Blog Entries tagged 'Lucy and Nancys Common Sense Compliance'

WHICH REG O?!? (AND MEET REG N)

lgriffin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0100

New Reg O and transferred Reg N hold lessons for Compliance "boots on the ground" about CFPB

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Think you know "O"? It's all about lending to insiders, right?

Well, guess again.

There's more to "O" than what you think you know.

The O [...]

NANCY'S TURN: ANOTHER ANSWER TO CFPB'S CALL FOR STREAMLINING SUGGESTIONS

nderr — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0100
Nancy takes a dual Compliance-consumer look at regs

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Last month, Lucy discussed her suggestion for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection for regulatory streamlining-Home Mortgage Disclosure Act/Regulation C reporting. Now, it's my turn.

Unfortunately, Lucy picked a really good one, and I can't be a copycat. There were also some really good suggestions [...]

CONSIDERING THE CFPB'S CARD COMPLAINTS DATABASE...

nderr — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0100

The Bureau has an interesting concept, but are there risks?

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing to disclose certain credit card complaint data that it collects through its complaint system. The Bureau is proposing a new Policy Statement to describe this information-sharing process, and seeks comments by Jan. 30, 2012.

Considering the B [...]

ONE ANSWER TO CFPB'S CALL FOR STREAMLINING SUGGESTIONS

lgriffin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Lucy's candidate for early review: the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

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The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has opened Pandora's box.

All regulations that the Bureau "inherited" from the Federal Reserve and other agencies are up for review--and, potentially, change.

This could be a very good thing. Or a very [...]

GRAY ZONES OF MARRIAGE LAWS

lgriffin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0100
What should lenders do when two states disagree on the legality or form of same-sex marriages?

• • •

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of marital status. We used to know what that meant. Things aren’t quite so easy today.

Critical issue for bank protection

When it comes to compliance and lending, marital status matters because it governs property o [...]

BRAND-NEW HUD CASE ILLUSTRATES HOW MATERNITY CARRIES FAIR-LENDING RISKS

nderr — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:00:00 +0100
5 steps to keep your bank out of trouble

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On Nov. 3, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a fair-lending settlement between a mortgage company and a loan applicant who alleged illegal discrimination in the denial of a mortgage loan based on gender and familial status. The applicant claimed that she was denied a loan because she was on maternity leave at the time of the application. She also claimed that he [...]

ASSESSING THE CONSUMER BUREAU'S FIRST DAYS

lgriffin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Bankers and the Bureau have a long way to go

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There was a lot of fanfare about the opening of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, much of it from the Bureau itself. Now, more than three months later, it is time for bankers, and especially the compliance fraternity, to ask how things are going.

Actually, how things are going is a bit of a mystery--because it [...]

HOW TO FAKE IT AS A COMPLIANCE OFFICER

nderr — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Step one, fill your bookshelf with tomes

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I was listening to the radio the other day and heard an interview of a famous TV foodie personality. He was talking about how to fake it as a wine connoisseur.

Now, I like to drink wine, but I'm no wine connoisseur. But I do know compliance. My mind began to wander. Since I'm always thinking about compliance, I immediately start [...]

NEW FLOOD LEGISLATION AFLOAT

nderr — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:00:00 +0100
As deadline looms, duplicative disclosure issue raises its head yet again

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Just about every year there are devastating floods somewhere in the U.S., from a multitude of causes, and 2011 has been beyond classic. I have family who live very close to the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. They are high and dry, but many people in that community have been flooded out, in one of the latest spots to suffer.

Fo [...]

DISCLOSURES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AN UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE PRACTICE

nderr — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:00:00 +0100
Does UDAAP begin at the Capitol Building?

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Recently, a colleague asked me for some help in coming up with a list of concrete, real-life examples of practices that could be considered unfair, deceptive, or abusive under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (UDAAP).

Hmm. There's the usual, standard suspects like bait- [...]

IS AUTO FINANCING DRIVING DOWN THE SAME ROAD AS HOME LENDING?

nderr — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 01:00:00 +0100
FTC hearings seem set to familiar music

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I've been reading transcripts from the Federal Trade Commission's roundtable hearings focusing on motor vehicle financing, sales, and leasing, and possible consumer protection issues surrounding that industry.

FTC has hosted roundtable meetings in Detroit, Michigan, and San Antonio, Texas, in April and Augus [...]

FORGOTTEN ALLY IN TODAY'S SWIRLING COMPLIANCE CONFUSION?

lgriffin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:00:00 +0100
Time to put your examiner on speed dial?

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Feeling anxious about the recent changeover to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? Worrying about what happens to the regulations we know--but don't necessarily love--when they fall into the hands of new regulators? Wondering how to advise management while not looking foolish in hindsight?

[...]

IS THERE LIFE AFTER APRS?

lgriffin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:00:00 +0100
And could that life be better for both banks and consumers?

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Imagine life without APRs.

Not going to happen?

Actually, it could.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has drafted mortgage loan disclosure forms that do not feature APRs. Instead, the CFPB has discretely tucked the APR away.

It is [...]

5 EXAMPLES OF CUSTOMER-CONFUSING OVERCOMPLIANCE

nderr — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:00:00 +0100
You can screw up by overdoing it, too

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One of my personal pet peeves has to do with over-complying with regulatory requirements.

Why does this even happen?

To make it easier on the bank and/or the compliance officer. Sometimes it's also to make life easier on the forms and systems vendors. The theory is that it doesn't hurt to over-comply, so tak [...]

COMMENTING TO THE CFPB: NEW ERA, NEW AGENCY, NEW METHODS

lgriffin — Tue, 31 May 2011 01:00:00 +0100
8 ways to make new ears understand your message

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Bankers are used to commenting to financial regulators. We know them and they know us. We both know the drill.

However, when comments go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it will be a whole new game.

The Bureau is not so much a financial institution regulator as a consumer prot [...]

REG CC SHIFTS COMING: HOLD POLICY CHANGES NO LONGER ON HOLD

nderr — Fri, 20 May 2011 01:00:00 +0100
Don't miss ripple effects of upcomig Reg CC amendments

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The Federal Reserve, on March 25th, proposed changes to Regulation CC (Expedited Funds Availability Act) that have one primary goal of transitioning the check processing system to a fully electronic interbank collection and return system. There are also two secondary goals:

• Elimi [...]

DEVISING BANK POLICIES THAT WILL KEEP EXAMINERS HAPPY�AND WORK FOR EVERYONE ELSE

lgriffin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:00:00 +0100
Why policies became tomes—and how to get back to practical policies

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Policies—we have to have them. But what, exactly is a policy?

What should it do and what should it look like?

The challenge for banks is that examiners seem to have an idea in their heads about what a policy should look like-but this isn't necessarily what banks think a polic [...]

DODD-FRANK'S 'INTERESTING' DEVELOPMENT HAS COMPLIANCE IMPACT TOO

nderr — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 01:00:00 +0100
Interest on checking may mean no change, or many changes, depending on your bank

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It seems that the deposit side of compliance doesn't get as much press time as the loan side-particularly in the last few years. Going back over the historical Common Sense Compliance blog entries, lending issues have definitely monopolized our "air time." But, maybe that's changing. A number of recent compliance developments have awakened the d [...]

WHO WILL REALLY RUN CRA? REGULATORS OR THE BUREAU?

lgriffin — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:00:00 +0100
CRA officially stays with traditional bank regulators, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau won't stay out of it

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The Community Reinvestment Act is one of only a few "compliance" laws that will not move to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Responsibility for CRA examinations remains with the prudential bank regulators.

[...]

STAND UP FOR YOURSELF

nderr — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100
FDIC urges banks to speak up. Nancy suggests how to do it—and why

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The FDIC's recent "Reminder on FDIC Examination Findings" reminded me that bankers need to be more willing to stand up for themselves before, during, and after compliance examinations. Too often, we accept without question the examiners' conclusions and are afraid to raise objections or argue our side of the issue.