Bankers Compliance Task Force Current News Archive - May 2006
May 31, 2006 Frequently Asked Questions Anti-Money Laundering Program and Suspicious Activity Reporting Requirements for Insurance Companies - http://www.fincen.gov/
May 31, 2006 FinCEN released Issue 10 of The SAR Activity Review. The articles in this issue detail emerging topics such as how to register/de-register an MSB, using SARs to detect unregistered MSBs, the increasing frequency of SARs indicating mortgage loan fraud, and filing SARs after being served with a grand jury subpoena. http://www.fincen.gov/
May 30, 2006 The Federal Reserve announced that, as of Aug. 19, the East Rutherford, N.J., office of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York no longer will process checks, and banks currently served by that office will be reassigned to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The announcement coincided with amendments to Appendix A of Regulation CC that reflect the previously announced restructuring of the Federal Reserve's check processing operations in the Second and Third Districts. Appendix A provides a routing number guide that helps depository institutions determine the maximum permissible hold periods for most deposited checks. Section 229.18(e) of Regulation CC requires that banks notify account holders who are consumers within 30 days after implementing a change that improves the availability of funds. http://www.federalreserve.gov/
May 26, 2006 The FRB of Atlanta has released its 2006 hurricane season preparation and contact information. http://www.frbatlanta.org/
May 25, 2006 The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Task Force on Consumer Compliance has approved examination procedures to assess compliance with the medical information regulations that became effective on April 1, 2006. The regulations implement the Protection of Medical Information provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act). The new procedures are effective immediately. http://www.fdic.gov/
May 24, 2006 On May 22, 2006, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) published a notice that electronic data on approximately 26.5 million veterans and some spouses may have been compromised. The VA is working with law enforcement, Congress, the media, veteran services, and other government agencies to ensure that veterans and their families are protected against potential misuse of that data. The FDIC, along with other federal bank regulators issued guidance on steps financial institutions can take to protect customers from identity theft. In addition, information for consumers on how to prevent identity theft and steps to take if an individual becomes a victim can be found at http://www.consumer.gov/.
May 22, 2006 The FRB has announced the execution of a Written Agreement by and among Texas State Bank, McAllen, Texas, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and the Texas Department of Banking. The bank has agreed to develop an acceptable written BSA/AML program to insure compliance with all applicable AML laws, rules, and regulations. http://www.federalreserve.gov/
May 18, 2006 The Department of Treasury's Office of the Inspector General issued Terrorist Financing/Money Laundering: FinCEN Has Taken Steps to Better Analyze Bank Secrecy Act Data But Challenges Remain, detailing their findings pursuant to an audit of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) BSA data systems and information gathering and investigation processes. The report highlights certain areas where weaknesses and gaps were identified, as well as providing management's response to the recommendations provided. http://www.treasury.gov/
May 18, 2006 Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FDIC and the New York State Banking Department on Friday assessed civil money penalties totaling $600,000 against Liberty Bank of New York for violations of federal and state anti-money laundering laws and regulations. The FinCEN order imposes a $600,000 civil money penalty and directs specific improvements to the bank's overall AML program and its 314(a) response process. Liberty Bank, without admitting or denying the allegations, consented to payment of the civil money penalties. http://www.fdic.gov/
May 17, 2006 The Federal Reserve has posted the new reference rates that lenders must use to determine if loans for which applications are received in June 2006 will be subject to HOEPA under the APR trigger test. Use the FRB H.15 to find applicable release that lists the Treasury Security with the same maturity term as your loan. To make the calculation, use the yield in effect on the 15th of the month that precedes the month application is received. http://www.federalreserve.gov/
May 16, 2006 Spring 2006 issue of FDIC Consumer News - FDIC Insurance: Do You Know As Much As You Think You Know? Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/.
May 10, 2006 The Federal Trade Commission launched a nationwide identity theft education campaign that focuses on three steps consumers can take to protect themselves: Deter by monitoring personal information; detect by taking steps to reduce the risk of identity theft; and defend by acting quickly when identity theft is suspected. http://www.ftc.gov/
May 9, 2006 FinCEN has assessed its first civil money penalty against Tampa-based MSB Frosty Food Mart. Frost Food Mart consented to the $10,000 penalty for failure to develop and implement a written anti-money laundering program. http://www.fincen.gov/
May 9, 2006 FinCEN has extended the comment period of its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks input from both the money services business industry and the banking industry on the issue of money services businesses obtaining access to banking services. http://www.fincen.gov/
May 9, 2006 The federal regulatory agencies have requested public comment on a revised proposed statement concerning elevated risk complex structured finance activities. http://www.occ.treas.gov/
May 9, 2006 The FDIC has voted to keep the assessment rates charged to insured banks and savings associations unchanged for the second half of 2006. http://www.fdic.gov/
May 9, 2006 The FDIC's Board of Directors approved for public comment three proposed rules governing deposit insurance assessments under the Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005, including one that would allocate a one-time $4.7 billion assessment credit among insured institutions. http://www.fdic.gov/
May 4, 2006 The Peoples Bank, Biloxi, Mississippi has been assessed a civil money penalty in the amount of $4,600 related to the Bank’s failure to maintain an adequate amount of flood insurance on 23 loans secured by improved real estate located in areas determined by the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as special flood hazard areas. http://www.fdic.gov/
May 3, 2006 Under a final rule issued by FinCEN, mutual funds are required to file Suspicious Activity Reports on suspicious transactions. Mutual funds must start filing SARs 180 days after the date of the publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on May 4, 2006. http://www.fincen.gov/
May 3, 2006 FinCEN has updated the 314(a) Fact Sheet with the addition of data as of April 25, 2006. http://www.fincen.gov/
May 2, 2006 The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System will hold public hearings on the home equity lending market and the adequacy of existing regulatory and legislative provisions (including HOEPA) in protecting the interests of consumers. You are invited to attend and to comment on the issues that will be the focus of the hearings. Additional information about the hearings is posted on the Board's website at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/
May 1, 2006 FEMA has issued a new Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form, replacing the previous form which expired October 31, 2005. http://www.fema.gov/
May 1, 2006 The Internal Revenue Service announced today agreements with 33 states and Puerto Rico to begin sharing Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) information. http://www.irs.gov/
