Until recently, the most popular topic of discussion in the financial services world has been the outcome of the Supreme Court case CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association of America, regarding the constitutionality...more
Supervision is a daily fact of life for bank boards and management. Below, we offer strategies for how both board members and members of management can ensure that the supervisory process goes as smoothly as possible....more
As 2024 gets off the ground, federal regulators are continuing their focus on fair lending issues. In February, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) released a statement on examination principles...more
A recent bipartisan bill, if enacted, would particularly benefit small lenders and bank/fintech partnerships by promoting transparency, appellate rights and examiner accountability. On Dec. 14, 2023, a bipartisan group of...more
I’ve written at least a dozen articles about the dramatic impact the new CRA is going to have on banks. Until now, only about 1.2% of bank CRA examinations end with a failing grade. But, by the estimates of the regulators, if...more
On September 27, 2023, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued Version 2.0 of the Lease Financing booklet of the OCC’s Comptroller Handbook, which replaced Version 1.0 published in August 2014 and updated...more
A recent bipartisan bill, if enacted, would particularly benefit small lenders and bank-fintech partnerships by promoting transparency, appellate rights, and examiner accountability. On December 14, 2023, a bipartisan...more
On December 21, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the FDIC issued its audit memorandum on the FDIC’s Regional Service Provider (RSP) Examination Program. The OIG’s objective was to assess the effectiveness of the...more
In my previous email I explained the devastating impact of the new CRA Rule on the percentage of banks receiving a less than satisfactory CRA Performance Rating. The data in Table 32 within the new Rule demonstrate that if...more
With all the news stories circulating about the new CRA Rule, it's surprising that not one article has addressed the topic that should be the biggest story of all - the catastrophic implications for banks!...more
Earlier this month, the CFPB filed a notice with the Texas federal district court that it is appealing to the Fifth Circuit the district court’s order granting summary judgment to a group of trade associations in their...more
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has announced that it is launching a new Banker Engagement Site (BES) this month through FDICconnect to serve as the primary tool for exchanging examination planning and other...more
In an unusual move, Laura Akahoshi, former Rabobank (the “Bank”) Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”), filed on July 6, 2023 an opposition to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (“OCC”) dismissal of its own...more
Asserting that irreparable harms to their members “are piling up,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the other plaintiffs have filed a motion for a status conference with the Texas federal district court hearing their lawsuit...more
On January 9, the CFPB released a blog post, What new supervised institutions need to know about working with the CFPB, discussing what institutions can expect from a supervisory relationship with the Bureau. ...more
Last week, just after we went to press, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) released its Bank Supervision Operating Plan for Fiscal Year 2023. The Operating Plan sets out the OCC’s supervision...more
The CFPB recently updated its examination manual to, in Director Chopra’s words, “combat discriminatory practices across the board in consumer finance.” Under the CFPB’s revised manual, any discriminatory conduct that the...more
On June 28, the American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce affirmed in a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra that the CFPB should...more
Last month, the latest class action regarding bank-charged returned payment fees passed a motion to dismiss in Mawyer v. Atl. Union Bank. This comes on the heels of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)'s recent...more
Federal Reserve Considers Merits of Creating a U.S. Dollar Digital Currency The Federal Reserve has published a discussion paper that examines the pros and cons associated with the creation of a U.S. central bank digital...more
In This Issue. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is seeking information and comment regarding the FDIC’s supervisory approach to examinations during the pandemic; the FDIC’s tech lab, FIDTECH, announced a “tech...more
Why communication and documentation are key for banks. It goes without saying that a regulatory exam can be stressful for financial institutions even under otherwise “normal” operating conditions. However, add in the...more
In This Issue. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) released an interim final rule to reflect changes made by H.R. 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act,...more
Examiners Should Focus on Risk, Not Technical Perfection - On April 15, 2020, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”) released updates to the Bank Secretary Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”)...more
A January proposal to give banks compliance slack floated by a high-ranking Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) official has not yet gained the traction its supporters had hoped for. In remarks before the American Bar Association...more