Compliance Blog

NAFCU's Regulatory Compliance School was last week and let me first say, a giant congratulations to the newest crop of NCCOs! Compliance School is always a fantastic opportunity to get back to basics, appreciate how much you already know, and learn from other credit union compliance professionals about the great things happening in credit union land.

I recently learned from a NAFCU member that their credit was considering opening a pop-up branch! They were looking for a quick and dirty primer of lobby signage, and in the spirit of getting back to basics, here is an incomplete, but hopefully still helpful list of considerations for a credit union lobby.

NCUA Official Sign

Section 740.4 requires NCUA's official insurance sign to be required at each station or window where insured account funds or deposits are normally received in its principal place of business and in all its branches. Downloadable graphics of the official NCUA sign can be downloaded on NCUA's website. Credit unions are allowed develop their own color scheme as long as the sign is legible and otherwise compliant. See, 12 C.F.R. § 740(b)(2).

 
The EHL Poster

NCUA's nondiscrimination requirements state that every federal credit union that engages in real estate-related lending must display a notice of discrimination in the public lobby of the credit union, and in the public area of each office where such loans are made. Whether an individual credit union's office set-up falls under the description of also being an "office where such loans are made" is an individual business decision for each credit union to make. These posters need to be visible to the general public, so make sure they are not hidden behind columns or partitions. See, 12 C.F.R. § 701.31(d)(2). The EHL Poster can be ordered from NCUA here.

 Other Requirements

Accepting deposits also triggers Regulation CC's requirement to disclosure the funds availability policy. See, 12 C.F.R. § 229.18(b).

Depending on how the credit union has chosen to achieve compliance with HMDA's public disclosure statement, it may display a poster regarding the availability of HMDA data. Commentary to 1003.5(e) contains suggested language for a poster to meet these requirements.

Other possibilities, depending on the credit union's approaches to compliance, may include:

• posting MLO unique identifies under the SAFE Act and section 1007.105(a) and 75 Fed. Reg. 44655, 44675 (July 28, 2010);
• providing adequate notice of CIP and BSA reporting under 31 C.F.R. § 1020.220(a)(5)(i)-(ii);
• signs indicating compliance with the ADA and handicap accessibility, if required; or
• any annual meeting notices, election notices or financial statements required to be posted in the lobby under the credit union's bylaws, policies or procedures.

This list is by no means exclusive or all-encompassing, but hopefully it’s a useful starting place.

CFPB Proposes HMDA Clarifications

Last Thursday, the CFPB issued proposed clarifications to the 2015 HMDA changes, including a number of clarifications, technical corrections and minor changes to the HMDA regulation. The changes include clarifying certain key terms, such as “temporary financing” and “automated underwriting system.” Proposed changes also establish transition rules for reporting certain loans purchased by financial institutions and facilitate reporting the census tract of a property with a new geocoding tool the CFPB plans to provide online. Your NAFCU Regulatory Compliance Team is still digging through the changes, but expect more information in the near future.