From appraisal bias to redressing consumers harmed by a tech
support scam, federal regulators have remained busy in recent weeks. Find out
details about these topics and more in this week’s regulatory roundup below:
Acting Comptroller discusses appraisal bias
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu stressed the
importance of eliminating appraisal bias in the financial industry during an
appraisal subcommittee (ASC) hearing hosted by the Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency. Hsu discussed how homeownership can facilitate economic equality
and highlighted his agency’s actions to improve access to homeownership and
promote fairness in the financial system. His complete remarks can be accessed here.
Fed terminates three enforcement actions
The Federal Reserve Board recently announced the termination
of three enforcement actions. One action involved the winding down of
Farmington State Bank, of Farmington, Wash., and its holding company, FBH
Corp., which had been in effect since July 2023. Farmington has completed its resolution
plan and no longer functions as a bank. The other two actions were issued
against BNP Paribas, of Paris, France. Both actions have been in effect since
June 2014 and required BNP Paribas to implement a program to ensure global
compliance with U.S. sanctions laws. More information is available here.
SEC, CFTC adopt amendments on private fund reporting
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently adopted amendments to their
respective forms used by certain registered investment advisers to report confidential
information about private funds, including those also registered with CFTC as
commodity pool operators or commodity trading advisers. The amendments are
designed to enhance the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s ability to
monitor and assess systemic risk and to bolster the SEC’s oversight of private
fund advisers and the agency’s investor protection efforts. Read more here.
FTC sends refunds to consumers harmed by tech support
scam
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it would send
more than $610,000 in refunds to consumers who lost money to a tech support
scam executed by the payment processing company Nexway. Nexway and two of its
officers were at the center of several offshore tech support scams, processing
tens of millions of dollars in charges and giving the scammers access to the
U.S. credit card network, according to the FTC’s complaint, filed in April
2023. Find more details here.