FinCEN Updates SAR Form

Adam Witmer
BSA, Regulatory Update

FinCEN recently announced that they will be revising the Suspicious Activity Report.  The new version of the SAR will be available in June of 2018 and will include several changes.  FinCEN is currently in the process of developing and testing the updated SAR and has released some mock-ups of the proposed SAR, though they say that the final SAR may be slightly different.  This is the first round of updates to the SAR form since releasing the new electronic version of the form a few years back.  While we saw changes to the...

Credit Score Exception Notice for Denied Applications

Adam Witmer
FCRA

In discussing the Fair Credit Reporting Act, one question I often receive is whether or not the credit score exception notice must be provided when an application is denied and the applicant is receiving an adverse action notice.  The thought is that the credit score information is included on the adverse action notice, so why would the credit score exception notice - that basically provides the exact same information - still be required? Believe it or not, this question is actually quit complex, so I will do my best to explain this for you.  

SAR Filing Deadline

Adam Witmer
BSA

As a financial institution, SAR reporting is a critical function that can result in violations being cited in an exam report.  Because of this, it is extremely important to fully understand the reporting rules, of which there are quite a few.  One of those rules relates to the timeframe for SAR reporting - i.e., how long a financial institution has to file SAR.

Board Reporting SAR on Director

Adam Witmer
BSA

Several years ago, I had just arrived on-site for a bank visit when the BSA Officer quickly pulled me into her office and shut the door.  She had a dilemma: she had filed a SAR on a director and was faced with the challenge of how she was going to report that SAR to her board.  Her challenge was that the board had a practice of viewing a copy of the entire completed SAR and if she continued on with this practice, should be be disclosing to the director that the bank had filed a SAR on him.  This, of course, would be problematic for a number of reasons: unlawful disclosure and a very uncomfortable boardroom are two of them.  Fortunately for this BSA Officer, I had a simple solution for her.

HMDA Mixed Use Property

Adam Witmer
HMDA

he HMDA mixed-use property test has slightly changed with the new 2018 rules.  Some of what we knew before still applies, but there are definitely some new difference.  Specifically, the mixed-use property test is now a two step process where you must first look at the primary use of a property and then make sure the loan does not have a purpose of home improvement.  First, you must determine if...

The Difference Between the Credit Score Disclosure & Risk Based Pricing Notice

Adam Witmer
FCRA

The requirements for risk-based pricing notices and credit score disclosures can be extremely confusing at times.  Trust me, I know.  As was the case for me in the past, most bankers don’t have to worry about understanding the different disclosure options available as a bank will only use one form or another and will never have a need for the other disclosure options.  That said, however, understanding which disclosures are required is important to...

CFPB Makes Changes to Prepaid Accounts Rule

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

Yesterday, the CFPB finalized some updates to its 2016 prepaid rule.  The original rule put in place some consumer protections for prepaid accounts such as the treatment of funds on lost or stolen cards, error resolution and investigation, upfront fee disclosure, access to account information, and disclosing applicable overdraft features.  Yesterday’s changes adjust requirements for...

HMDA Code for Visual Observation

Adam Witmer
HMDA

There has been some question regarding how to report whether or not demographic information was collected based on a visual observation for applications that were not taken face to face.  Specifically, the question relates to the following field for each part of demographic information: “Collected on the Basis of Visual Observation or Surname.”

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