Stop by Daily for What's Hot Right Now in Compliance & Risk for Credit Unions and Banks

The latest action from NCUA is being met with great disappointment. In a letter to Congress, NCUA Chair Debbie Matz states that the earliest that the Agency  could provide credit unions with an 18-month exam cycle would be the end of 2017, explaining that it will take that long to adjust to regulatory improvements and build out systems to processes to support them. What? [3/11/17]

If you can’t get approved for a loan large enough to meet the needs of your small business, why not just have your employees and friends submit falsified loan applications to make up the shortfall? Because that can land you in jail. A member of Bell Community Credit Union is now facing three years in federal prison for bank fraud for making 15 false loan applications over a period of 14 months and has been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $207,116. [3/11/16]

And that's as specific as he would get in his remarks before the Consumer Bankers Association. He did go on to say that a rulemaking process on payday lending will begin "in the coming months." [3/10/16]

Debbie Matz took the helm of the NCUA board in the midst of the financial system's distress. For a total of 11 years she has served with the NCUA. "I am proud of all that the NCUA has accomplished to bring stability, advance growth, and promote flexibility in our nation's credit unions," Matz said. [3/10/16]

The number of federal legislators calling for the CFPB to use its authority to better protect credit unions rose to at least 330 signers, and counting. The letter has driven support from both sides of the aisle. [3/10/16]

With cybersecurity being the point of interest for many people in recent years, it's easy to forget about physical security. With the recent observation of funds being reallocated to support cybersecurity, where does the credit union stand when it concerns face-to-face threats of violence? [3/9/16]

Eliott C. Ponte, Regulatory Compliance Counsel at NAFCU, writes of an experience where he was a victim of phone fraud. For most, this could be an alarming experience. Those who manage to handle the situation responsibly can protect their financial well-being. But those who let their emotions take control may accidentally release information they may regret later. Here are some resources to help prepare for these situations. [3/9/16]

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, or PCI DSS, audits are required to be done by major payment card issuing companies of retailers and other businesses that process more than 1 million card transactions in a given year. The FTC regards these audits as an assessment to see how well any company protects consumer data. [3/9/16]

Scrutiny of Bank Secrecy Act compliance at financial institutions everywhere is surging. Fines and enforcement orders are all over the headlines. Regulators, as well as board members, want to know that banks and credit unions have taken a good look at what their exposure is, and have a solid plan in place to address those risks. What are the elements of a solid BSA Risk Assessment? [3/8/16]

Sen. Dean Heller requested that the FSOC and the FFIEC coordinate their efforts for a more consistent examination approach. When firms have to constantly adjust and educate regulators to adhere to new sets of regulatory requirements regarding cybersecurity, this diverts critical resources and ultimately distracts from actually fighting cybercrimes. [3/8/16]

President Barack Obama met with financial regulators offering compliments, concerns, and strategies for future improvements. [3/8/16]

President/CEO Jim Nussle, COO Rich Meade, and CPO Bill Hampel share their thoughts on advocacy, regulatory burden, and more. [3/8/16]

At this year's National Consumer Protection Week, NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz urged credit unions to share the agency's online consumer resources with members. "Knowledge is power, and financial education is the first line of defense a consumer has against a fraudster," Matz said. [3/8/16]

Michael J. McKenna, NCUA's general counsel, outlined the conditions that a multiple-group credit union has to meet when it expresses an interest in merging with another multiple-group credit union so both facilities may keep their local identities and roles in local decision-making. [3/7/16]

Valerie Y. Moss, CUNA's senior director of compliance analysis, writes briefly about the procedures for initiating and processing a SAR, touching base on some important need-to-know information. [3/7/16]

The brain is a complex organ. It performs a multitude of tasks for people 24/7, 365 days of the year. But like any other part of the human body it can, and will, experience exhaustion, resulting in a lack of creativity, lower production, and poorer time management. What are some things a fellow team member or management could do to help revitalize a person needing a pick-me-up? [3/7/16]

As the amount of financial institutions declines, many smaller institutions speculate about the uncertainty of their own futures. The downtrend has certainly been widely reported over the past few weeks, months and even years, even in the general press, which tends to run stark images of an endangered field. [3/1/16]

A digital marketing company, CUGROW, offers live user testing for homepages or client credit unions, allowing for an unbiased review of their own web-based and mobile formatted services offered to members. [3/1/16]

The Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk (TAILOR) Act could provide low-risk credit unions the regulatory relief imposed by current regulations, which are geared towards banks that are "too big to fail." [3/1/16]

Credit unions have just jumped back into the cross hairs of banks by receiving the highest marks for service that Consumer Reports has ever given, thus bringing to limelight the banker backed push for more regulation and changes to credit union tax status. But what if credit unions aren't the problem banks think they are? Are credit unions really presenting unfair competition or are credit unions providing a new business model? [3/1/16]

Wire transfer hackers making nearly $1 billion in requests to move money misspelled "foundation," which caught the attention of the routing bank. But by that time, four transfers totaling more than $80 million had already slipped through. Perhaps now the attackers can afford a good editor. [3/11/16]

The chair of the Democratic National Committee is reportedly supporting a bill that would curb the authority of the CFPB to regulate payday loans. [3/11/16]

An informal CBA poll finds Clinton narrowly defeating Trump, 52% to 48%, in a mock election if the electorate were entirely banks. Conversely, an informal ICBA poll of bankers finds Trump crushing Clinton 83% to 17%. [3/11/16]

CFPB Director Cordray rejects J.G. Wentworth's petition to remove the CFPB's civil investigation demand, its third against the company in three years. "This means that the director of the CFPB is tasked with evaluating and ruling on CIDs issued by the agency he is in charge of. Therefore, it isn't surprising that, to date, the bureau has not made public any decisions to actually grant a petition to modify or set aside." [3/10/16]

Ransomware takeovers of individual machines are going for $300 to $500 per machine. But some payouts, like the $17,000 ransom paid by Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital last month, go for much more. The reason 2016 will be the year ransomware holds America hostage is that those trying to defend us against it can't get their act together. [3/10/16]

The Obama administration has indicated that it plans more regulation for the financial industry in the president's 10 remaining months in office. [3/9/16]

In its Spring 2015 rule-making agenda, the CFPB estimated that its proposed payday lending rule would be issued "later in 2015." In its Fall 2015 rule-making agenda, that date was pushed back to February 2016. Industry watchers are now placing current estimates at later this spring. [3/9/16]

Do big banks actually serve a vital purpose in our economy? Imagine an airline industry filled with only community airplane producers. [3/9/16]

CBA took a poll of about 1,000 bankers to see who they would vote for president if the race came down to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The results might surprise you. Throw in a particular pair of running mates and the results flipped. [3/9/16]

The ABA has several suggestions for how to fix the FDIC's proposed small business lending survey, starting with how to ask about how banks handle overdrafts on their most basic, entry-level checking accounts. [3/8/16]

When it comes to complaints categories, visitors to the CFPB's complaint portal can pick such loan types of "mortgage," "payday loan" and "other consumer loan." The CFPB has become especially interested in a relatively new type of "other consumer loan," namely marketplace loans , where lenders use an online interface to connect consumers or businesses seeking to borrower money with investors willing to lend. [3/8/16]

Relief from crushing regulatory burden is at the top of the ICBA's priority list for 2016, but the list includes a whole range of issues, from mortgage lending reform to tax-exempt credit unions. [3/8/16]

ABA has released its 2016 TRID survey, and the results are not pretty. Plus, costs per transaction are up from $300 to $1,000 each. [3/7/16]

This 3-part series takes a look at where CRA has been, where it is now, and where it may be heading. [3/7/16]

The Bank Health Ratings page has been updated based on Q4 Call reports. [3/7/16]

CFPB's general counsel and acting deputy director switches sides and joins Capital One. [3/7/16]

Politicians from both sides of the aisle claim to want regulatory relief for smaller institutions. But we don't have to wait until the election to get it. [3/1/16]

Here are four things to look for on this "Super Tuesday," when 12 states hold their primaries, including Alabama, which will decide if the Senate's Banking Committee Chairman will get to continue to represent his party. [3/1/16]

Two fair housing groups accused First Federal Bank of Kansas City of excluding minority neighborhoods from its lending service area. HUD check out their claims. The bank has agreed to a $2.8 million settlement. Check out HUD's take on it, too. [3/1/16]

The CFPB's director laid out nine goals where he hopes the CFPB will make significant progress over the next two years. Next up: to create the tools it needs to accomplish those objectives. [2/29/16]

The FDIC’s Board of Directors will meet in open session on Tuesday, March 15, in pursuance with the Sunshine Act. The meeting will be webcast live here, and will be subsequently made available on-demand one week after the event. [3/11/16]

HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule aims to assist and further fair housing, and has pledged to create three assessment tools for its program participants. HUD is now requesting comments on the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool, and has posted sample maps and tables to facilitate public input. [3/11/16]

In a speech to bankers, CFPB Director Cordray says the bureau's practice of seeking to shape industry practices not by rulemaking, but by enforcement actions is a responsible strategy for how to deploy limited resources efficiently. [3/10/16]

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board Chairman announced she will be stepping down as of April 30, 2016. What type of legacy will she leave? [3/10/16]

In Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray’s address to the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) he highlights some of the progress and innovation that has come as a result of discussion with the CBA and other agencies. [3/10/15]

The FDIC releases a new bank customer guide to cybersecurity that includes tips for preventing online fraud and theft. The new guide includes resources that can help educate consumers on how to protect themselves from online criminals. [3/9/16]

The CFPB's recent report on its efforts notes $14.3 million in remediation for approximately 228,000 consumers related to aspects including student lending violations, debt collection issues and improper reporting of information to credit reporting companies. [3/9/16]

The CFPB released its 10th issue of supervisory highlights covering a number of key findings from recent examinations, including student loan servicing and debt collection as well as recent fair lending settlements. The report also recaps to the bureau's oversight efforts. [3/9/16]

According to theSection 543(c) HFA Risk-Sharing program, HUD is entered into risk-sharing agreements with State and local housing agencies to provide more insurance and credit to multifamily loans. HUD's proposed changes would amend the regulation to better align with other HUD programs and conform to statutory amendments. [3/8/16]

Terminating relationships that aren't problematic because they are in an industry that is viewed unfavorably in order to avoid regulatory scrutiny is called "de-risking," and Thomas Curry of the OCC thinks additional guidance on this issue is in order. [3/8/16]

The Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to nine companies that conduct payment card industry screening, requiring them to provide the agency with information on how they conduct assessments of companies to measure their compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). [3/8/16]

March 6-12 is National Consumer Protection Week (sorry, there is no PTO for this). The FTC will focus on protecting consumers from fraud, identity theft and other related issues. [3/7/16]

Institutions with up to $1 billion in total assets and that meet certain other criteria now qualify for an 18-month on-site examination cycle, rather than a 12-month cycle. [3/7/16]

The Washington, D.C.-based credit union had 665 members and assets of $2.5 million. It was chartered in 1954. [3/7/16]

NCUA names four individuals who are prohibited from being involved in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution. The individuals have pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement, theft, or structuring. [3/1/16]

A schedule of institutions to be examined for CRA between April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016, is now available. OCC releases its schedule, too. Time to check that public file. [3/1/16]

He's now president and CEO of Mortgage Bankers Association, but he was the former FHA commissioner and assistant HUD secretary. A group is calling for an investigation into David H. Stevens contacts with his former agency. [3/1/16]

The NCUA has agreed to insure members accounts of Jafari No-Interest Credit Union. The credit union will serve members of three religious associations in Texas. [2/29/16]

The CFPB outlines its nine priority goals to protect and help consumers in the financial marketplace. [2/29/16]

The FDIC is proposing new requirements for timely deposit insurance determination. The proposed rule would require certain large insured depository institutions to maintain data on each depositor’s ownership interest by right and capacity, and would facilitate prompt payment of FDIC-insured deposits in the event of a failure. [2/26/16]