All in Regulatory Update

FTC Releases Annual ECOA Report

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

On February 21, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provided their annual Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) report to the CFPB. The FTC is responsible for ECOA enforcement and education regarding most non-bank financial service providers and the report describes the Commission’s work on ECOA-related issues, including activities addressed in research and policy development. The summary also outlines the Commission’s business and consumer education efforts on fair lending issues.

Wells Fargo Sales Abuse Results in $3 Billion Fine

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

On February 21, 2020, the Department of Justice announced an agreement where Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. will pay $3 billion to resolve their potential criminal and civil liability stemming from a practice between 2002 and 2016 of pressuring employees to meet unrealistic sales goals that led thousands of employees to provide millions of accounts or products to customers under false pretenses or without consent, often by creating false records or misusing customers’ identities.

CFPB Releases Winter 2020 Edition of Supervisory Highlights

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

In February of 2020, the CFPB released the Winter 2020 edition of their Supervisory Highlights publication. The findings included in this edition cover examinations in the areas of debt collection, mortgage servicing, payday lending, and student loan servicing that were completed between April 2019 and August 2019.

The full Winter 2020 edition of the CFPB’s Supervisory Highlights can be found here.

CFPB Blog Warns Consumers of Social Security Scams

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

On February 18, 2020, the CFPB published a blog post titled “Five ways to recognize a Social Security scam.” The article begins by explaining that Social Security scams are the most commonly reported type of fraud and scam, and such scams are continuing to evolve. Therefore, it is important that consumer understand how to recognize a scam in order to protect themselves from illicit actors.

FFIEC Updates HMDA Getting It Right Guide

Adam Witmer
HMDA, Regulatory Update

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has issued the 2020 edition of A Guide to HMDA Reporting Getting It Right! for Home Mortgage Disclosure Act-related data collected in 2020 and reported in March of 2021. The 2020 edition reflects updates to incorporate content from the HMDA Rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in October 2019. This compliance resource can help financial institutions better understand HMDA requirements, including the data collection and reporting provisions.

FinCEN to Update CTR Reporting

Adam Witmer
BSA, Regulatory Update

On February 10, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a ruling relating to filing Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) for sole proprietorships and legal entities operating under a “Doing Business As” (DBA) name. This short two-page ruling outlines how CTRs should be filed, starting on April 6, 2020 (and September 1, 2020 for batch filers). Unfortunately, this guidance is not clear and concise and actually seems to complicate things, so BSA Officers should take a close look at it. As you might expect, this topic will be included in our next Quarterly Compliance Update planned for April 2020.

CFPB Fall 2019 Annual Report to Congress

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

On February 3, 2020, the CFPB released their semi-annual report for the Fall of 2019. This version of the regular report to Congress covers the period beginning on April 1, 2019 and ending on September 30, 2019. As is the case in each semi-annual report to Congress, the CFPB includes a number of topics ranging from challenges consumers face to a summary of new rules adopted by the Bureau.

Load More