Jeffrey M. Werthan

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On September 14, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its bank supervision operating plan for fiscal year (FY) 2017. “Our FY 2017 operating plan helps institutions regulated by the OCC to better understand our supervisory priorities,” said Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry. “The plan provides the foundation for policy initiatives and for supervisory strategies as applied to individual banks. . . ”
Continue Reading OCC Releases Bank Supervision Operating Plan for Fiscal Year 2017

On September 8, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed a rule to prohibit national banks and federal savings associations (FSAs) from dealing and investing in industrial or commercial metals. The proposal covers metal, including alloy, in a physical form primarily suited to industrial or commercial uses, such as copper cathodes and aluminum T-bars. If finalized in its current form, this proposal would supersede a prior OCC determination permitting national banks to trade copper cathodes.
Continue Reading OCC Rule Would Prohibit Bank and Thrift Dealing and Investing in Industrial or Commercial Metals

On September 9, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) released its revised the “Information Security” booklet of the FFIEC Information Technology Examination Handbook (IT Handbook). The “Information Security” booklet, one of 11 that make up the IT Handbook, provides guidance to examiners and addresses factors necessary to assess the level of security risks…

On July 15, the federal bank regulatory agencies with responsibility for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rulemaking—the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)—published final revisions to the “Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment.” The Questions and Answers document…

On June 16, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued its new and long-expected loan loss accounting framework, also known as the current expected credit loss model (CECL). Bank regulators have described CECL as the “biggest change to bank accounting ever,” a sentiment which has been echoed by accountants, bank securities lawyers and industry trade groups.
Continue Reading Financial Accounting Standards Board Issues New Loan Loss Rule

On May 20, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) extended the comment period for proposed recordkeeping requirements for FDIC-insured institutions with a large number of deposit accounts. The proposed recordkeeping requirements, “which are designed to facilitate rapid payment of insured deposits to customers if large institutions were to fail,” were published in the Federal Register on February 26 with a 90-day comment period. All comments must now be received on or before June 25.
Continue Reading FDIC Extends Comment Period on Deposit Account Recordkeeping Proposal

On May 18, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the Agencies) issued guidance outlining joint supervisory expectations regarding deposit-reconciliation practices that may be detrimental to customers.
Continue Reading Agencies Issue Guidance on Deposit-Reconciliation Practices

On May 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued a proposed rule that would prohibit covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services from using an agreement with a consumer that provides for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties to bar the consumer from filing or participating in a class action with respect to the covered consumer financial product or service. 
Continue Reading Consumer Financial Protection Bureau To Outlaw Mandatory Pre-Dispute Arbitration Provisions

On May 2, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) proposed revisions to the current Uniform Interagency Consumer Compliance Rating System (CC Rating System). The revisions are intended to reflect the regulatory, supervisory, technological and market changes that have occurred in the years since the CC Rating System was established. The purpose of the new CC Rating System is to ensure that all regulated financial institutions, as defined in 12 U.S.C. §3302(3), are evaluated in a comprehensive and consistent manner, and that regulators’ resources and attention are appropriately allocated to the institutions demonstrating the highest risk of consumer harm. One key change is that the new CC Rating System has shifted from assessing risk through transaction testing to a more comprehensive risk-based supervision that mainly focuses on the institution’s compliance management systems (CMS).
Continue Reading FFIEC Proposes New Consumer Compliance Rating System

On April 21, the National Credit Union Administration issued proposed prototype regulations with other financial institution regulatory agencies (Agencies) to likely follow suit. Required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Act), the rule is intended to (1) prohibit incentive-based payment arrangements that the Agencies determine encourage inappropriate risks by certain financial institutions by providing excessive compensation or that could lead to material financial loss; and (2) require those financial institutions to disclose information concerning incentive-based compensation arrangements to the appropriate federal regulator.
Continue Reading Financial Regulatory Agencies to Issue New Proposed Compensation Rules