Floods of Rule Amendments: Final Flood Insurance Changes

With all the excitement surrounding the implementation of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, some other significant compliance changes got pushed to the back seat. Among them are clarifications to the Final Flood Insurance Rule Amendments, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2015, the result of efforts from five federal regulatory agencies. Other amendments to the flood insurance rules [...]

By |2015-10-26T16:34:00-04:00October 26th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on Floods of Rule Amendments: Final Flood Insurance Changes

The One-Sheet on the New HMDA Rule You Should Take to Your Next Compliance Meeting

On Oct. 15, 2015, the CFPB released its final rule amending Reg. C, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Rule. The changes are significant. The final rule and its official interpretation clocks in at 797 pages. Digesting that will take some time. But in the meantime, here's the one-sheet you should take to your next compliance meeting. [...]

By |2015-10-19T16:57:12-04:00October 19th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on The One-Sheet on the New HMDA Rule You Should Take to Your Next Compliance Meeting

The Ins and Outs of PINs

As long as personal identification numbers (PINs) exist, they will continue to be a target for criminals. The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council continues to update the PIN Security Requirements to enhance usability and understanding by stating the requirements in a more granular manner. And though security has been enhanced with the recent [...]

By |2015-10-12T14:11:55-04:00October 12th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on The Ins and Outs of PINs

The Top 3 Money Laundering Concerns of 2015

The global dominance of the U.S. dollar generates trillions of dollars of daily transaction volume through U.S. financial institutions, creating significant exposure to potential money laundering activity. Although the U.S. has implemented a robust set of anti-money laundering rules designed to hinder criminals, criminals are resourceful. They continue to look for new vulnerabilities and methods [...]

By |2015-10-05T16:41:16-04:00October 5th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on The Top 3 Money Laundering Concerns of 2015

The Secret BSA/AML Weapons of Smaller Financial Institutions (Part 1)

The ever-increasing importance of a robust BSA/AML monitoring system has become more than clear in recent years. However, an all-encompassing monitoring system often feels beyond the reach of the smaller financial institution. Resources are finite, and some institutions are left floundering when attempting to cover all their bases. What must your small financial institution do to [...]

By |2015-09-21T13:40:53-04:00September 21st, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on The Secret BSA/AML Weapons of Smaller Financial Institutions (Part 1)

CRA Post-Mortem: Three Lessons from Lemont

In August 2015, the OCC announced Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluations for 30 national banks and federal savings associations. Of those evaluations 5 were rated outstanding and 24 were found satisfactory; however, one bank was rated “substantial noncompliance.” The Lemont National Bank was found to be exceptionally lacking in meeting the credit needs of its entire [...]

By |2015-09-14T15:18:21-04:00September 14th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on CRA Post-Mortem: Three Lessons from Lemont

Don’t Make Us Tell You Thrice: The CFPB’s Homeownership Counseling Guidance

In 2013, the CFPB issued guidance on providing mortgage applicants with a list of homeownership counseling organizations. This spring, the bureau not only restated that guidance, but also added further guidance for mortgage lenders. With this further clarification we can expect to see greater scrutiny from the CFPB. Has your institution incorporated the new guidance [...]

By |2015-08-31T13:12:56-04:00August 31st, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on Don’t Make Us Tell You Thrice: The CFPB’s Homeownership Counseling Guidance

A Remittance Transfer Refresher

Billions of dollars are transferred out of the country every year. But even with such high traffic, there is still quite a bit of bewilderment surrounding the roads of remittance transfers. This confusion comes with good reason; remittance has many rules and is closely regulated. What Qualifies as a Remittance Transfer? Let’s start with the [...]

By |2015-08-24T12:02:29-04:00August 24th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on A Remittance Transfer Refresher

The Terrorists Next Door: Lessons from the National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment

The 2015 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment is an unprecedented report based on an analysis of more than 5,000 law enforcement cases, reporting by U.S. financial institutions, and reports from both the government and the private sector. The findings divulge that although U.S. wealth and resources are an attractive target for a wide variety of [...]

By |2015-08-17T13:54:46-04:00August 17th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips|Comments Off on The Terrorists Next Door: Lessons from the National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment

Three Steps to Tune-Up Your AML Validation

This post was originally posted by CU Insight. Everyone who drives a car knows that the cost of ownership doesn’t end when you walk out of the dealership with the keys in your hand. Cars require constant care and tuning up (not to mention that dreaded emissions test every year). Similarly, your anti-money laundering (AML) [...]

By |2015-08-10T13:34:24-04:00August 10th, 2015|Blog, Compliance Tips, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Three Steps to Tune-Up Your AML Validation