Thought Leadership

Stay ahead in today’s fast-paced regulatory environment with these concise summaries of prominent regulatory changes highlighting key points and translating implications of new regulatory mandates.

Whitepaper & Article Topics

Pandemics, including the most recent medical threat – COVID-19 – have the potential to quickly shut down an entire region or country depending on the severity and virulence of the disease. While your financial institution undoubtedly has disaster recovery plans and business continuity plans in place, pandemic plans differ from these plans in that they must deal with a broader impact in both scale and duration. A pandemic would… Read More

This Regulation Reference Sheet will help your employees understand the names, acronyms, and basics of most regulations. It is not intended to train on each regulation, but instead provide a familiarity leading into training. Read More

You’ve probably noticed your inbox filling up with new privacy policies to read and companies asking for you to interact with them, so they can continue to send you emails. Sadly, it seems many organizations have fundamentally misunderstood the obligations placed upon them by new EU privacy laws. This white paper provides an overview of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and…Read More

To prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other crimes, the Bank Secrecy Act mandates that financial institutions implement a formal Customer Identification Program requiring the collection of specific identifying information before establishing a new consumer relationship. Use this checklist to ensure that your employees are complying with CIP guidelines … Read More

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, better known as HMDA, requires a lender to publicly disclose information about its mortgage-related loans. Enacted in 1975, the intent of HMDA is to help determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities. HMDA originally focused on … Read More

Financial institutions have always received complaints. Complaints are responded to, appropriate steps are taken to ensure the complainant’s issues are addressed, and regulators review complaints at exams. However, the creation of the Compliance Management System has made complaint management a critical component of … Read More

In 2006, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued the Report on Predatory Lending Practices Directed at Members of the Armed Forces and their Dependents.1 The report found that military families were prime targets for predatory lenders likely due to their financial inexperience, steady income but little savings, and possibly flawed … Read More

A formal Compliance Management System (CMS) is necessary for the prevention of regulatory violations and essential for managing compliance risks. Every financial institution should have a robust CMS regardless of its size. Examiners expect to see a … Read More

A formal Compliance Management System (CMS) is necessary for the prevention of regulatory violations and essential for managing compliance risks. Every financial institution should have a robust CMS regardless of its size. Examiners expect to see a CMS, and the absence of one will … Read More

The Community Reinvestment Act was enacted in 1977 in order to ensure financial institutions were meeting the needs of all areas of its community in which it operates. The CRA’s intent is not to encourage unsafe or unsound lending practices, but rather to ensure banks are not ignoring certain areas, businesses, and individuals that live in its community, especially those that are … Read More

After the events of September 11, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) became an industry hot topic and focus of the regulatory agencies. Although the BSA was enacted in 1970, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing the Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act) completely revolutionized the BSA after … Read More

Fair lending is nothing less than a force of nature. Since the introduction of the CFPB, fair lending has come into focus more so than ever before. As a result, enforcement actions are on the rise. In 2012, the regulatory agencies, including the CFPB, the FRB, the OCC, and the FDIC, referred a total of 24 instances to the DOJ. In 2013, this number … Read More

As the old saying goes, “The best defense is a good offense.” The adage holds true when it comes to preparing for a consumer compliance examination. A proactive compliance program is the best way to ensure you are ready when the big day comes. Being proactive is not always easy. It takes planning, organization, support from all departments, and most importantly … Read More

As a result of Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act, six agencies mandated to assess diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies and practices of regulated, financial services entities issued proposed standards formally known as Interagency Policy Statement Establishing Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices. Final standards are expected before the end of 2014 … Read More

An indirect loan program is a program in which the retailer (often, but not exclusively, an automobile dealer) arranges the financing of the sale. They accomplish this by taking the application, forwarding that application to a lender or lenders, and when approved, closing the loan. In some cases, the loan is closed in the dealer’s name, and then assigned to the lender who is purchasing … Read More

Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance
On December 11, 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued “Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance” (Guidance) for financial institutions on the consumer compliance risks associated with social media … Read More

Pandemic planning is a critical and necessary part of a financial institution’s business continuity plan. In early 2008, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued the Interagency Statement on Pandemic Planning in response to the threat of avian flu. The Statement addresses how institutions should plan for a possible pandemic and provides a framework for financial institutions to develop or update their … Read More

On April 30, 2013, the FDIC proposed guidance on safe and sound banking practices and consumer protection in connection with deposit advance credit products. The FDIC proposed supervisory guidance to clarify the agency’s application of principles of safe and sound banking practices and consumer protection in connection with deposit advance products. The guidance details the principles that the FDIC expects their banks to follow in connection with any … Read More

In January 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a final rule that amends Regulation Z to implement certain amendments to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). Regulation Z currently requires creditors to establish escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans secured by … Read More

On January 10, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued final rules amending Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to implement 1411 and 1412 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The rules are intended to deal with problems seen as contributing factors to the mortgage crisis; namely when lenders originated mortgage loans without properly evaluating whether the borrower would … Read More

On December 31st, 2009, the Federal Reserve published a final rule amending Appendix A to Regulation CC (funds availability), announcing the restructuring of the Fed’s check-processing operations. This was the last step in the Fed’s multi-year process of consolidating check-processing regions in the U.S. to just one, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland … Read More

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and Federal Trade Commission (Commission) have published final rules to implement the risk-based pricing provisions in Section 311 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act), which amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) at the beginning of 2010. These rules generally require a creditor to provide a risk-based pricing notice to a consumer when the creditor uses a consumer report to grant or extend credit to the consumer on material terms that are materially less favorable than … Read More