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FINRA Announces Its Largest AML Fine, Suspends Securities Firm's Former Compliance Officer
On February 5, FINRA announced its largest ever fine for alleged AML-related violations. The self-regulatory agency ordered a securities firm to pay $8 million for allegedly failing to (i) implement an adequate AML program to monitor and detect suspicious penny stock transactions; (ii) sufficiently investigate potentially suspicious penny stock activity brought to the firm's attention; and (iii) fulfill its SAR filing requirements. Further, the firm allegedly did not have an adequate supervisory system in place to prevent the distribution of unregistered securities. In addition to the monetary penalty against the firm, FINRA suspended the firm’s former Global AML Compliance Officer for one month and fined him $25,000. FINRA explained that penny stock transactions pose heightened risks because low-priced securities may be manipulated by fraudsters. In this case, it believes that, over a four-and-a-half year period, the firm executed transactions or delivered securities involving at least six billion shares of penny stocks, “many on behalf of undisclosed customers of foreign banks in known bank secrecy havens.” The firm allegedly executed these transactions despite the fact that it was unable to obtain information essential to verify that the stocks were free trading and in many instances did so without even basic information such as the identity of the stock's beneficial owner, the circumstances under which the stock was obtained, and the seller's relationship to the issuer. During this time, penny stock transactions generated at least $850 million in proceeds for the firm’s customers. The firm did not admit to or deny the allegations.
FinCEN Director Reinforces Enforcement And Compliance Themes, Highlights Risks For Securities Firms
On January 30, in remarks to SIFMA’s AML and Financial Crimes Conference, FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery stressed the importance of establishing a “culture of compliance” at financial institutions to support effective AML safeguards. The Director’s comments reinforce similar remarks made in recent months by both the Deputy U.S. Attorney General and Comptroller Curry. And like Comptroller Curry, Ms. Shasky Calvery highlighted the need for better information sharing not only within institutions but between institutions. FinCEN agrees with industry feedback that the agency needs to improve its own ability to share information. Also part of a broader theme among enforcement authorities, the Director explained that financial institutions should take responsibility when their actions violate the BSA, not only by admitting to the facts alleged by FinCEN but also by acknowledging a violation of the law. She highlighted specific risks in the securities sector including those related to the use of cash, and explained that securities firms that provide bank-like services need to consider the vulnerabilities associated with engaging in such services and must ensure that their compliance programs are commensurate with those risks.
New York Extends Emergency Regulations Regarding Determination of Subprime Home Loans
On December 29, the New York State Department of Financial Services advised supervised institutions that it readopted expiring emergency regulations used to determine if a home loan qualifies as a subprime home loan under Section 6-m of the New York Banking Law. The latest emergency regulations are identical to those initially adopted in September 2013. Without further action, the readopted emergency regulations will expire March 29, 2014.
Preliminary Observations Regarding CFPB's Final Mortgage Disclosure Rule And Forms
**Update – The CFPB has now released the final rule and related materials, available here.**
Later today, as anticipated, the CFPB will release its final rule combining the TILA and RESPA mortgage disclosure forms and rules. We will review the final forms and rule, monitor the related field hearing, and prepare a preliminary Special Alert followed by a more detailed summary.
The final rule and forms follow two years of drafting, testing, and revision by the Bureau. According to the Bureau, its testing demonstrates that the new forms significantly improve the ability of consumers with a variety of experience levels and loan types to answer questions about their loans, compare competing loans, and compare estimated and final loan terms and costs.
The text of the final rule will not be available until later today. However, we are able to make several preliminary observations based on our review of the materials made available thus far, perhaps most importantly that industry will have until August 1, 2015 to make the changes to systems and training necessary to implement the new forms, which is longer than anticipated. Additional observations follow.
Loan Estimate Disclosure
- The new Loan Estimate will combine the disclosures currently provided in the Good Faith Estimate and the initial Truth in Lending statement.
- It appears that the final rule will require lenders to provide the Loan Estimate three business days after an application is submitted by a consumer, excluding days that the lender is not open (e.g., Saturdays). However, it is not clear based from materials available thus far when a consumer has submitted sufficient information to constitute an “application.”
- The design and layout of the Loan Estimate does not appear to differ substantially from the proposed form, except that estimated closing costs and estimated cash to close are now disclosed in separate rows on the bottom of page 1. The CFPB also states that it modified the forms to include checkboxes to tell consumers whether they are receiving or paying cash at closing and to provide a streamlined calculation of that amount.
- Owner’s title insurance is listed as “optional” on page 2. During a recent House Financial Services Committee hearing with CFPB Director Cordray, two committee members–Reps. Miller (R-CA) and Perlmutter (D-CO)–expressed concern that identifying this cost as optional would not serve consumers’ best interests.
- The Total Interest Percentage (TIP) disclosure, which was required by the Dodd-Frank Act and opposed by industry, has been retained on page 3.
- The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) appears on page 3, despite requests by consumer advocates that it appear in a prominent location on the first page. In addition, it appears that the Bureau did not adopt the proposal to revise the APR calculation to include more items in the finance charge and thereby potentially increase the number of loans that would fail the Qualified Mortgage’s points-and-fees test or would be treated as “high cost” or “higher priced.”
- It is unclear from the materials provided what changes, if any, will be made to the restrictions on changes in costs (or tolerances) imposed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2010. It is also unclear whether, under the final rule, TILA or RESPA liability will apply to violations of those restrictions.
Closing Disclosure
- The Closing Disclosure will combine the disclosures currently provided in the HUD-1 settlement statement and any revised Truth in Lending statement.
- It appears that the final rule will require the lender to ensure that the consumer receive the Closing Disclosure three business days before closing. This would mean that the lender must be able to demonstrate that the consumer received the Closing Disclosure three business days before closing.
- The CFPB materials indicate that, in comparison to the proposal that changes to the information provided in the Closing Disclosure generally require re-disclosure and an additional three business day waiting period before closing, the final rule limits the additional waiting period to situations in which there is a substantial change in the APR, a change in the loan product, or the addition of a prepayment penalty.
- It is unclear from the materials provided what role, if any, the settlement agent will play in the preparation of the Closing Disclosure and whether TILA or RESPA liability will apply.
- Like the final Loan Estimate, the design and layout of the final Closing Disclosure do not appear to differ substantially from the proposed form, except for the changes noted above.
- In addition, the final Closing Disclosure, like the proposed form, eliminates the HUD-1 line numbers. The final Closing Disclosure also eliminates the Average Cost of Funds (ACF) disclosure, which was added by the Dodd-Frank Act but opposed by industry.
Other Issues
- It appears that the CFPB has not adopted the proposed requirement that lenders retain records in an electronic, machine-readable format. Instead, the CFPB will work with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create a data standard based on the Closing Disclosure.
For additional background, please review our report on the rule as proposed.
CFPB Mortgage Disclosure Rule Now Expected on November 20, 2013
On November 1, the CFPB announced a field hearing on “Know Before You Owe: Mortgages,” to be held on Wednesday, November 20 at 11 a.m. EST in Boston. In conjunction with the hearing, the Bureau is expected to release its long-awaited final rule combining the Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1 with the mortgage disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act.
The CFPB has stated that the event will feature remarks from CFPB Director Richard Cordray, as well as testimony from consumer groups, industry representatives, and members of the public. The final rule, which was originally expected in October, will not only replace the forms that consumers receive during the mortgage origination process but will also fundamentally alter the regulations governing the preparation and provision of – and liability for – those disclosures. As a result, lenders, settlement agents, and service providers will be required to make extensive changes to their systems, compliance programs, and contractual relationships.
In September, BuckleySandler hosted a webinar covering the key issues in this rulemaking and discussing what industry can do to start preparing now. The webinar featured a discussion with Jeff Naimon, who has spent years assisting the industry with the existing forms. Please contact Jeff for a copy of the webinar materials or with any questions about the expected rule.
SEC Announces Compliance Penalties Against Investment Advisory Firms, Executives
On October 23, the SEC announced penalties totaling $400,000 against three investment advisory firms and their executives for allegedly repeatedly ignoring problems with their compliance programs, which the SEC deemed inadequate to prevent misleading statements in marketing materials or inadvertent overbilling of clients. The penalties ranged from $25,000 for individuals to $100,000 for one of the firms. Among other things, the SEC highlighted the following deficiencies, which varied among the firms: (i) failing to complete annual compliance reviews, (ii) making misleading statements on company’s website and investor brochures by overstating the amount of assets under management while contradicting the amount the firm presented in its SEC filing, (iii) failing to adopt and implement written compliance policies and procedures, (iv) making false and misleading disclosures about historical performance, compensation, and conflicts of interest, (v) repeatedly over- and under-billing clients, (vi) failing to disclose known compliance deficiencies to potential clients in response due diligence questionnaires or requests for proposals, (vii) inflating the amounts of assets under management in SEC filings, and (viii) improperly removing and retaining nonpublic personal client information by an executive who left one of the firms. In addition to agreeing to the penalties, the firms agreed to hire compliance consultants and adopt specific compliance enhancements. The SEC took the actions as part of its Compliance Program Initiative, which targets firms that fail to effectively act upon SEC warnings about compliance deficiencies.
CFPB Director Discusses Mortgage Rule Implementation And Enforcement Against Individuals
On October 23, CFPB Director Richard Cordray briefly spoke with the Reuters Washington Summit about the Bureau’s rulemaking and enforcement work.
Upcoming Effective Dates for Mortgage Rules
According to the report, Cordray stated that he was confident most mortgage lenders would be able to comply with the new mortgage rules by the January 2014 effective dates. "Everybody's had plenty of time to see this coming," Cordray said. However, he added that the Bureau would take into consideration that some smaller firms would need more time to fully comply. "What we're looking for come January 10 is that they've made good-faith efforts to come into substantial compliance with the rules," he said.
Enforcement Actions Against Individuals
Corday also stated that the Bureau would continue to take enforcement action against individual officers and employees, as well as banks and other entities. "I've always felt strongly that you can't only go after companies. Companies run through individuals, and individuals need to know that they're at risk when they do bad things under the umbrella of a company," Cordray said.
The CFPB already has pursued individuals in several civil litigation matters. For example, the CFPB has named individuals in actions to enforce Section 8 of RESPA, including a lawsuit announced just this week against principals of a law firm. In July, the CFPB announced an enforcement action against a Utah-based mortgage company and two of its officers for giving bonuses to loan officers who allegedly steered consumers into mortgages with higher interest rates.
Federal Reserve Board Announces BSA/AML Compliance Action
On October 17, the Federal Reserve Board released a cease and desist order against a foreign bank and its New York branch over alleged BSA/AML compliance failures. After entering into a Written Agreement in June 2012 that required the branch to improve compliance with BSA/AML in connection with the branch’s bulk cash transactions business line, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York conducted an examination to assess the effectiveness of the branch’s BSA/AML compliance program in other business lines. This examination identified an alleged failure of the branch to maintain an adequate risk-based compliance program to mitigate the BSA/AML risks associated with the branch’s foreign correspondent accounts. The order requires the bank and the branch to (i) retain an independent consultant to assess, and prepare a compliance report on, the branch’s compliance with the BSA/AML requirements, (ii) submit an enhanced BSA/AML compliance program, (iii) submit an enhanced customer due diligence program and an enhanced suspicious activity reporting program, and (iv) retain an independent consultant to conduct a suspicious activity review of U.S. dollar transactions cleared over a six month period in 2012. In addition, the bank’s board and the branch management must jointly submit a written management oversight plan.
Special Alert: CFPB ISSUES MORTGAGE SERVICING RULE AMENDMENTS AND GUIDANCE ADDRESSING CONFLICTS WITH BANKRUPTCY AND DEBT COLLECTION RULES
On October 15, the CFPB issued an interim final rule amending certain provisions of its mortgage servicing rules and making technical changes to other January 2013 mortgage rules (the Interim Amendments). As explained in our Special Alert, the amendments address issues raised by bankruptcy trustees and industry about the incompatibility of the servicing rules with protections afforded to consumers by bankruptcy law and the FDCPA. The CFPB also issued a bulletin providing guidance on other aspects of the servicing rules and an advisory opinion on the interaction between the rules and the FDCPA. In addition, on October 16, CFPB staff provided unofficial oral guidance on specific questions about the mortgage servicing rules in a webinar hosted by the Mortgage Bankers Association. BuckleySandler attorneys attended the webinar and can address any questions you may have.
Like the mortgage servicing rules, the Interim Amendments will take effect on January 10, 2014. The CFPB issued the Interim Amendments without advance notice and public comment because of the impending effective date. The public will have 30 days to provide comments after publication of the amendments in the Federal Register (which has not yet occurred). After the comment period, the CFPB may make adjustments to the Interim Amendments before adopting them in final form.
Questions regarding the matters discussed in this Special Alert may be directed to any of our lawyers listed below, or to any other BuckleySandler attorney with whom you have consulted in the past.
- Jeffrey P. Naimon, (202) 349-8030
- Clinton R. Rockwell, (310) 424-3901
- John P. Kromer, (202) 349-8040
- Joseph M. Kolar, (202) 349-8020
- Jeremiah S. Buckley, (202) 349-8010
New York Adopts Regulation Regarding Determination of Subprime Home Loans
On September 30, the New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) advised supervised institutions that it adopted emergency regulations to determine if a home loan qualifies as a subprime home loan under Section 6-m of the New York Banking Law. The NY DFS determined that recent changes to the calculation of mortgage insurance premiums mandated by the Federal Housing Administration in Mortgagee Letter 2013-04, which increased the annual percentage rate on subject loans, effectively decreased the threshold on certain loans and limited the availability of mortgage credit in New York. In response, the emergency regulations adjust the subprime threshold up by 75 basis points for most FHA-insured loans. The change took effect immediately.