Links in “Banks”

Based on recent compliance news, regulatory scrutiny regarding discrimination is on the rise, resulting in enforcement action after enforcement action. The CFPB, HUD, and other agencies are taking no prisoners, and while the fines are not always huge, they are seeking to make some examples. For the sake of your institution’s reputation and checkbook, we've put together a list of recent examples of discrimination-related enforcement actions and some possible takeaways they can provide. [7/1/14]

List of top 50 community bank leaders in social media. [7/1/14]

ICBA lends its support to bill that would rein in Operation Choke Point, which it perceives as "overzealous Justice Department intimidation. [7/1/14]

Justice Department says the $9 billion fine against France's BNP Paribas will hopefully be a wake-up call to shareholders about the importance of holding corporate chiefs accountable for following the law. The bank was accused of falsifying records to conceal funneling billions of dollars from blocked nations through its U.S. operations. [7/1/14]

Department settles with group stemming from allegations they advertised a condominium complex as a place where children were not allowed to live, a violation of the Fair Housing Act. Worth noting that the action was the result of a referral from another group that receives funding from HUD to serve as watchdogs for discrimination. [6/30/14]

The FDIC issued a total of 39 orders which include two consent orders; one prompt corrective action directive; seven removal and prohibition orders; seven section 19 orders; three civil money penalties; 16 orders terminating consent orders and cease and desist orders; one order dismissing notice of assessment of civil money penalties and order to pay; one order terminating supervisory prompt corrective action directive; and one final order of dismissal. [6/30/14]

Freedom State Bank, a small bank in Oklahoma, becomes the 12th bank in the nation to fail this year, compared to 16 at this point last year. [6/30/14]

Smaller banks and credit unions that lack the cybersecurity resources of the megabanks are not, nevertheless, excused from putting in place an adequate program to fight cyber risk. Regulators are now piloting cybersecurity assessments for more than 500 community-sized institutions. [6/30/14]

Four years after new rules required banks to ask customers to affirmatively opt-in for overdraft protection, more than half of those who were charged an overdraft fee when using their debit card to not recall agreeing to the service, according to a recent report published by Pew. [6/27/14]

A look  into the issues surrounding the possible use of consumers' cell phone locators to confirm they are in the same city their credit card is being used as a fraud detection method. [6/27/14]