Compliance

By Valerie Moss Q Does a credit union have to follow through on its investigation of an unauthorized electronic fund transfer (EFT) if the member withdraws the allegation?   A No. The credit union can discontinue its investigation if the member voluntarily withdraws the notice alleging an unauthorized EFT. The... READ MORE

Michael McLain The Fed limited a troublesome CARD Act provision to credit cards. Many credit unions have had difficulty complying with the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The requirement that a periodic statement be provided at least 21 days prior to a loan payment due... READ MORE

Nichole Seabron Take a proactive approach to consumer-friendly RESPA amendments. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the agency that administers the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), issued a final rule amending RESPA requirements. Changes become effective on Jan. 1, 2010. RESPA makes certain lenders provide disclosures to... READ MORE

Cover Story By Jim Hanson Seniors get fleeced out of billions of dollars every year—and most of it goes unreported. John Whittaker, Antioch, Calif., thought he had a friend in Joe Gonzales. But that was before Gonzales depleted the 82-year-old, World War II veteran’s bank accounts, running through more than... READ MORE

Mark Wolff Both sides have powerful and committed constituencies. In Washington, it’s sometimes said that health-care reform is “sucking all the oxygen out of the room.” That suggests all other domestic issues are being shunted aside, which is not the case. Less visible, though still intense, political battles are raging... READ MORE

Steve Rodgers Alert CU staff thought something was wrong, and it was. Bank of America didn’t catch it. Citibank didn’t catch it. Neither did Wells Fargo. As employees at those banks were busy processing withdrawals, Joe Gonzales was busy draining 82-year-old Jack Whittaker’s accounts. In little more than a year,... READ MORE

The CUNA Supervisory Committee and Internal Audit Conference , scheduled for Dec. 6-9 in Las Vegas, will cover hot topics including mortgage market fraud, compliance issues, and identity theft. At the conference, E. Michael Thomas, executive in charge of Crowe Horwath LLP, will present "Mortgage Market Fraud and Its New... READ MORE

By Bill Klewin There’s much to be said about what massive changes to the regulatory landscape could bring to credit unions. To set the stage, we need to remember the changes we’re facing: * New rules regarding the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ; * New Regulation Z (Truth-in-Lending) rules... READ MORE

By Valerie Moss Q How should credit unions apply the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act's (SCRA) 6% interest rate cap to new advances under an existing credit card or open-end home equity line of credit program?   A SCRA’s 6% interest-rate cap applies only to outstanding balances on loans taken out... READ MORE

James Collins Outrageous card practices begged for legislation. Question: What do you get when you lock a million monkeys in a room with a million typewriters and wait a million years? Answer: Lots of monkey poop. You might also get the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of... READ MORE

If you remember last summer, NCUA’s Office of Consumer Protection notified over 1000 federal credit unions across the country of their eligibility for low income designation.  NCUA’s initiative was in part due to President Obama’s relief and recovery package to help drought stricken states across the country.   Many of you accepted the designation; however, do [...]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase only qualified mortgages as of January 10, 2014. For those of us that follow the secondary mortgage market and compliance regulations, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise.   The new CFPB rule allows for loans to be underwritten as either [...]

It’s here! Last week the CFPB issued the new final version of the remittance transfer rule. The final rule, which was originally supposed to be effective in February, has now been re-issued. The CFPB has given financial institutions additional time to comply with the rule so the new effective date is October 28, 2013. This [...]