Flood Insurance For Structures With No Appraised Value

Adam Witmer
Flood

We all know that the flood insurance rules apply when a loan is secured by a primary residence or a warehouse in which a business operates.  These situations are very straightforward and would seem logical to be subject to flood insurance rules. The challenge with flood insurance, however, relates to less common situations that wouldn’t seem logical for the rules to apply.  For example, many commercial lenders don’t think that flood insurance rules should apply when a structure is not given any value on an appraisal, even though it is technically part of the loan collateral.

CRA Evaluation Examples from the FDIC & OCC

Adam Witmer
CRA, Regulatory Update

Both the FDIC and the OCC recently released their list of financial institutions that were evaluated for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), as well as the corresponding CRA ratings.  By law, the agencies are required to regularly publish this data and it is always insightful as to what examiners might be looking for when it comes to CRA.  In fact, I strongly believe that one of the best ways to understand CRA is to read the performance evaluations of other financial institutions, specifically those that are...

Cyber Insurance Requirements From the FFIEC

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

While this topic is not usually considered to be in the realm of “compliance,” we wanted to share with you a regulatory update that was just issued and applies to the IT department of each financial institution so that you can pass this information to the appropriate person in your organization. Yesterday, the FFIEC issued a statement on “Cyber Insurance and Its Potential Role in Risk Management Programs.”  This statement was...

Beneficial Ownership Verification for Unincorporated Nonprofits

Adam Witmer
BSA, Regulatory Update

As the new CDD FAQs on the ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) rules were released last week, there have been quite a few questions relating to the rules that require compliance by May 11, 2018.  One of those questions relates to non-profit organizations that are not incorporated or registered with the secretary of state. This article will explore how to complete the UBO information for both incorporated nonprofits as well as nonprofits which are unincorporated associations.

How the New CDD/UBO FAQs Apply to Community Banks and Credit Unions

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update, BSA

For several months now, there have been rumors about a new set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) from FinCEN regarding the new CDD/UBO rules which require compliance by May 11, 2018.  Well, the mysterious FAQs are finally here.  Earlier today, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a set of updated FAQs regarding the new BSA rules that will be effective on May 11, 2018.  These FAQs relate to the new customer due diligence requirements for ultimate beneficial owners on accounts for legal entity customers. 

Agencies Increase CRE Appraisal Threshold

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

For the first time since the appraisal threshold for commercial real estate transactions was originally established 24 years ago, the threshold requiring an appraisal by a certified or licensed appraiser has been increased.  On April 2, 2018, the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve jointly released guidance that raises the threshold for “commercial real estate transactions” requiring an appraisal.  This rule really doesn’t come as a surprise as it follows the July 2017 proposal to make similar changes. One of the main differences from the proposed rule, however, is that the final rule...

NMLS Number on Adverse Action Notice

Adam Witmer
Adverse Action, SAFE Act, Regulation B

The SAFE Act requires that each registered Mortgage Loan Officer (MLO) provide their unique identifier (NMLS #) to applicants according to certain requirements.  For example, the NMLS number must be provided to the customer upon request, before acting as a mortgage loan originator, and through the MLO’s initial written communication with a consumer.  For this reason, most financial institutions have established procedures to include the NMLS number on...

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