All in Regulatory Update

CFPB Issues Analysis on Elder Financial Exploitation

Adam Witmer
BSA, Regulatory Update

On February 27, 2019, the CFPB issued a report titled “Suspicious Activity Reports on Elder Financial Exploitation: Issues and Trends.”  In their release, they explain that financial institutions have reported over 180,000 suspicious activities targeting older adults. Combined, these Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) involved more than $6 billion in elder financial exploitation.

The first of its kind, this report presents a public analysis of SARs filed for elder financial exploitation between 2013 and 2017.  The CFPB explains that the findings in the analysis provide an “opportunity to better understand the complex problem of elder financial exploitation and to identify ways to improve prevention and response.” The full report runs 35 pages long and includes several sections including…

CFPB Updates 2019 List of Rural and Underserved Counties

Adam Witmer
Regulation Z, Regulatory Update

Yesterday, 2/12/19, the CFPB released their list of rural and underserved counties.  That list, which can be exported to a PDF, CSV, or an Excel file, can be found here.   In conjunction with updating this list, the CFPB has also updated its “Rural or Underserved Areas Tool” which can be used to provide a safe harbor determination that a property is located in a rural or underserved area.  The tool provides more detail than the county list because the tool includes both locations that are rural because they lie in a non-urban census block as well as locations that are in rural counties while the list only reflects rural status only at the county level.

We understand that this information isn’t the most exciting of information, but it is important to understand how this information impacts community banks and credit unions.  Specifically, the updated rural and underserved information applies to…

FDIC Extends Comment Period for FDIC Deposit Insurance Application Process Proposal

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

On February 12, 2019, the FDIC extended the comment period related to the Request for Information (RFI) on the Deposit Insurance Application Process from February 11, 2019, to March 31, 2019.  The Financial Institution Letter (FIL-7-2019) announcing this extension can be found here.

An interesting note on this is that the original comment period for this RFI ended on February 11, 2019.  Upon reviewing the comments received on the FDIC’s website, it appears that only ten (10) comments have been received as of the date of the writing of this article.  Therefore, it appears that the FDIC has extended the comment period in hopes of obtaining more comments on this topic.

Comments on the RFI can be submitted (and read) here.

New TRID FAQs - Funny Joke or Something Else?

Adam Witmer
TRID, Regulatory Update, Regulation Z

I have spent a bit of time studying comedy.  I’m no expert by any means, but I’m always intrigued by the details of how things work, and comedy is no exception.  I figure that once I understand how something like comedy works, I will be able to better use it and appreciate it.

When we look at the art of comedy, there is one well-known element that seems to be….

(Click here to see how this post relates to the new TRID FAQs - and we promise it does!)

Two Comments Due Next Week

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update, Regulation CC

Two sets of comments are due next week.

First, Tuesday, February 5 marks the last day to comment regarding the proposal to increase the appraisal threshold for residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000.  The proposed rule provides thirteen questions for which the agencies are seeking comment.

Secondly, comments regarding the Regulation CC proposal must be in by Friday, February 8, 2019.  This request for comment does two things as the proposal would first implement new changes to the Expedited Funds Availability Act and also provides an additional opportunity for public comment on the 2011 funds availability proposal that was never finalized.

Agencies Release Final Rules for Private Flood Insurance

Adam Witmer
Flood, Regulatory Update

On January 25, 2019, the joint agencies issued a final rule requiring lending institutions to accept “private flood insurance.”  This long-awaited rule was mandated by the Biggert-Waters Act and went through two different proposals. One of the biggest challenges the new rule could have created relates to how lenders will determine whether a private flood insurance policy is considered to be in compliance and, therefore, acceptable.  To alleviate this challenge, the final rule provides a…

NCUA Releases Supervision Priorities

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

In early January 2019, the NCUA released a letter (19-CU-01) to credit unions outlining their primary areas of supervisory focus for 2019.  In their letter, the NCUA explained that the extended exam cycle introduced in 2017 would be fully implement in 2019, examiners will continue to increase offsite work, and that streamlined procedures and risk-focused exams will continue to be utilized, as applicable. For 2019, the NCUA has outlined a number of supervisory priorities.  While many of these priorities are of a safety and soundness focus, the NCUA outlines two priorities that compliance professionals should be aware of.

Lessons Learned from USAA - Reg E & UDAAP

Adam Witmer
Regulation E, Regulatory Update, UDAAP

On 1/2/19, new CFPB director Kathleen Kraninger signed a consent order with USAA Federal Savings Bank.  While the consent order outlines millions of dollars in restitutions and penalties, the order provides financial institutions with fairly detailed insights on a number of Regulation E violations identified by the Bureau.  As Regulation E applies to all financial institutions regardless of their regulator, this consent order can be used as a learning tool for appropriately complying with the Regulation.

Specifically, the USAA consent order outlined six main deficiencies that resulted in either a violation of Regulation or a UDAAP violation, or both, including…

2019 HMDA Exemption Threshold

Adam Witmer
HMDA, Regulatory Update

On December 31, 2018, the CFPB adjusted the HMDA exemption threshold from $45 million to $46 million.  The adjustment is based on the 2.6 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2018. Therefore, banks, savings associations, and credit unions with assets of $46 million or less as of Dec. 31, 2018, are exempt from collecting data in 2019.

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