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Treasury Audit Report Analyzes Responses to Threats by Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
On May 23, the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General issued an audit report presenting the results of its study into how, and to what extent, the Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC) addresses threats to international financial systems. The OIG reviewed TFFC—which is responsible for leading and assisting tasks forces, including the Anti-Money Laundering Task Force—to determine how its collaboration efforts with the national security community and other federal agencies identifies and addresses “threats to the international financial system from money laundering and other forms of illicit finance.” According to the findings, while the majority of federal agency officials interviewed for the report were satisfied with TFFC’s collaboration efforts overall, others believed enhanced collaboration efforts were warranted. The OIG also found that TFFC failed to establish “policies or procedures for collaboration or a mechanism to monitor, evaluate, and report the results of its collaborative efforts as recommended by the Government Accountability Office” in a 2009 report. Accordingly, the OIG recommended that TFFC develop and improve upon the necessary policies and procedures needed to monitor the effectiveness of “interagency collaboration,” as well as address areas of concern regarding collaboration efforts with foreign countries. TFFC agreed with these recommendations and stated it is currently working to improve interagency collaboration.
FHFA Publishes Final Rule on State-Chartered Credit Union Membership
On June 5, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a final rule amending its regulations to allow certain state-chartered credit unions without Federal share insurance to obtain Federal Home Loan Bank memberships. The final rule is substantially the same as the proposed rule issued by the FHFA in September 2016 with the exception of an added revision intended to help streamline credit union Bank membership applications. The amendment was adopted in order to implement a provision of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act and goes into effect July 5, 2017.
OCC Issues Updated Procedures for Termination of Federal Charters
On June 7, the OCC released Bulletin OCC 2017-20 announcing a revised booklet covering termination of federal bank charters. The booklet, part of its Comptroller’s Licensing Manual, replaces “Termination of National Bank Status,” issued in April, 1998, and applies to all national banks and federal savings associations. According to the Bulletin, these are the highlights of the revised booklet:
- “provides an overview of policy considerations and evaluative factors that the OCC considers when reviewing notices to terminate a bank”;
- “outlines requirements and procedures that a bank should follow when completing the process to terminate, either through a merger, conversion, or liquidation, including completing related filings and notices”;
- “lists references and links to informational resources, sample forms, and documents that a bank may find useful during the termination process”;
- “incorporates revised regulatory requirements for terminating a bank.”
Updates include termination procedures and requirements from after July, 21 2011, when the Office of Thrift Supervision and the OCC were integrated.
Cordray Discusses Youth Financial Education, CFPB Responsibilities
Recently, CFPB Director Richard Cordray delivered prepared remarks at the Financial Literacy and Education Commission Meeting in Washington, DC on May 24 and at the People and Places Conference in Arlington, VA on May 31.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission (Commission). Coordinated by the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Security, the Commission presented results from the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment study on financial education in the U.S. and how it compares to other countries. Cordray’s opening remarks stressed the-importance of providing financial resources and educational tools empowering young people and outlined efforts the CFPB has underway, such as the Youth Financial Education resource page, the online Money as You Grow tool, and other community outreach education programs.
People and Places Conference. A keynote speaker at the conference, Cordray outlined the three main components of the CFPB’s work: (i) supervision and enforcement; (ii) implementing common-sense rules; and (iii) hearing and addressing consumer complaints to help keep companies accountable. Regarding supervisory and enforcement actions, Cordray stated that the Bureau’s activities serve to help change institutions’ practices for the better by (i) providing consistent supervision; (ii) initiating public enforcement actions to serve as a deterrent to “bad behavior”; and (iii) upholding “laws that ban unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.” Cordray asserted that by setting expectations financial institutions must meet in their own compliance work, similar violations can be avoided. Cordray spoke next about the need to establish “common-sense rules of the road” in order to protect consumers. He used the mortgage industry as an example of how the Bureau responded to Congress’s directive for developing “much-needed reforms” by “implementing rules to govern underwriting, servicing, and loan originator compensation” and “temper[ed] these regulations for small creditors so as to ease regulatory burdens on community banks and credit unions.” Furthermore, Cordray stated the Bureau’s ability to receive and process consumer complaints is crucial to identifying, understanding, and prioritizing problems.
Financial Services Associations Comment on CFPB’s HMDA Proposal
As previously covered in an InfoBytes Special Alert, the CFPB issued a request for comment on its proposal to amend the 2015 HMDA rule, which would incorporate changes primarily for the purpose of clarifying data collection and reporting requirements. The request, which closed for public comment on May 25, received 46 public comments from several banking and credit union industry associations.
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). On May 25, the MBA—a national association representing the real estate financial industry—submitted a comment letter outlining outstanding issues and calling upon the Bureau to provide clarifying and technical corrections to Regulation C, which implements HMDA. The MBA outlined the following points, among others, for consideration:
- delay the effective date of the Final Rule and amendments pending completion of key actions in the following areas: “HMDA data collection portals; publication and implementation of data quality edits; geocoder production release and integration specs; data privacy concerns; resubmission expectations; updated filing instructions guides; guidance on reporting and collection issues; impacts of the proposed amendments; uniform residential loan application; government monitoring information”;
- address recommendations pertaining to multifamily lending: (i) “multifamily loans should not be subject to HMDA reporting”; (ii) “purchases and assumptions of multifamily loans should be exempt from introductory rate period reporting”; (iii) “the CFPB should accept simplified reporting from smaller-volume HMDA reporters, particularly smaller-volume multifamily reporters”; and (iv) “further consideration and clarification of the multifamily definition is needed”; and
- a one-year delay would allow the CFPB to address privacy concerns that “might dictate that certain data not be disclosed publicly,” thereby giving the Bureau time to “reconsider whether the many data points required under Dodd-Frank . . . should be required.”
According to the CFPB’s request for comment, most of the amendments in the Final Rule are to go into effect January 1, 2018; however, the MBA noted that data collection must commence in 2017 for loan applications that may become reportable in 2018. Therefore, the MBA urged the Bureau to delay implementation for at least one year to allow sufficient time for data collection and reporting which would give the CFPB “time to provide much-needed information and materials, and to allow HMDA reporters more time to finalize and implement the changes effectively.”
American Bankers Association (ABA). Separately, on May 25, the ABA submitted a comment letter opining that many of the Bureau’s “technical corrections, clarifying amendments or minor changes” are “substantive in nature” and require a more comprehensive and formal process to “identify industry questions and proposed solutions.” Specifically, among other things, the ABA emphasized the following recommendations:
- the January 1, 2018 effective date of the Final Rule should be “suspended immediately” in order to “promote the orderly, coordinated, and thorough consideration and resolution of all the interrelated issues presented and to make sure that all of the privacy and security issues are adequately addressed”;
- the CFPB should consider updating, rather than discontinuing, its reference tool for lenders entitled A Guide to HMDA: Getting it Right;
- several categories require further clarification: loans in process or loans originated before but purchased after the rule’s effective date; multifamily dwellings; home improvement loans; temporary financing; the threshold for reporting; counteroffers; applicant or borrower’s reported income; the annual percentage rate; rate spreads and rate set dates; reporting when there are no closing disclosures; corrected disclosures; the unique loan identifier; the geocoding tool’s use; and information pertaining to ethnicity and race; and
- pending guidance on error resolution and software required for reporters should be finalized “as soon as possible,” and regulations on privacy and data security should be proposed “with the utmost speed.”
“Piecemeal corrections based on informal and anecdotal evidence only adds to regulatory burden, which adds costs to borrowers and reduces access to mortgage credit,” the ABA noted.
SEC Requests Public Comments on Investment Adviser Conduct Rules
On June 2, 2017, Jay Clayton, Chairman of the SEC, requested public input on standards of conduct for investment advisers and broker-dealers. The SEC last solicited input on the regulation of investment advisers in 2013 and Clayton believes that advances in technology and changes in business models have since transformed the market for retail investment advice. Additionally, confusion surrounding investment adviser conflicts of interest, among other things, have prompted the SEC to seek feedback on the standards. Topics touched on in the request include:
- types of advisers providing investment advice and applicable standards of conduct for each;
- conflicts of interest;
- effects of market developments and advances in technology;
- fee-based vs. commission-based investment advice;
- department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule;
- pros and cons of multiple standards of conduct for advisers;
- effects on particular segments of the market;
- disclosure-based vs. standards-of-conduct-based regulatory action;
- who should be considered “retail investors”;
- how should “investment advice” be defined;
- costs and benefits of different regulatory approaches;
- comparison of U.S. regulation to non-U.S. regulation in this area;
- material changes since last data solicitation in 2013.
Clayton hopes his solicitation will garner “robust, substantive input that will advance and inform the SEC’s assessment of possible future actions.”
Federal Reserve Announces Updates to Regulation CC Regarding Electronic Checks
On May 31, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) announced final amendments to the check collection and return provisions in Regulation CC, Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks, which implements the Expedited Funds Availability Act of 1987, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act of 2003 and the official staff commentary of the regulation. The amendments update Regulation CC “to reflect the evolution of the nation's check collection system from one that is largely paper-based to one that is virtually all electronic.” The Board (i) retained the current same-day settlement rule for paper checks; (ii) applied Regulation CC’s existing check warranties to check that are collected electronically; and (iii) adopted new warranties and indemnities related to checks collected and returned electronically and to electronically-created items.
In addition to the final rule, the Board also requested comments on proposed language amending Regulation CC's existing liability provisions to include a presumption that a substitute or electronic check was altered instead of forged in the event of a dispute under federal or state law in the absence of evidence such as the original check. Comments on the proposed amendments are requested within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register.
CFPB Announces Plans to Directly Supervise Service Providers
As previously discussed in InfoBytes, the CFPB released its Spring 2017 Supervisory Highlights, which outlined its supervisory and oversight actions in areas such as mortgage servicing and student loan servicing. The Supervisory Highlights also announced the CFPB’s plans to develop and implement a program to directly monitor key service providers to institutions it supervises to “potentially reduce risks to consumers at their source.” Section 1002(26)(A) of Dodd-Frank defines a “service provider” as “any person that provides a material service to a covered person in connection with the offering or provision by such covered person of a consumer financial product or service, including a person that: (i) participates in designing, operating, or maintaining the consumer financial product or service; or (ii) processes transactions relating to the consumer financial product or service….” Sections 1024(e) and 1025(d) of Dodd-Frank authorize the CFPB to supervise service providers to banks or non-banks that are already supervised by the CFPB such as depository institutions having more than $10 billion in assets as well as the following: mortgage originators, brokers or servicers; payday lenders; private student lenders; and other providers of consumer financial products or services in areas such as auto finance, debt collection, student loan servicing, consumer reporting, and international money transfers.
The Bureau stated that its initial work involves conducting baseline reviews of some service providers to learn about their structure, operations, compliance systems, and compliance management systems. “In more targeted work, the CFPB is focusing on service providers that directly affect the mortgage origination and servicing markets,” the Bureau noted. The CFPB plans to shape future service provider supervisory activities based on what it learns through its findings.
NYDFS Issues Interpretative Guidance Regarding Banking Law Approval Requirements
On May 22, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced it was issuing interpretative guidance regarding the New York Banking Law requirement that mandates prior NYDFS approval for an acquisition or change of control of a banking institution. The guidance was released in response to a request by the New York Bankers Association amid concerns that some investors have been developing non-transparent methods of acquiring and controlling banking institutions without obtaining NYDFS’ review and approval. According to the guidance, “control” is achieved by having direct or indirect power to direct or cause the direction of a banking institution’s management and policies through the ownership of voting stocks or otherwise, and that control is achieved when individuals or entities work together or act in concert to acquire control of a banking institution but with each individual or entity staying below the threshold required for seeking NYDFS’ prior review and approval. The Superintendent of Financial Services, Maria T. Vullo issued a reminder to state-chartered banks that “all proposed changes of control in any banking institution must be submitted to the Department for prior approval under our mandate to safeguard the institutions we supervise and regulate, and to protect the public they serve.”
The guidance was released the same day Vullo testified at a New York State Assembly hearing on the “Practices of the Online Lending History,” which sought to “explore . . . predatory online lending practices which need to be mitigated, and potential regulatory or legislative action which may be needed to address [this issue].” Vullo urged legislators to clarify the statutory definition of “making loans” to include a wider range of companies and “to include situations where an entity, in addition to soliciting a loan, is arranging or facilitating the funding of a loan, or ultimately purchasing or acquiring the loan.”
FDIC Announces Nationwide Seminars for Bank Officers and Employees
On May 18, the FDIC issued FIL-18-2017 announcing that, between June 6, 2017 and December 4, 2017, it will conduct four identical live seminars regarding FDIC deposit insurance coverage for bank employees and bank officers. The seminars will include an overview of popular topics such as (i) the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator—an interactive tool used to calculate deposit insurance coverage; (ii) the BankFind Directory, which allows users to confirm if a bank is FDIC-insured; and (iii) the Financial Institution Employee’s Guide to Deposit Insurance developed to help bankers provide detailed information about deposit insurance coverage to their depositors. In addition to the live seminars, the FDIC posted to its YouTube channel three separate seminars, entitled (i) Fundamentals of Deposit Insurance Coverage; (ii) Deposit Insurance Coverage for Revocable Trust Accounts; and (iii) Advanced Topics in Deposit Insurance Coverage. Both the live seminars and the YouTube seminars will provide bank employees and officers with an understanding of how to calculate deposit insurance coverage. Bankers interested in attending the seminars should visit the FDIC’s website.