Compliance Blog

Written by Brandy Bruyere, Regulatory Compliance Counsel

Happy March! With any luck, it will start to feel like spring again for those of us who are getting a bit tired of winter. Since it’s the first Monday of the month, we thought we would start this week off with a low-impact post that brings us up to date on a few different compliance-related developments.

CFPB Calls on Credit Card Companies to Provide Credit Scores

Last week, the CFPB released a report and bulletin regarding consumer complaints about credit reporting companies including accuracy in credit reports. As part of the Bureau’s response to this issue, CFPB Director Richard Cordray called on credit card companies to make “credit scores freely available on [consumers’] monthly statement or online.” While there are a few large credit card companies who are already offering this service to their customers, this is not a current regulatory requirement. However, it may be a sign of things to come from the CFPB.

CFPB Cracks Down on Student Lending

Back in December, the CFPB announced it would oversee the largest nonbank student loan servicers. The Bureau wasted little time as Discover Financial Services disclosed in its annual securities filing that the CFPB is investigating the company’s student loan servicing practices. The CFPB also filed suit last week against a for-profit college for predatory lending in relation to its student loan programs. As credit unions increase their involvement with private student lending, they may want to monitor the increased CFPB action in this area.

NCUA Releases Voluntary Liquidation Proposal

At its February 20^th meeting, the NCUA Board issued a proposed amendment to its voluntary liquidation regulation. The proposal includes a few changes that aim to reduce the burden on credit unions that are voluntarily liquidating. For example, the proposed changes would allow such credit unions to publish required creditor notices in electronic media and exempt credit unions with less than $1 million in assets from publication generally. Also, credit unions under $50 million in assets would be exempt from the requirement to make creditor publications in multiple sources.

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Below are a couple of resources you may find useful for starting off a new month.

NCUA to Hold BSA Webinar. On Wednesday, March 19^th, NCUA will host a free webinar titled “BSA-MSB Training: What You Need to Know.” The webinar will be a panel and cover topics such as the critical elements of a BSA program, Money Service Businesses, common BSA violations, and reporting requirements. Attendees who successfully complete a test at the end of the webinar will receive a certificate of training. Those interested in this program can register here.

Kaufman & Canoles. Attorneys at Kaufman & Canoles released their Credit Union Legal Update—Winter 2014. This update discusses recent court rulings that may impact credit unions.

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New Toys. Lemmy is not crated during the day while my husband and I go to work. We leave some toys out for him, but never the stuffed ones because sometimes he tears the toy open and gets into the stuffing. As a rescued yard dog, Lemmy still sometimes struggles to identify the difference between food and non-food. So, some toys must be taken away before we leave, resulting in what I call “sad mastiff face.”