OCC Slaps BofA With Cease-And-Desist Order For BSA Shortcomings

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has taken action against BofA, issuing a cease-and-desist order due to significant shortcomings in the bank’s compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its sanctions programs, the Wall Street Pit reported.

Among the critical issues highlighted are the bank’s failure to file suspicious activity reports in a timely manner, alongside a notable lapse in addressing a previously flagged deficiency in its Customer Due Diligence processes. The OCC’s order further criticizes the bank’s internal control mechanisms, governance structures, independent testing procedures, and the training regimen for its BSA compliance personnel, Wall Street Pit said.

In response to these findings, the OCC has mandated that Bank of America undertake comprehensive corrective measures. This includes a thorough enhancement of its BSA and AML compliance frameworks, Wall Street Pit said.

“A key part of the remedial action involves hiring an independent consultant. This external expert will not only assess the current state of the bank’s compliance programs but also conduct lookback reviews. These reviews are essential to verify that all past suspicious activities have been properly documented and reported, ensuring no malpractices have gone unnoticed or unreported,” Wall Street Pit said.

Don't be in this situation when it comes to BSA training!

https://www.ncofcu.org/first-responder-credit-union-academy

Comments

Sunday Reading - Changing the Map

Changing the Map Redistricting, explained Congressional redistricting is the process by which states redraw electoral district boundaries that determine representation in the US House of Representatives. The Constitution, federal law, and court rulings require districts to have roughly equal populations, avoid discrimination against racial or language minorities, and, in most states, be geographically contiguous. For most of American history, redistricting has followed a predictable cycle, occurring every 10 years after the census. Gerrymandering is the deliberate manipulation of district boundaries to advantage one political party. Common tactics by both major American political parties include packing opposition voters i...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Reuters: Trump Regulators Launch Biggest Bank Oversight Overhaul Since 2008

Is NCUA next? WASHINGTON—Federal banking regulators under President Trump are undertaking what Reuters described as the most significant overhaul of bank supervision since the 2008 financial crisis, shifting examiner focus away from process and compliance issues and toward what agencies consider “material” financial risks. According to Reuters, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have directed examiners to concentrate on risks that pose direct threats to a bank’s safety and soundness, rather than on paperwork deficiencies, governance concerns or procedural issues that do not immediately affect financial stability. Reuters reported that regulators have also moved away from evaluating banks based on “reputational risk,” a supervisory concept long criticized by banks as overly subjective. The change follows complaints from President Trump and others that financial institutions have used reputational-risk considerations...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Hauptman Tells Congress CU Health is Strong; Responds to Questions from Committee

WASHINGTON — National Credit Union Administration Chairman Kyle Hauptman told members of the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday that the nation’s credit union system remains financially strong, while warning that rising delinquencies and consumer financial stress continue to warrant close monitoring. Hauptman also responded to a handful of questions from members of Congress, as well. Hauptman appeared as part of the regular hearings on Oversight of Prudential Regulators. Also appearing as witnesses were Michelle Bowman, vice chair for supervision with the Federal Reserve; Travis Hill, FDIC chairman, and Jonathan Gould, the acting Comptroller of the Currency. Kyle Hauptman In his prepared statement, Hauptman said federally insured credit unions remain well-capitalized and continue to meet members’ borrowing needs despite economic headwinds. He said the NCUA is focused on maintaining safety and soundness, protecting the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund and creating...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

The Role of the Board Chair

Tim Harrington, CPA CEO, TEAM Resources The Role of the Board Chair Recently I had the chance to spend some time with a great group of board members . One of the things we talked about was the role of the board chair. I thought this well worth putting down on *paper* as it were. The role of the chairperson is multi-faceted, complex, and often changing within the context of the organization’s dynamic. Unfortunately, there’s no perfect set of “rules.” But there are some guidelines. Here are our “tips” on navigating the position successfully: Roles Facilitator – The board chair must draw together the individual directors into a team, working together on behalf of the membership and the credit union. To do that, s/he must wrangle individual personalities, draw out conversation from some, and rein it in from others. Having a solid understanding of the personalities of each director … and the CEO helps the chair keep things on track, moving forward, and civil. ...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Trump Accounts Program For Children Moves Forward With New Mobile App Launch

WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department on Thursday announced the launch of the new Trump Accounts mobile app, marking the next phase of the Administration’s rollout of its new federally backed investment savings program for children ahead of the program’s official July 4 launch date. Donald Trump The app, now available through major mobile app stores, will serve as the primary platform for families to manage and activate Trump Accounts. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the app is intended to give parents and guardians a “simple, secure way” to participate in the program, which was created under the 2025 Republican tax-and-spending package. Families that already submitted IRS Form 4547 to enroll children in the program will begin receiving phased activation emails between now and July 4, according to Treasury. Under the program, eligible children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, can receive a one-time $1,000 federal seed contribution into a tax-deferred investment ac...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Cheer Up and Change: "Wait and see is not a plan."

I posted this a year ago and thought I would bring it back to see if any of his predictions came true. Take a look and tell us what you think. Grant Sheehan CEO Cheer Up and Change: The Demographic Mandate At a conference I recently attended Monday morning started off with a great session by demographer and futurist Ken Gronbach, who laid out his predictions on where we’re going and what we can expect as demographics change. I was pleasantly surprised that the future isn’t sounding as bleak as the news might have you believe. Gronbach offered lots of predictions for where our society and our world is headed. His predictions were given with a purpose: To help associations build their vision and plan for the future. As Gronbach stressed, "Wait and see is not a plan." I’ve decided to arrange this recap into a list of my takeaways rather than a narrative recap. I hope you get as much out of this information as I did! Things to Expect: Big Changes in Retail : Gronbach ...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Supplemental Capital to be Considered by NCUA

Supplemental Capital At the NCUA’s October board meeting, senior staff of the NCUA submitted a briefing report (the “Report”) to the NCUA Board (the “Board”) on the issues concerning the use of supplemental capital by federally insured credit unions (“FICUs”). The use of supplemental capital presents a number of regulatory and policy issues that would need to be addressed prior to authorizing this form of capital for all FICUs. The Board considered issuing an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) in the near future which would give credit unions and the public the opportunity to provide comment before the proposed rule stage. Supplemental capital does not provide any capital support under the NCUA’s net worth requirements because it does not count as equity under generally accepted accounting principles, but it would allow FICUs to have a greater concentration of member business loans and long term mortgage loans since it could be used by FICUs to meet...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Ransomware: 'It's A Growing Issue'

MADISON, Wis.—Ransomware attacks, already a quiet concern that has been growing among credit unions, are expected to dramatically increase this year—with one analyst saying there is “no silver bullet” to prevent the threat. Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system or PC until a sum of money is paid. In the case of a financial institution, crooks first use the malware to encrypt the contents of the FI’s data and then extract a ransom in exchange for decrypting the information and allowing the victim to regain access. It’s an issue, according to one regulator source who asked for anonymity that has been growing within credit unions, many of which have paid ransoms to regain access to their data and have chosen not to speaking publicly about the crime. “This has become a huge problem,” said Ken Otsuka, senior consultant in CUNA Mutual Group’s risk management department, adding that CUNA Mutual Group’s cyber liability coverage data d...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Proposed FOM changes would streamline ability to reach underserved

February 16, 2023 The NCUA Board proposed chartering and field-of-membership changes and issued its final cyber incident reporting rule at its Thursday meeting. The board also heard a quarterly update on the share insurance fund, which noted an increase in the fund's equity ratio to 1.30%." The proposal would amend the chartering and FOM rules through nine changes to enhance consumer access to financial services, especially in low- and moderate-income communities while reducing duplicative or unnecessary paperwork and administrative requirements. “Getting credit union services to more communities across the country is important to CUNA, state leagues and the credit unions we serve, and making that easier to achieve has a big impact on access,” said CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak. “While we need to review the proposal in detail, we thank the NCUA board for working to streamline the ability of credit un...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

Letter to Credit Unions Says NCUA Exam Modernization Now Underway

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA has sent a Letter to Credit Unions ( 21-CU-08 ) detailing the agency's transition to modernized systems. The agency said it will begin this transition in August. NCUA’s efforts will include the implementation of emerging and secure technology that supports the NCUA’s examination, data collection, field of membership, and reporting efforts. “These new applications will streamline processes and procedures and provide significant benefits to credit union users,” NCUA said. Key areas affected: NCUA Connect Admin Portal Consumer Access Process and Reporting Information System (CAPRIS) 1 Modern Examination & Risk Identification Tool (MERIT) Data Exchange Application (DEXA) Training Available To prepare credit unions for the transition to these new systems, NCUA said it will provide credit union user training through various avenues, including: A self-paced training curriculum covering MERIT functionality available through the NCUA’s Learning Management Service An...

Read Complete Article HERE>»

First-responder Credit Union Newsroom

Search This Blog