January 31, 2007 - Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan voted for a one-year moratorium on applications for deposit insurance by industrial loan companies with commercial affiliations, saying that Congress should have an opportunity to consider the issue.   http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-9.htm
 
January 31, 2007 - The FDIC Board of Directors voted to continue for one year a moratorium on applications for deposit insurance and change in control notices for industrial loan companies (ILCs) that will be owned by commercial companies. The moratorium does not apply to ILCs owned by financial companies. In addition, the Board voted to issue for public comment a proposed rule (Part 354) to strengthen the framework for consideration of applications or notices for industrial banks owned by financial companies not subject to federal consolidated bank supervision.  http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2007/pr07007.html
 
January 31, 2007 - The OCC announces new electronic interpretations and actions - http://www.occ.treas.gov/interp/jan07/intjan07.htm .

January 30, 2007   The FDIC has revised its Compliance Examination Handbook. The new handbook contains the FDIC's compliance examination policies and procedures in effect as of June 2006. It also includes revised Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination procedures and performance evaluations. The handbook will be available in electronic format only and can be accessed on the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/compliance/handbook/index.html.
 
January 30, 2007   The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued the seventh edition (November 2006) of The SAR Activity Review By the Numbers.  www.fincen.gov
 
January 30, 2007   The FDIC is notifying FDIC-supervised banks of the joint proposed rulemaking by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System that would implement the statutory exceptions from the definition of "broker" contained in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The proposed regulation was drafted in consultation with the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision, and is designed to protect investors in a manner that does not unduly disrupt current bank business practices. Comments are due to the SEC or the Federal Reserve by March 26, 2007. http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2007/fil07008.html

January 29, 2007 - Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance (DBCF) Commissioner John Allison and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Ombudsman Samuel P. Golden have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides a mechanism for sharing consumer complaint information between their two regulatory agencies.  http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-8.htm

January 26, 2007 - The FTC has issued its annual report to the FRB on enforcement activities in 2006 related to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Consumer Leasing Act (CLA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), and Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA).  http://www.ftc.gov/os/2007/01/070126_2006rpttofedreservbrd_text.pdf

January 26, 2007 - The FDIC Board of Directors has approved the final rule repealing FDIC Part 349, Reports and Public Disclosure of Indebtedness of Executive Officers and Principal Shareholders to a State Nonmember Bank and its Correspondent Banks. The final rule became effective on December 22, 2006.  http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2007/fil07007.html

January 25, 2007 - The OCC has issued inform to all national banks stating that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently amended its rules pursuant to section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that prescribe procedures for transfer agent registration, annual reporting, and withdrawal from registration. http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2007-6.html

January 25, 2007 - The FDIC is a major sponsor of National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) - February 4-10, 2007.  The week will highlight consumer protection and education efforts around the country. NCPW 2007– Read Up and Reach Out: Be an Informed Consumer – encourages people across the nation to take advantage of the wealth of information that can enhance confidence in the marketplace. Consumer information can help people recognize a rip-off, smell a scam, or find a fraud.  For more information about this program visit: http://www.consumer.gov/ncpw/index.html.

January 24, 2007 - The OCC has issued information intended to notify all national banks and national bank examiners that recently the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) jointly issued proposed rules that define the extent to which securities brokerage activities of banks are subject to SEC regulation.  The proposed rules, known as “Regulation R,” would implement provisions of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act of 1999 (GLBA) that set forth certain exemptions for banks from the broker-dealer registration requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act).  http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2007-5.html

January 23, 2007 The House passed legislation to relieve financial institutions from filing currency transaction reports for well-known customers. The Seasoned Customer CTR Exemption Act (H.R. 323) creates a mechanism by which financial institutions may be exempted from filing CTRs for their “seasoned customers” – those that routinely deal with large volumes of cash, but whose business dealings are well-enough understood to rule out the possibility of money laundering or the financing of terror.  For more information about H.R. 323, see the press release at http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/pr070123.shtml

January 22, 2007 - The FDIC Supervisory Policy on Predatory Lending describes certain characteristics of predatory lending, and reaffirms that such activities are inconsistent with safe and sound lending and undermine individual, family and community economic well-being. The statement describes the FDIC's supervisory response to predatory lending, including a list of policies and procedures that relate to consumer lending standards. The FDIC expects the institutions it supervises to treat consumers fairly, adhere to all applicable legal requirements, and underwrite loan products appropriately.  http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2007/fil07006.html

January 19, 2007 - FRB Financial Service has announced new FedReceipt routing numbers that will be effective the business day of January 22, 2007.  http://www.frbservices.org/Retail/pdf/C21AvailabilityChangesFedReceipt011207.pdf

January 19, 2007 - FinCEN has updated the 314a Fact Sheet with the addition of data current as of January 16, 2007.  http://www.fincen.gov/314afactsheet.pdf

January 18, 2007 - Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan highlighted the importance of financial literacy programs in remarks today for a telephone conference sponsored by the American Bankers Association.  http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-6.htm

January 18, 2007 - FinCEN has issued an updated MSB registration list, which is current as of January 3, 2007.  http://www.msb.gov/pdf/msb_registration_list.pdf

January 18, 2007 - The OCC has released its Quarterly Journal, Vol. 25, No. 3 (September 2006) on the Web.  This issue includes special supervision and enforcement activities, corporate structure tables, second quarter 2006 condition and performance of banks; links to speeches and interpretive letters, and other policy and data.  http://www.occ.treas.gov/qj/qj.htm

January 17, 2007 - The Federal Reserve has posted the new reference rates that lenders must use to determine if loans for which applications are received in February 2007 will be subject to HOEPA under the APR trigger test. Since January 15 was a federal legal holiday, use the rate on January 12, the business day immediately preceding the 15th. http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/update/ and http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/Current/

January 17, 2007 - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network today announced that the Department of the Treasury has delivered a Congressionally mandated report to Capitol Hill stating that the reporting of cross-border wire transfer data by financial institutions is technically feasible for the government and may be valuable to the government's efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The report outlines an inclusive and incremental approach to resolving remaining technical and policy issues that relate to whether and how to implement a regulatory requirement for the reporting of cross-border wire transfer data.  http://www.fincen.gov/news_release_cross_border.html

January 16, 2007 - The Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has prepared an assessment of mortgage loan fraud, which it based on its analysis of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). Financial institutions offering mortgage loan products may find the assessment useful. The assessment, entitled "Mortgage Loan Fraud," is available on FinCEN's Web site at http://www.fincen.gov/mortage_fraud.html.

January 16, 2007 - Federal Reserve Financial Services has posted the January 15, 2007 issue of FedFlash on its Web page. The issue contains articles on new FedReceipt routing numbers, Canadian item processing; changes to the ACH Reclamation process; and District news.  http://www.frbservices.org/FedFlash/2007/011507/FedFlash011507.pdf

January 16, 2007 - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued an advisory that provides advice to help consumers avoid becoming victims of scams involving cashier’s checks.  http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-3.htm

January 16, 2007 - With the start of the tax season, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is encouraging low- and moderate-income taxpayers to take advantage of IRS programs and bank services that can help them save more money for future goals, including buying a home or funding a child's education. One example is the IRS-coordinated Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program that provides free tax-preparation services for qualifying individuals. Another example is the new IRS flexibility for people who receive tax refunds via direct deposit to split the money into as many as three different bank accounts instead of just one.  http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2007/pr07006.html

January 12, 2007 - HUD has announced the FHA Maximum Mortgage Limits for 2007. www.hudclips.org

January 11, 2007 - Approximately 510 banks will be reassigned to different peer groups after changes to metropolitan statistical area (MSA) code definitions are incorporated in the December 31, 2006 Uniform Bank Performance Report (UBPR). http://www.ffiec.gov/pdf/ubpr/reassigned-peer-groups.xls

January 11, 2007 - Effective January 2007, FDIC State Profiles have been reformatted as a quarterly data sheet summation of banking and economic conditions in each state. To retrieve a state profile, select a state from either the map or list below. All media inquiries should be directed to the FDIC Office of Public Affairs at (202) 898-6993.  http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/stateprofile/index.html

January 9, 2007 - The FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have published the attached joint final rule amending the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to make the annual adjustment to the asset-size threshold used to define "small bank" and "intermediate small bank" under the Act. The final rule also corrects an omission in the rules revised in August 2005.  http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2007/fil07002.html

January 8, 2007 - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued guidance today warning of the risks posed by scams involving fraudulent bank cashier’s checks and describing steps national banks should take to protect themselves and their customers.  http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-2.htm

January 5, 2007 - Five federal agencies have issued a final statement on the complex structured finance activities of financial institutions. The statement describes the types of internal controls and risk management procedures that should help financial institutions identify, manage, and address the heightened legal and reputational risks that may arise from certain complex structured finance transactions (CSFTs).  http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2007/pr07003.html

January 4, 2007 - This template for an affordable, small-dollar loan program was developed by bankers who attended the December 6, 2006 FDIC Conference, “Affordable, Responsible Loans for the Military: Programs and Prototypes”. Conference participants agreed that the range of options it sets forth would be useful in developing a responsible small-dollar loan program suitable to both a bank and its military customers. Small Loan Template - PDF 55k

January 3, 2007 - How a financial institution can create an effective incident response program to mitigate a data security breach is reported in the FDIC's winter 2006 edition of Supervisory Insights, released today. Other topics covered in today's edition are: an update on CRE lending nationwide, with a look at best practices in CRE concentrations, particularly for identifying, monitoring and controlling risk in this lending area; the increasing number of unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and how examiners identify and address those violations; and highlights of recent USA PATRIOT Act changes and the types of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)-related violations that examiners are citing.   http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/index.html