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Wolters Kluwer survey says compliance staffs are busy as ever
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Despite several regulatory relief measures enacted in recent years, few if any financial institutions are easing off the proverbial compliance pedal, according to the researchers at Wolters Kluwer.
Dodd Frank Update spoke to the firm’s senior advisor Tim Burniston about its 2019 Regulatory and Risk Management Indicator survey which revealed that financial institutions are more concerned about compliance risks than they were a year ago.
Get a detailed account of what conclusions can be drawn from the survey results.
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OCC, FDIC issue proposal to ‘modernize’ CRA standards
Posted Date: Friday, December 13, 2019
Agency officials offered insight about their new proposal to clarify and modernize Community Reinvestment Act requirements during a press conference hosted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. prior to releasing a joint advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the matter.
In addition to addressing what activities qualify for CRA credit and they are quantified, the agencies have proposed new criteria encompassing banks that conduct most of their deposit business online.
Learn more details about the agencies’ proposal.
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CRA proposal exposes rift among regulators, advocacy groups
Posted Date: Friday, December 13, 2019
The Federal Reserve’s foot-dragging in endorsing the newly proposed changes to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements, issued Thursday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., is not the only evidence of a split among regulators on the best approach to updating regulations implementing the more than 40-year-old law.
Financial industry advocates were encouraged by aspects of the proposal they believe will lead to increased transparency and credit availability in certain communities. Consumer advocates, on the other hand, have been strongly critical of the proposal.
Learn more details of the various viewpoints on the proposal.
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CFPB proposes remittance rule changes
Posted Date: Friday, December 6, 2019
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a notice of proposed rulemaking relating to the remittance rule.
The proposal would increase the safe harbor threshold on remittances for certain entities, implement a permanent remittance disclosure exemption for certain entities and permit remittance providers to use estimates for fund transfers to certain countries.
Learn specific details about the bureau’s proposal.
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CFPB agrees to FCRA settlement with screening company
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019
A New York-based background screening company agreed to pay $8.5 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to resolve charges that it failed to adequately ensure the accuracy of information included in consumer background reports about job applicants.
The bureau argued that the company’s negligence heightened the potential for material fiscal and reputational harm to job applicants.
Find out more details about the bureau’s allegations.
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CFPB orders creditor, servicer to redress servicemembers
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently filed a consent order against defendants charged with misrepresenting fees associated with financing travel-related loans issued to military servicemembers and their families, and a separate order to a servicing company that purchased contracts from those defendants.
The CFPB suspended the creditor’s restitution requirement in light of the company’s inability to pay.
Find out more about the violations cited in the consent orders.
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Warren, Brown press CFPB on suggested supervision tailoring
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to provide more details about a possible new program through which the agency would allow individual companies to request that the bureau tailor its supervisory approach to specific facts and circumstances pertaining to those companies.
CFPB Deputy Director Brian Johnson announced that the bureau was considering issuing a formal advisory opinion on the creation of such a program while speaking at a recent policy forum.
Find out more details about the senators’ concerns.
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CFPB might update consent order termination policy
Posted Date: Friday, December 6, 2019
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger recently indicated that the bureau would consider updating its policies regarding consent order termination requests in an effort to bring regulatory relief to the industry.
CFPB consent orders often have fixed or indefinite terms, the majority of which, imposed since 2014, require mandatory compliance within 30 to 90 days which continues for a term of five years.
Find out more about what developments could be coming down the road.
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CFPB, DOE sued for inaction on student lending
Posted Date: Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Accusing the agencies of neglecting to protect student loan borrowers from bad actors, a nonprofit group filed suit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Education (DOE).
The lawsuit claims the group is overwhelmed with requests from harmed student loan borrowers as a result of the agencies’ failure to act according to applicable statutes.
Learn more details about the lawsuit.
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eOriginal discusses digital future with Ginnie partnership
Posted Date: Wednesday, November 27, 2019
eOriginal made a splash at the Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention last year, announcing a partnership with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage which would enable Wells’ correspondent channel to purchase eNotes.
So what would the company do for an encore in 2019? Push the availability of eClosing out even further to the mortgage industry.
Find out more details from Dodd Frank Update's interview with Chief Product Officer Simon Moir.
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Former MBA chairwoman on mission to combat wire fraud
Posted Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019
There are certain areas where industry and consumer advocacy priorities align seamlessly.
Having previously advocated on behalf of mortgage lenders in her official capacity as the Mortgage Bankers Association’s first female chairperson, Regina Lowrie now focuses her time and energy on her mission of protecting mortgage companies and their borrowers from a sinister shared threat – wire and identity fraud.
Read more to learn how Lowrie used her passion for fighting wire fraud as fuel to start a business geared toward doing just that.
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FY 2020 spending bill gains approval
Posted Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019
Numerous federal financial agencies likely will be operational to begin 2020 thanks to the adoption of a $13.06 billion appropriations package outlined in the House’s FY 2020 spending bill.
The spending package provides more federal funding than the FY 2019 enacted level and more than the Trump administration’s budget request.
Find out more details about the spending package.
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Fannie, Freddie publish URLA timeline
Posted Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019
The latest milestone reached by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the process of implementing their new redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) and updated automated underwriting systems (AUS) is one that offers clarity on future steps in the implementation process itself.
The government-sponsored enterprises published a timeline, setting dates for the next major milestones in testing and integrating the new standards into the loan production process prior to the mandatory compliance date for exclusive use of the new URLA and AUS specifications.
Get more details about key dates to circle in 2020.
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CFPB releases TRID guide for construction loans
Posted Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently published two guides intended to clarify disclosure requirements for construction and construction-permanent loans under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule.
The separate guidance materials provide details specific to how TRID applies to each loan type. One guide details regulations regarding separate construction and permanent phase disclosures. The other guide pertains to combined, one-transaction disclosures.
Read on for more details about the guides.
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Trades comment on CECL guidance proposal
Posted Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019
Several financial trade advocates and individual banks weighed in on a proposed interagency policy statement on current expected credit loss (CECL) standards just before the notice-and-comment period expired.
A large swath of the comments requested clarity on banking regulators’ expectations for certain institutions, as well as how some current commonplace accounting practices might change under the new standards – for which mandatory compliance dates differ for entities of varying sizes and business types.
Get more insight on the industry’s reaction to the proposed guidance.
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Crapo backtracks on safe harbor for cannabis banking
Posted Date: Thursday, December 19, 2019
There is bipartisan support for legislation that would provide banks and credit unions a legal safe harbor from repercussions for financing legitimate marijuana-related businesses, but the measure continues to face hesitation in the Senate Banking Committee.
Having previously acknowledged the merits of arguments for and against creating such a precedent, Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) leaned toward the latter in a recent statement regarding the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act.
Learn more details about Crapo’s views on the matter.
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Dems form coalition to monitor CRA actions
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2019
The task of updating regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has been fraught with conflict since long before the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) approved an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to clarify and modernize CRA standards last week.
Representatives of a coalition of 34 Democrats serving on the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) and the Senate Banking Committee recently attended the FDIC meeting during which the proposal received board approval, despite pushback from FDIC Vice Chairman Martin Gruenberg, who chose to abstain from the vote.
Find out more about the differing political viewpoints with regard to CRA reform.
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Kraninger talks collaboration with states, rulemaking plans
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Marking her one-year anniversary as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Kathy Kraninger detailed the bureau’s efforts to increase cooperation with state regulators to protect consumers.
She also touched on what she foresees for the future of the bureau’s rulemaking activities addressing small-dollar lending and debt collection.
Learn more about the topics she discussed during her appearance.
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Report: GAO recommends BSA/AML improvements
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2019
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report highlighting numerous instances in which financial institutions curtailed banking services to legitimate businesses as they attempted to alleviate compliance risks associated with money transfers.
Many of the “de-risking” efforts were initiated to comply with Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) requirements.
Find out more details about the report.
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Trades urge regulators to pause for CRA reform
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2019
In light of the Trump administration’s push to revamp Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations, several banking trade groups are pushing for the federal regulators to push pause on certain changes to Call Report data requirements and data collection requirements related to small business lending.
Any changes to the CRA framework could alter regulations implementing Section 1071 with regard to the reporting and tracking of small business and farm loans, the trades noted.
Get more details about the letter.
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NCUA approves two-year RBC rule delay
Posted Date: Friday, December 13, 2019
Credit unions will have an extra two years to work toward compliance with the National Credit Union Administration’s risk-based capital (RBC) rule following a recent vote to delay its implementation to Jan. 1, 2022.
Credit union advocacy groups pushed for the delay in implementation, the third since the rule was adopted in 2015 to modernize the credit union capital regime.
Learn more about the delay and what industry advocates are saying.
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FDIC proposes updates to brokered deposits framework
Posted Date: Friday, December 13, 2019
A plan to modernize the regulatory framework governing brokered deposits proposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) seeks to account for nearly three decades worth of changes in the banking landscape.
The proposal would establish a new framework for analyzing whether deposits placed through deposit placement arrangements qualify as brokered deposits.
Learn more about the new brokered deposits proposal.
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Court denies en banc review on FOM rule
Posted Date: Friday, December 13, 2019
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals announced this week that it had denied a rehearing en banc in the case American Bankers Association v. National Credit Union Administration concerning the credit union regulator’s field of membership rule.
The banking trade association previously had said that the original ruling “stretches Chevron deference beyond its limits.”
Read on for reaction from credit union advocates on the announcement.
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Former Fed chairman, Volcker Rule namesake passes
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Paul Volcker, a former two-term Federal Reserve chairman and the namesake of regulations prohibiting the use of consumer deposits for speculative investments, has died at the age of 92.
Volcker is credited with helping to get the U.S. off of the “gold standard” while working as undersecretary of the Treasury Department under President Richard Nixon, fighting rising inflation in the 1980s amid political pressure and for serving on President Barrack Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which was formed to help guide the country out of the financial crisis.
Learn more about Volcker’s legacy.
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Quarles expects Fed involvement in joint CRA rule
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Despite indications that the next federal rulemaking to revise Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) standards will not involve the Federal Reserve, one of the Fed’s governors recently said he believes all three federal banking regulators will be able to agree to terms for a final rule on CRA reform.
Fed Vice President for Supervision Randal Quarles was asked by Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) at a recent Senate committee hearing whether there was a chance that the prudential regulators might end up attempting to tackle CRA reform in different ways.
Read on to get more details.
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Sweepstakes winners revealed
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019
After a strong response to the October Research 20th Anniversary Sweepstakes, we now reveal the winners, including the winner of our complimentary registration to the 2020 National Settlement Services Summit.
Read on for more.
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Guidance: Hemp banking does not necessitate SARs
Posted Date: Friday, December 6, 2019
Banks no longer have to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) any time they bank a hemp-related business, per a new guidance issued by federal and state financial regulators.
The joint policy statement was approved by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
Learn more about the new guidance.
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Congress pressed to enable more data privacy oversight
Posted Date: Friday, December 6, 2019
Financial industry advocates and former regulators urged the Senate Commerce Committee to seriously consider proposals for improving consumer data privacy regulations before and during its recent hearing examining consumer data privacy proposals.
Two former Federal Trade Commission officials called on Congress to grant regulators more enforcement authority with regard to data privacy.
Learn more recommendations made during the hearing.
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CFPB updates FCRA disclosure fee requirements
Posted Date: Friday, December 6, 2019
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced its statutorily-required annual adjustments to maximum allowable credit reporting disclosure fees.
The bureau must adjust the disclosure fee limits proportionate with changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Jan. 1 of each year under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Read on to learn specific details about the most recent update.
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FDIC releases mixed third-quarter profit report
Posted Date: Wednesday, November 27, 2019
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reported net earnings of $57.4 billion in the third quarter for commercial banks and savings institutions. Community banks fared better than their larger counterparts.
That figure represents a $4.5 billion (7.3 percent) decline from one year prior, although quarterly profits without one-time losses would have been the highest in industry history.
Get more details about the report’s findings.
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Supreme Court schedules CFPB case hearing
Posted Date: Wednesday, November 27, 2019
The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for March 3.
The nation’s high court is tasked with reviewing a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court in the case of Seila Law, LLC v. CFPB at the encouragement of the Department of Justice and CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger.
Find out more details about the scheduled hearing.
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