Entries in Banking News (130)

Friday
Aug192016

Call Report Burden Reduction Initiative

As part of its community bank Call Report burden-reduction initiative, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has approved a number of burden-reducing changes to the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) as well as certain new and revised data items and instructional revisions. Subject to approval by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, these Call Report revisions will take effect September 30, 2016, or March 31, 2017, depending on the change.
Additional information may be found at:  http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2016/fil16045.html
Friday
Jul292016

MasterCard Network Enhancements

MasterCard is introducing a multitude of authorization processing changes that include new methods to identify the type of authorization, changes to authorization reversal timeframes, changes to chargeback timeframes, and the extension of incremental authorizations to all merchant types.
These changes will help issuers effectively manage cardholders open to buy, and to manage chargeback protection maximum timeframe limits based on authorization types.  
 
Thursday
Jul142016

CFPB Proposal to End Payday Debt Traps

In June, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule aimed at ending payday debt traps by requiring lenders to take steps to make sure consumers have the ability to repay their loans. The proposed rule would also cut off repeated debit attempts that rack up fees. These strong proposed protections would cover payday loans, auto title loans, deposit advance products, and certain high-cost installment and open-end loans. The CFPB is also launching an inquiry into other products and practices that may harm consumers facing cash shortfalls. 

A factsheet summarizing the proposed rule is available at:http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/CFPB_Proposes_Rule_End_Payday_Debt_Traps.pdf

Monday
Jun272016

Host State Loan-to-Deposit Ratios Updated

Joint agencies issued host state loan-to-deposit ratios that they will use to determine compliance with section 109 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. These ratios replace the prior year’s ratios, which were released on June 29, 2015.

In general, section 109 prohibits:

  • a bank from establishing or acquiring a branch or branches outside of its home state primarily for the purpose of deposit production, and
  • branches of banks controlled by out-of-state bank holding companies from operating primarily for the purpose of deposit production.

Section 109 also provides a process to test compliance with the statutory requirements. A bank that fails both steps is in violation of section 109 and is subject to sanctions by the appropriate agency.

The updated host state loan-to-deposit ratios may be found here.

Monday
Nov232015

New HMDA Rules

The CFPB recently published the final rule to Regulation C, which implements HMDA. The new rule makes changes to covered institutions and transactions. The new rule also changes the information institutions collect and report about mortgage loans and applications. Stay tuned for Gold Book updates concerning the final rule and its implementation.

Monday
Sep142015

Free FDIC Seminars

The FDIC will conduct live seminars on FDIC deposit insurance coverage for bank employees and bank officers between September 24, 2015, and December 2, 2015.

In addition, the FDIC has developed three separate Deposit Insurance Coverage Seminars for bank officers and employees, which are now available on FDIC's YouTube channel.

Both the live and the YouTube deposit insurance coverage seminars will provide bank employees with an understanding of how to calculate deposit insurance coverage. The live seminars each provide a comprehensive overview of FDIC deposit insurance. The three YouTube seminars cover: Fundamentals of Deposit Insurance Coverage; Deposit Insurance Coverage for Revocable Trust Accounts; and Advanced Topics in Deposit Insurance Coverage.

Click here for more information.

Wednesday
Jul222015

Federal Reserve announces steering committees of new Payments Task Forces

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced the members of the steering committees of both the Faster Payments Task Force and Secure Payments Task Force described in the Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System paper released in January 2015Representatives were elected by the membership to represent stakeholder categories within each task force. Three appointments were made by the Federal Reserve task force chair to ensure that stakeholder perspectives were sufficiently represented.

The steering committees will advise the Federal Reserve task force chair on meeting agendas and assist in prioritizing the various task force activities. The committees will also assist in establishing and recommending the scope of work groups, synthesizing task force perspectives and determining items in need of task force deliberation.

More information may be found at www.fedpaymentsimprovement.org

Thursday
Jun252015

CFPB Concern About Overdraft Practices

On June 11, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report on bank and credit union overdraft practices that raises concerns about whether the overdraft costs on consumer checking accounts can be anticipated and avoided. The report shows big differences across financial institutions when it comes to overdraft coverage on debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals, drawing into question how banks sell this account feature. The report also finds that consumers who opt in for overdraft coverage end up with more costs and more involuntary account closures.

As part of an on-going study, this month the CFPB asked Fiserv, a worldwide provider of financial services technology, to provide anonymous overdraft data for research purposes.  If the CFPB finds that policies or practices do not protect consumers in accordance with federal consumer protection law, it will use its authorities to provide such protection. The goal is to make checking accounts more fair, transparent, and competitive and to ensure consumers are empowered to take control over their economic lives.

The CFPB, which has been raising issues over banks’ overdraft practices since 2012, is soon expected to announce new regulations to address the concerns.

Additional information may be found on the CFPB website here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-report-raises-concerns-about-impact-of-overdraft-practices-on-consumers/

 

Thursday
Jun252015

Bank Domain Names

The .bank domain is open to federally and state chartered financial institutions and provides marketing opportunities and enhanced security features such as better encryption and authentication.

Financial institutions owning federally-registered trademarks have only a few days left to secure their .bank domain before the general registration period opened on June 18, 2015. At that time domains can be purchased on a "first come, first served" basis and there is no guarantee a bank may be able to secure a .bank domain, even if it has a trademark for its name.

Qualified financial institutions must be registered with the Trademark Clearinghouse prior to seeking registration of a .bank domain. Once a mark has been registered with the Clearinghouse, the owner can register for other new top-level domains.

Banks with federally registered trademarks seeking to secure their .bank domain must act quickly to ensure that they can obtain .bank domains corresponding to their marks.

To read more on the topic, visit http://www.aba.com/Tools/Function/Cyber/Pages/dotbankfaq.aspx

Friday
Apr102015

Final Rule Integrating National Bank and Federal Savings Association Licensing Activities

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a final rule integrating policies and procedures for corporate activities and transactions of national banks and federal savings associations.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act transferred the former Office of Thrift Supervision’s functions relating to Federal savings associations to the OCC. Therefore, the OCC has been responsible for ongoing examination, supervision and regulation of Federal savings associations. Prior to issuing this final rule, the OCC had been maintaining one set of rules applicable to national banks and another set of rules for Federal savings associations.  The rule eliminates unnecessary requirements, promotes fairness in supervision, and furthers the safe and sound operation of the institutions the OCC supervises.

Read more in the Federal Register.

Tuesday
Feb032015

New Savings Plans for Disabled

The US Congress passed the ABLE Act in December, which created a 529A account to provide tax advantaged benefits for disabled individuals. The 529A is a special savings account for disabled people and families with children who have special needs. The funds can be invested and grow tax-free. Stay tuned for rules to be finalized and states to roll out the plans. 

Monday
Jan122015

Proposed Amendments to RESPA and TIL

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing amendments to certain mortgage servicing rules regarding force-placed insurance notices, policies and procedures, early intervention, and loss mitigation requirements under Regulation X's servicing provisions; and periodic statement requirements under Regulation Z's servicing provisions. 

The proposed amendments may be found in the Federal Register, here.

Sunday
Dec142014

IRS Revises Standard Mileage Rates for 2015

The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:

  • 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014
  • 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014 
  • 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
Wednesday
Dec032014

Assessments: Final Rule

The FDIC Board of Directors recently adopted the Assessments Final Rule. The Final Rule revises the FDIC's risk-based deposit insurance assessment system to reflect changes in the regulatory capital rules that go into effect in 2015 and 2018. For deposit insurance assessment purposes, the Final Rule will: (1) revise the ratios and ratio thresholds relating to capital evaluations, (2) revise the assessment base calculation for custodial banks, and (3) require that all highly complex institutions measure counterparty exposure for assessment purposes using the Basel III standardized approach in the regulatory capital rules. There are two effective dates for item (1): January 1, 2015, and January 1, 2018. The effective date for items (2) and (3) is January 1, 2015.

Additional information may be found on the FDIC website at: http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2014/fil14057.html

Wednesday
Dec032014

Revised BSA/AML Exam Manual Available

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently released the revised Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Examination Manual.

The revised manual reflects the FFIEC's ongoing commitment to incorporate guidance issued since 2010 into one manual for the FFIEC agencies' examination staff. The manual benefits depository institutions by providing information to help ensure compliance with the BSA and safeguard operations from money laundering and terrorist financing.

The revised manual may be found on the FFIEC BSA/AML Infobase at http://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/default.htm.

Wednesday
Dec032014

Fair Lending Caution

The CFPB issued a bulletin warning that probing for details on a potential borrower’s Social Security disability benefits violates the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B. Pressing too far on the details of a disability raises fair lending risks, the bureau reported. 

Wednesday
Dec032014

FDIC Videos Address Mortgage Compliance

The FDIC has released of the first of three new technical assistance videos developed to assist bank employees in meeting regulatory requirements. The videos will address compliance with certain mortgage rules issued by the CFPB. The first video covers the Ability to Repay and Qualified Mortgage rule, and is intended for compliance officers and staff involved in ensuring the bank’s mortgage lending operations comply with CFPB rules.

Monday
Dec012014

Americans with Disabilities Court Action

The Justice Department recently entered into a Settlement Agreement with Ahold U.S.A., Inc. and Peapod, LLC (Peapod), the owners and operators of www.peapod.com, to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The agreement resolves the Department’s allegations that www.peapod.com is not accessible to some individuals with disabilities, including individuals who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, and individuals who have disabilities affecting manual dexterity. Under the agreement, Peapod will adopt measures to ensure that users with disabilities are able to fully and equally enjoy the various goods, services, facilities, and accommodations provided through www.peapod.com, including: conforming the website and mobile applications to, at minimum, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA Success Criteria (WCAG 2.0 AA), except for certain third party content; designating a Web Accessibility Coordinator; adopting a Web Accessibility Policy; soliciting customer feedback on how website accessibility can be improved; providing automated and user website and mobile application accessibility testing; and training Peapod’s website content personnel on website accessibility.

We thought this was interesting reading and considerations for banks to identify website accessability and accommodations may be warranted.

Monday
Oct202014

Force-Placed Insurance 

The Department of Financial Services published a proposed revised regulation for the rate for and placement of force-placed insurance. The proposed rules would set minimum notification requirements, set maximum amounts of force-placed insurance coverage that an insurer may issue on a New York property, and prohibit (i) the payment of commissions to servicer-affiliated insurance producers; (ii) the sharing of force-placed insurance premiums or risk with a servicer affiliate; and (iii) issuing force-placed insurance on property serviced by a servicer affiliated with the insurer.  Comments on the revised proposal will be received until November 14, 2014.

Wednesday
Oct152014

Adjustment to Subprime Threshold

The New York State Department of Financial Services recently determined that a new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rule will decrease the threshold on certain loans and concluded that the existing subprime threshold was having an "unduly negative effect on the availablitiy of mortgage financing in New York State." As a result, the Superintendent adjusted the subprime threshold by 75 basis points for FHA-insured loans, with certain exclusions.