve Financial Services has announced that, in preparation for phase I of Same Day ACH, customer testing will be available beginning on June 28, and continuing through September 2. ACH file testing will be supported Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Customers interested in testing should submit a test request form at least one week in advance of their desired testing window. Testing will require participants to send and receive test files to validate back end processing.

06/03/2016

Schedule for results of stress tests and CCAR

The Federal Reserve Board has announced that results from the latest supervisory stress tests conducted as part of the Dodd-Frank Act will be released on Thursday, June 23, and the related results from the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), will be released on Wednesday, June 29. Results for both exercises will be released at 4:30 p.m. EDT.

06/02/2016

Bureau proposes Payday Loan Rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced today its anticipated proposed rule [PDF, 1334 pages] that would require lenders who offer covered loan products to determine whether borrowers can afford the full amount of each payment when it is due without having to reborrow within the next month and limit lenders' ability to roll such debt over. Covered loans would include payday loans, single-payment auto title loans and certain high-cost installment loans (those with an "all-in" APR over 36 percent to be repaid by creditor access to the consumer's deposit account or paycheck or secured by a vehicle title).

Under the proposal, loans of $500 or less could be offered with a "principal reduction feature" designed to keep consumers from being trapped in debt. Lenders could also offer two longer-term loan options with more flexible underwriting by adhering to certain limits, such as loans generally meeting the parameters of the NCUA's "payday alternative loans" program or loans payable in equal installments with terms not over two years with an all-in cost of 36 percent or less, plus a reasonable origination fee.

Another provision of the proposal would require a notice in advance of a lender's attempt to collect a payment on a covered loan from the consumer's deposit account, and cut off a lender's authorization for such account access after two unsuccessful attempts, unless the lender obtains a new authorization. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted through September 14, 2016.

The Bureau also announced an inquiry into other potentially high-risk loan products and practices that are not specifically covered by the proposed rule. A Request for Information was issued with a comment deadline of October 14, 2016. Also released was the text of CFPB Director Cordray's prepared remarks introducing the proposal and inquiry at the Field Hearing on Small-Dollar Lending, to be held today by the Bureau in Kansas City, Missouri.

Update: The September 14, 2016, comment deadline for the proposed rule has been added. The October 14 deadline is for the inquiry into other potentially high-risk loan products and practices.

06/02/2016

Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Council members named

The names of the 12 persons who will constitute the first-ever Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee (HCFAC) have been announced by HUD. Established under the Dodd-Frank Act, the advisory panel will help HUD's Office of Housing Counseling improve upon all the efforts to provide consumers with the knowledge they need to make informed and lasting housing decisions. Last April, HUD solicited nominations to serve on the first-ever federal advisory committee. Those selected are from the mortgage, real estate, consumer and housing counseling sectors. Brief bios of the HCFAC members were also released.

06/02/2016

Discriminating landlord pays $44,000

HUD has announced that an Administrative Law Judge has ruled against a northern Minnesota landlord charged with refusing to rent an apartment to prospective tenants because of their disabilities. Landlord Deane Woodard of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, was ordered to pay $27,000 to one woman, a $16,000 civil penalty, and $1,000 in other court sanctions.

06/02/2016

Treasury calls for Large Position Reports test

The Treasury Department is calling for Large Position Reports from those entities whose positions in the 1-5/8% Treasury Notes of May 2026 equaled or exceeded $2.3 billion as of close of business Monday, May 16, 2016. This call for reports is a test. Entities with positions in this note equal to or exceeding the $2.3 billion threshold must report these positions to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Reports must be received by the Government Securities Dealer Statistics Unit of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before 5:00 PM ET on June 8, 2016, and must include the required position and administrative information.

06/02/2016

May foreign exchange rates

The Federal Reserve has posted May 2016 G.5 Foreign Exchange Rates data, which show the average rates of exchange together with comparable figures for other months. Averages are based on daily noon buying rates for cable transfers in New York City certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

06/02/2016

June Beige Book published

The Federal Reserve Board has published the June 2016 report of the summary of commentary on current economic conditions by federal reserve district. Commonly known as the Beige Book, this report is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources.

06/02/2016

Contest for lockbox network proposals

Federal Reserve Financial Services is seeking proposals from depository financial institutions interested in competing to become a financial agent of the United States for the purposes of operating, maintaining, and improving the federal government general (non-tax) lockbox network. The successful financial institution will become a financial agent of the United States, and will have a principal-agent relationship with the Fiscal Service to provide lockbox and remittance services to the Treasury on behalf of federal agencies. See the General Lockbox Network (GLN) webpage for more details.

06/02/2016

Modified mid-day Forward Check 21 deposit options

Federal Reserve Financial Services has issued a reminder that on July 1, 2016, the Federal Reserve Banks will modify the structure of mid-day FedForward deposit options. The following changes are expected to limit instances of the Federal Reserve Banks offering same day credit for items that cannot be collected that same day and, therefore, reduce the associated cost that must ultimately be recovered by the Federal Reserve Banks. Also posted were a summary of the July 1 changes and an updated fee schedule.

06/02/2016

OCC workshops in South Dakota

The OCC will host two workshops in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center, July 19-20, for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations. The Compliance Risk workshop on July 19 combines lectures, discussion, and exercises on the critical elements of an effective compliance risk management program. Topics of discussion include the Bank Secrecy Act, Community Reinvestment Act, and the Truth-in-Lending (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA) Integrated Disclosures Rule, also known as TRID. The Operational Risk workshop on July 20 focuses on the key components of operational risk—people, processes and systems. The workshop also covers governance, third-party risk, vendor management, and cybersecurity.

06/02/2016

OCC Q3 CRA exam schedule

The OCC has released its schedule of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) evaluations to be conducted in the third quarter of 2016.

06/02/2016

Wall Street firm pays $300,000 for failure to file SARs

The SEC has announced an order charging Albert Fried & Company, a Wall Street based brokerage firm, with failing to sufficiently evaluate or monitor customers’ trading for suspicious activity as required under the federal securities laws. An SEC investigation found the firm failed to file SARs for more than five years despite red flags tied to its customers’ high-volume liquidations of low-priced securities. The firm agreed to pay a $300,000 CMP to settle the charges.

06/02/2016

Search feature added to NCUA CUSO registry

The NCUA has announced the addition of a search feature to its CUSO Registry. Users can search for information on the nearly 900 registered CUSOs by name, city, state, zip code, registry number or services. Users can also export the data into Excel, CVS and PDF formats. “CUSOs at a Glance,” an annual fact sheet on the CUSO sector, has also been developed to provide key metrics, including the levels of credit union investments in CUSOs, the percentage of CUSOs wholly owned by a single credit union, the number of credit unions CUSOs serve and the types of services CUSOs provide, among other data.

06/02/2016

First quarter bank income mixed

The FDIC has released its Quarterly Banking Profile for the first quarter 2016. A statement was issued by Chairman Gruenberg, in which he noted, “The banking industry reported mixed results for the first quarter. By many measures, the industry had a positive quarter. However, noncurrent loans to the oil and gas industry rose sharply and net interest margins remained low by historical standards.” Net income declined 2% to $39.1billion. Community bank net income rose 7.4 % to $5.2 billion. Noncurrent loans posted the first increase in six years led by energy loans. The 12 month growth rate for loan balances is the highest since the second quarter 2008.

06/02/2016

Community development certification webinar

"CDFI Certification – Special Credit Union Version," a free 90-minute webinar for low-income credit unions interested in becoming certified as Community Development Financial Institutions, will be hosted by the NCUA on June 23 beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

06/01/2016

Foreign-held U.S. securities

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released its report on foreign portfolio holdings of U.S. securities as of June 30, 2015. The survey measured the value of foreign portfolio holdings of U.S. securities to be $17,134 billion, with $6,655 billion held in U.S. equities, $9,547 billion in U.S. long-term debt securities (of which $1,154 billion are holdings of asset-backed securities (ABS) and $8,393 billion are holdings of non-ABS securities), and $932 billion held in U.S. short-term debt securities. The next survey will cover holdings at the end of June 2016; preliminary data are expected to be released by February 28, 2017.

06/01/2016

FRB annual report to Congress

The Federal Reserve Board has presented its 102nd Annual Report to Congress. The report covers operations of the Federal Reserve System during calendar year 2015. It provides 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.

06/01/2016

Financial holding companies list

The Federal Reserve Board has posted an updated list of those bank holding companies who have elected to become or be treated as financial holding companies as of May 16, 2016.

06/01/2016

G.20 finance companies report

The Federal Reserve has released the March 2016 G.20 finance companies report, which covers owned and managed receivables outstanding and terms of credit on auto loans.

06/01/2016

Important changes to Summary of Deposits survey

The FDIC has issued FIL-36-2016 on the Summary of Deposits (SOD), the annual survey of branch office deposits as of June 30 for all FDIC-insured institutions, including insured U.S. branches of foreign banks. All institutions with branch offices are required to submit the survey; institutions with only a main office are exempt. All survey responses are required by July 31, 2016. The FDIC emphasized two key instructions for this year's submission:

  • Beginning this year, the SOD survey will be collected using the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's (FFIEC) Central Data Repository (CDR). The use of FDICconnect to submit the survey has been discontinued. The notice was issued earlier than usual this year to provide ample time for institutions to prepare for this change.
  • The individual responsible for submitting an institution's SOD survey must have an account with the CDR. A separate CDR account is not necessary if the SOD submitter and Call Report submitter are the same individual. Instructions for requesting a CDR account are provided under "Accessing the Central Data Repository" on page 2 of the FIL. SOD reporting instructions, survey worksheets, access to the CDR, and additional details are available on the FDIC's Bank Financial Reports webpage.

06/01/2016

NCUA prohibition notices

The NCUA has issued notices of prohibition to six individuals previously convicted of crimes of dishonesty who are now prohibited from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution:

  • a former employee of Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union in Cleveland, Ohio, who had pleaded guilty to the charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced to two years in prison and three years’ supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $436,026.
  • a former employee of Culver City Employees Federal Credit Union in Culver City, California, who had pleaded guilty to the charge of identity theft, received a suspended sentence and five years’ probation and was ordered to perform 60 days of community service and to pay restitution of $60,000.
  • a former employee of New Haven Police and Municipal Community Federal Credit Union in New Haven, Connecticut, who had pleaded guilty to the charge of larceny, received a suspended sentence and five years’ probation and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $30,000.
  • a former employee of Winchester Community Federal Credit Union in Winchester, Virginia, who had pleaded guilty to the charge of embezzlement and was sentenced to 54 months in prison and four years’ supervised release, and was ordered to pay nearly $1.06 million in restitution.
  • a former employee of Boise U.S. Employees Federal Credit Union in Boise, Idaho, who had pleaded guilty to the charge of theft, and was sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $213,302.92.
  • a former employee of Members Exchange Credit Union in Ridgeland, Mississippi, who had pleaded guilty to the charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years’ supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in an amount yet to be determined by the court.

06/01/2016

NCUA to hold internal controls and accounting webinar

The NCUA will host on June 22 at 2 p.m. a free 90-minute webinar, “Internal Controls and Accounting Tips for Small Credit Unions, Part II.”

06/01/2016

DPRK a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern

The U. S. Treasury Department has announced a Notice of Finding that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) is a jurisdiction of “primary money laundering concern” under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Treasury, through its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), also released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) recommending a special measure to further isolate North Korea from the international financial system by prohibiting covered U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent accounts with North Korean financial institutions, and prohibiting the use of U.S. correspondent accounts to process transactions for North Korean financial institutions.The Notice of Finding was published by FinCEN in today's Federal Register.

While current U.S. law already generally prohibits U.S. financial institutions from engaging in both direct and indirect transactions with North Korean financial institutions, this NPRM, if finalized, would require U.S. financial institutions to implement additional due diligence measures in order to prevent North Korean banking institutions from gaining improper indirect access to U.S. correspondent accounts. While North Korea’s financial institutions do not maintain correspondent accounts with U.S. financial institutions, North Korean financial institutions frequently conduct transactions on behalf of the North Korean government and state-controlled corporations. The NPRM, if finalized, would prohibit the use of third-country banks’ U.S. correspondent accounts to process transactions for North Korean financial institutions.

6/3/16 Update: The Special Measure NPRM was published in the 6/3/16 Federal Register, at 81 FR 35665, with a comment deadline of August 2, 2016.

05/31/2016

Utah bank pays HMDA and RESPA penalties

One of the FDIC's civil money penalty (CMP) orders released on May 27 assessed a $250,000 penalty on a Utah bank for engaging in (1) unsafe or unsound banking practices; (2) violations of RESPA and Regulation X by agreeing to pay fees for the referral of mortgage loan business; and (3) violations of HMDA and Regulation C because of the Bank’s significant home mortgage data accuracy errors in both 2012 and 2013. BankersOnline has been tracking HMDA CMPs for several years. This is the first HMDA penalty we have seen since November 2013.

05/31/2016

FDIC third quarter CRA exam schedule released

The FDIC has issued a list of institutions that the agency has scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the third quarter of 2016.

05/31/2016

Reserve Board to meet Friday

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has posted a notice of an open meeting of the Board to be held at 3:00 p.m. on June 3, 2016. Matters to be considered include:

  • Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Capital Requirements for Supervised Institutions Significantly Engaged in Insurance Activities
  • Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to apply Enhanced Prudential Standards for Systemically Important Insurance Companies

The meeting can be viewed via webcast from a link available on the Board’s website. A link to the meeting documentation will also be available there approximately 20 minutes before the start of the meeting.

05/30/2016

FDIC posts April enforcement actions

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has released a list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in April, 2016. The 44 orders listed included one cease and desist order; three consent orders; 15 removal and prohibition orders; seven Section 19 orders; seven civil money penalties; one amended order to pay; eight terminations of consent orders and cease and desist orders; and two notices. A Minnesota bank was ordered to pay $2,000 for violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act. CMPs were levied against five individuals in amounts ranging from $25,000 to $90,000 for unspecified infractions. Each of the five was also issued a removal and prohibition order.

05/27/2016

Former Wells employee pays $85,000 CMP

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced the filing of an administration consent order against a former Wells Fargo employee for an illegal mortgage fee-shifting scheme. The CFPB found that David Eghbali referred a substantial number of loan closings to a single escrow company, which shifted its fees from some customers to others at Eghbali’s request. Eghbali could then manipulate loan costs and ultimately increase the number of loans he closed, increasing his commissions. The consent order requires Eghbali to pay an $85,000 civil money penalty and bans him from working in the mortgage industry for one year.

05/27/2016

NCUA requests comments on exams and supervision

The NCUA has begun a multi-pronged outreach effort to collect experiences and ideas from credit union system stakeholders through its Exam Flexibility Initiative. Credit unions are requested to evaluate the agency’s examination and supervision program. The initiative will include meetings and teleconferences, and the agency has already opened an email account for credit unions to provide comments, and created a webpage to provide information about the initiative.

05/27/2016

Agenda announced for FinTech Forum on marketplace lending

The Federal Trade Commission has announced the agenda for its FinTech Forum on marketplace lending. Technology experts, consumer advocates, and industry and government representatives will be part of the Commission's first forum in Washington, D.C., on June 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. A full schedule and other details are found on the event webpage.

05/27/2016

G7 action plan to combat terrorism financing

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has posted the actions of the meeting of the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting in Sendai, Japan on May 21. The G7 published an action plan on combating the financing of terrorism. The G7 countries have committed to lead on actions such as enhanced information exchange and cooperation, and implementation of terrorist asset freezing measures.

The members of the G7 Finance meeting are the finance ministers and central bank governors of seven countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commissioner of the European Commission (EC), the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), and the President of the Eurogroup also participate in the meeting, as well as heads of international organizations, such as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the President of the World Bank.

05/27/2016

CUs encouraged to promptly file grant apps

The NCUA has issued a reminder to credit unions (CUs) that a new registration system is now required for grant applicants, and low-income credit unions seeking Community Development Revolving Loan Fund assistance grants should give themselves adequate time to file. Instructions for creating an account and registering are available on the “Help Documents” section of the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives’ Grants and Loans information page. The application deadline is June 30.

05/27/2016

Mortgage interest rates nearly unchanged

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indices indicate that nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages were nearly flat from March to April, 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 3.75 percent for loans closed in late April, up 2 basis points. The average interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.75 percent, down 1 basis point. The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less was 3.94 percent, down 1 basis point. The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.89 percent in April, up 1 basis point. 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 $322,400 in April, down $2,600.

05/26/2016

Counter terrorism designations

OFAC has announced the designation of two terrorist groups. See our OFAC Update for details.

05/26/2016

House prices rise in first quarter

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its House Price Index (HPI) for the first quarter 2016. U.S. house prices rose 1.3 percent, the nineteenth consecutive quarterly price increase in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index. House prices rose 5.7 percent from the first quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016. This is the fourth consecutive year in which prices grew more than 5 percent. FHFA's seasonally adjusted monthly index for March was up 0.7 percent from February. The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

05/26/2016

Economic well-being report

The Federal Reserve Board has released its Report on the Economic Well-being of U.S. Households. The report is based on the Board's annual survey of household economics and decision making. Aggregate-level results show several signs of improvement. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they are either "living comfortably" or "doing okay," up 4 percentage points from 2014 and up 6 percentage points from 2013. Seventy-seven percent of non-retired adults without a disability are confident that they have the skills necessary to get the kind of job that they want now—an increase of 10 percentage points from the 2013 survey results. A video summary of the report was also released.

05/26/2016

Mobile banking service for underserved consumers

The FDIC released a report, "Opportunities for Mobile Financial Services to Engage Underserved Consumers," at a meeting of the agency's Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion (ComE-IN). The report includes the findings from qualitative research with consumers and industry stakeholders and identifies a set of strategies for banks to consider to better position them to meet underserved consumers' needs.

05/26/2016

FTC stops phony debt relief schemes

The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida have announced actions taken against two operations charged with running phony student loan debt relief schemes, and defendants in a similar FTC action brought earlier this year have agreed to a ban on participating in any debt relief business, as part of a consumer protection crackdown to combat such frauds.

In the first case, the operators of Consumer Assistance Project lured borrowers with promises such as “GET RID OF YOUR DEBT TODAY!” and charge illegal up-front fees for their purported services, typically $250, plus monthly fees of up to $303 for as long as 36 months. In the second case. an operation called Student Aid Center Inc. enticed people with promises such as “Get Your Student Loans Forgiven Now!” and “$17,500 in Up Front Forgiveness."

The operators of another student debt relief scheme have agreed to a settlement with the FTC that will permanently ban them from the debt relief business. The FTC alleged that Tobias West and his wife, Komal West, the owners of Good EBusiness, Select Student Loan Help LLC, and Select Document Preparation Inc., charged consumers up-front fees of $500 to $800 based on phony claims that they could renegotiate, settle, or alter payment terms on student loan debt. In addition, the FTC charged that two of the defendants deceptively marketed home loan and student modification services under the name “AAP Firm,” and illegally charged advance fees ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

05/26/2016

CFPB CAP to meet in Little Rock

A Save the Date has been posted on the Bureau Blog for a meeting of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 9 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT. The meeting will discuss an auto lending education initiative, trends and themes, and payday lending.

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