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OCC to Host Credit and Compliance Risks Workshops
On March 22, the OCC will host a Credit Risk workshop for directors of national community banks and federal savings associations. The workshop will focus on credit risk within the loan portfolio, including identifying trends and recognizing problems. In addition, the workshop will address (i) the board and management’s roles; (ii) how to stay informed of changes in credit risk; and (iii) how to effect change. On March 23, the OCC will host a separate Compliance Risk workshop that will include lectures, discussions, and exercises on key elements of a robust compliance risk management system. Topic discussions will include the BSA, Community Reinvestment Act, and the TRID rule. Both workshops will take place in Santa Ana, California; capacity is limited to the first 35 registrants.
FDIC Scott Strockoz to Serve as Acting National Director of Minority and Community Development Banking
On January 15, the FDIC announced that Robert W. Mooney, national director for Minority and Community Development Banking, retired at the end of 2015. Scott D. Strockoz will serve as acting national director for Minority and Community Development Banking. Strockoz currently serves as deputy regional director in the New York Region and oversees examination activities regarding financial institutions’ compliance with consumer protection, fair lending, and community reinvestment laws and regulations. Strockoz “holds examiner commissions in both risk management and consumer protection and has additionally served as review examiner, field supervisor, acting regional director, and acting associate director, Compliance and Consumer Protection.”
SEC Files Complaint Against Former Bank Executives, Alleges Fraudulent Reporting of Loan Losses
On January 13, the SEC filed a complaint against 11 former executives and board members of an Alabama-based federal savings bank and its holding company for allegedly participating in various schemes to mislead investors and bank regulators by concealing loan losses, and for violating reporting, internal controls, books-and-records, and proxy solicitation provisions. According to the SEC, the bank’s officers and directors extended, renewed, and rolled over loans, and/or used straw borrowers to “avoid properly classifying the loans as impaired and increasing the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (‘ALLL’).” The SEC’s complaint further alleges that in 2009 and 2010, the bank misstated its reported income by approximately 99% and 54%, respectively. The SEC is charging the defendants with, among other things, various counts of fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, circumvention of internal controls and falsified books and records, and false statements to accounts in violation of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Nine out of the 11 named defendants agreed to settle the charges against them, with penalties ranging from $100,000 to $250,000, and the remaining two defendants are contesting the charges in federal district court in Tallahassee, Florida.
GAO Publishes Report Regarding the Impact of Dodd-Frank Regulations on Community Banks, Credit Unions, and Systemically Important Institutions
On December 30, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its fifth report mandated by Section 1573(a) of the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011 (Act), which amended Dodd-Frank, and requires the GAO to annually review financial services regulations, including those of the CFPB. The report reviews 26 Dodd-Frank rules that became effective from July 23, 2014 through July 22, 2015 to examine whether the agencies conducted the required regulatory analyses and coordination. In addition, it examines nine Dodd-Frank rules that were effective as of October 2015 to determine their impact on community banks and credit unions. Finally, the report assesses Dodd-Frank’s impact on large bank holding companies. The GAO found that the agencies conducted the required regulatory analyses for rules issued under Dodd-Frank and reported required coordination. In addition, surveys of community banks and credit unions suggest that the Dodd-Frank rules under review have resulted in an increased compliance burden, a decline in certain business activities in some cases (e.g., loans that are not qualified mortgages), and moderate to minimal initial reductions in the availability of credit. Although “regulatory data to date have not confirmed a negative impact on mortgage lending,” “these results do not necessarily rule out significant effects or the possibility that effects may arise in the future.” Finally, the GAO concluded that the full impact of Dodd-Frank on large bank holding companies remains uncertain, but summarized the results of certain analyses in the report.
FASB Issues New Guidance on the Recognition and Measurement of Financial Instruments
On January 5, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new accounting standard which “‘is intended to provide users of financial statements with more useful information on the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments.’” The new Accounting Standards Update (ASU) impacts public and private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and employee benefit plans that hold financial assets or owe financial liabilities. The new guidance is intended to make targeted improvements to existing GAAP by, among several other things, generally only requiring that changes in the fair value of equity investments be recorded in net income and requiring public business entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes. The ASU will take effect for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 (including interim periods within those fiscal years), and for private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and employee benefit plans for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 (and for interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019). Early adoption of certain provisions is permitted.
New York DFS Announces Enforcement Action Against Pakistan-Based Bank's New York Branch
On December 17, the New York DFS announced an enforcement action against a New York branch of a Pakistan-based bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and the DFS recently conducted an examination of the branch and found significant risk management and compliance failures with regard to state and federal laws, rules, and regulations relating to anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. Under the terms of the DFS’s order, the branch agreed to reform its policies and procedures to ensure compliance with AML laws. Per the order, the bank must submit to the DFS, within 60 days of the order, a number of written programs regarding its (i) corporate governance and management oversight; (ii) BSA/AML compliance review; (iii) customer due diligence; and (iv) suspicious activity monitoring and reporting. The branch must also hire an independent third-party approved by the DFS and the FRBNY to review the effectiveness of the bank’s compliance program, and to prepare a written report of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for the program. Because the branch’s compliance with OFAC regulations was insufficient, the order also mandates that the bank retain an independent third-party to examine its U.S. dollar-clearing transactions between October 2014 and March 2015. Significantly, the order does not require the branch to pay a civil money penalty.
State-Chartered Bank Settles with New York DFS for Alleged Violations of Banking Law
On October 28, the New York DFS resolved an enforcement action with a New York State-charted bank for alleged violations of state banking law. The DFS alleged that the bank hired a former New York Federal Reserve Bank examiner and permitted him to work on matters for an entity that the employee had examined while at the New York Fed, in violation of a notice of post-employment restrictions from the New York Fed. The DFS also alleged that the employee obtained confidential regulatory or supervisory information from a now former New York Fed employee and distributed the information to a Managing Director at the bank for the purpose of advising the entity. In addition to the bank’s alleged failure to screen the employee from working on matters related to the entity he had examined, the DFS’s order alleges that the bank failed to “provide training to personnel regarding what constituted confidential supervisory information and how it should be safeguarded.” Under the settlement terms, the bank will (i) pay a civil money penalty of $50 million to the DFS; (ii) reform its policies and procedures to ensure the proper handling of confidential supervisory information and the monitoring of assignments of former government employees; and (iii) not re-hire the bank employee and Managing Director, who had been terminated as result of the matter.
Federal Banking Regulators Schedule EGRPRA Outreach Meeting in Chicago
On September 28, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the OCC announced that the latest outreach meeting under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA) will be held on October 10 in Chicago, Illinois. The meeting will feature panel presentations from industry insiders and consumer advocates. Senior officials from the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC are also scheduled to attend. This meeting will be the fifth of six outreach meetings focused on identifying outdated or burdensome regulatory requirements imposed on financial institutions. The sixth and final meeting is expected to take place on December 2 in Washington, D.C. Previous InfoBytes coverage on EGRPRA can be found here.
Comptroller Talks Interest Rate, Compliance, and Cybersecurity Risks Facing Financial Institutions
On July 24, OCC Comptroller Curry delivered remarks before the New England Council in Boston, MA regarding the risks that financial institutions face today. Rising interest rates and regulatory compliance were two of the three risks discussed. Curry emphasized that the inevitable rise in interest rates could greatly affect loan quality, particularly loans that were not carefully underwritten to begin with, and that ”[l]oans that are typically refinanced, such as leveraged loans,” would be particularly severely affected. Recognizing the impact that Dodd-Frank continues to have on banks, Curry said that financial institutions face two categories of risk from new regulations: (i) “banks run afoul of the new regulations, possibly damaging their reputations and subjecting themselves to regulatory penalties”; and (ii) banks devote their time and money to regulatory compliance, rather than putting those resources toward serving their customers and communities. The final and “perhaps the foremost risk facing banks today,” according to Curry, is cyber threats. Curry outlined the agency’s efforts to curtail cyber intrusion in the banking industry, highlighting the June 30 release of its Semiannual Risk Assessment and the creation of a Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Working Group, which was designed to (i) increase cybersecurity awareness; (ii) promote best practices; and (iii) strengthen regulatory oversight of cybersecurity readiness. Curry noted, however, that information-sharing is just as important as self-assessment and supervisory oversight: “We strongly recommend … that financial institutions of all sizes participate in the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a non-profit information-sharing forum established by financial services industry participants to facilitate the sharing of physical and cyber threat and vulnerability information.” Collaboration among banks of all sizes and non-bank providers, Curry stated, can be a “game-changer” in more ways than one: “By promoting the discovery of common interests and common responses to the risks that you face in your businesses and we all face together, you provide an invaluable service to New England and to the United States.”
FinCEN's Associate Director for Enforcement Delivers Remarks at BSA Conference
On June 18, FinCEN’s Associate Director for Enforcement, Stephanie Brooker, delivered remarks at the Bank Secrecy Act Conference, focusing on three main areas: (i) BSA filing trends, the value of BSA data, and compliance development in the casino industry over the past year; (ii) FinCEN’s enforcement approach and recent enforcement developments; and (iii) the significance of establishing and maintaining a culture of compliance throughout the business and compliance sides of casinos and card clubs. In addition, Brooker noted certain principles at the core of FinCEN’s enforcement program: (i) transparency in the agency’s rationale behind its enforcement actions; (ii) accountability, ensuring that financial institutions, and any individual related to the financial institution, take responsibility for violations of the BSA; and (iii) giving credit where credit is due by considering an institution’s “documented improvements in AML compliance over time.” Finally, Brooker stressed that in order for a financial institution to successfully maintain a culture of compliance, its business side and business leaders must take AML controls and BSA compliance seriously, meaning that “every casino employee, from the top down, views AML compliance as part of his or her responsibility.”