FinCEN seeks AML program renewal for correspondent accounts

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is requesting comments on a proposed renewal, without change, to an information collection found in existing anti-money laundering regulations for financial institutions. It requires U.S. financial institutions to establish due diligence policies, procedures and controls reasonably designed to detect and report money laundering through correspondent accounts that U.S. financial institutions establish or maintain for certain foreign financial institutions. The proposal would extend the requirements titled “Anti-Money Laundering Programs and Due Diligence Programs for Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Financial Institutions.”

Comments will be accepted through May 30.

To learn more about the proposed renewal, click here.

Banking agencies issue joint report on regulatory relief efforts

Member agencies of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council on March 21 issued a joint report to Congress detailing their review of rules affecting financial institutions. The review was conducted as part of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, which requires federal banking agencies, along with the FFIEC, to conduct a review of their rules at least every 10 years to identify outdated or unnecessary regulations.

The report describes several joint actions planned or taken by the federal financial institutions regulators, including:

• Simplifying regulatory capital rules for community banks and savings associations;

• Streamlining reports of condition and income (Call Reports);

• Increasing the appraisal threshold for commercial real estate loans; and

• Expanding the number of institutions eligible for less frequent examination cycles.

To learn more about the report, click here.

Federal Reserve notes feature new design, security features

The U.S. Currency Education Program has designed two new materials to help financial institutions and its customers become familiar with the security and design features of Federal Reserve notes. Both materials are available free of charge.

The materials are available by clicking here.

CFPB proposes changes to Regulation B for demographic data collection

On March 24, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed changes to Regulation B to increase flexibility for mortgage lenders in collecting demographic information.

In addition to providing increased compliance flexibility for individual mortgage lenders, the changes would support the broader mortgage industry’s ability to use consistent forms and compliance practices. Under the proposal, mortgage lenders would not be required to maintain different practices depending on their loan volume or other characteristics, allowing more lenders to adopt application forms that include expanded requests for information regarding a consumer’s ethnicity and race. The proposal also contains other amendments to Regulation B and its commentary to facilitate compliance with the regulation’s requirements for the collection and retention of information about the ethnicity, race and sex of applicants seeking certain types of mortgage loans.

Comments will be accepted for 30 days following publication in the Federal Register.

To learn more about the proposed changes, click here.

 

Credit unions

NCUA adjusts operating fees for 2017

The National Credit Union Administration recently announced its adjusted operating fee scale for federally insured credit unions for 2017.

For credit unions with assets of more than $1 million, the operating fee scale increased by 25.5%. The primary driver for the growth of the fee is the lower amount of funds drawn directly from the Share Insurance Fund. Credit unions with less than $1 million remain exempt from the operating fee.

The operating fee will be due by April 17 for any credit union that owes it.

More information about the operating fee adjustments are available by clicking here.

NCUA issues guidance on risk-based compliance indicators

The National Credit Union Administration recently released a supervisory letter to provide its examiners with guidance about the updated list of compliance risk indicators that are part of NCUA’s Risk-Focused Examination Program.

The updated list of indicators does not impose any new or higher supervisory expectations for credit unions. The updates to the indicators took effect March 31.

To read the full letter, click here.

 

More compliance news

CFPB to assess remittance rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced March 17 the release of a plan to assess the effectiveness of the remittance rule. The remittance rule, which went into effect on Oct. 28, 2013, requires companies to give accurate disclosures to consumers before they pay for a remittance transfer, and also requires remittance transfer providers to investigate disputes and remedy certain errors, according to a CFPB blog post. The CFPB is requesting public comment on its plans for assessing the regulations as well as certain recommendations and information that may be useful in conducting the planned assessment.

Comments will be accepted through May 23.

To read more, click here.

By |2019-11-25T05:54:41-06:00April 10th, 2017|Financial Services|0 Comments

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