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In an unusual move, Laura Akahoshi, former Rabobank (the “Bank”) Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”), filed on July 6, 2023 an opposition to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (“OCC”) dismissal of its own administrative enforcement proceeding against her.  Akahoshi filed her petition in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing in part that the Administrative Procedures Act and 18 U.S.C.… Continue Reading

On June 16, 2023, Michael J. Hsu, Acting Comptroller of the Currency delivered remarks to the American Bankers Association Risk and Compliance Conference in San Antonio, Texas.  In his remarks, Hsu discussed both the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and tokenization.  The core of Hsu’s remarks is that, given the rapid innovation of AI and tokenization in banking, banks should closely work with regulators to manage technological risks.… Continue Reading

The Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC have released final interagency guidance for their respective supervised banking organizations on managing risks associated with third-party relationships, including relationships with financial technology-focused entities such as bank/fintech sponsorship arrangements.  The guidance is intended to provide principles for effective third-party risk management for all  types of third-party relationships, regardless of how they may be structured.  … Continue Reading

Last week, the CFPB, together with the Federal Reserve Board (Board), FDIC, OCC, and NCUA, issued a “Joint Statement on Completing the LIBOR Transition.”  The agencies issued the statement to remind supervised institutions that LIBOR will be discontinued on June 30, 2023 and to reiterate their expectations that institutions with LIBOR exposure should complete their transition of remaining LIBOR contracts as soon as possible. … Continue Reading

The OCC has issued a new bulletin and the FDIC has issued new supervisory guidance directed to their supervised institutions to address “authorize positive, settle negative” (APSN) overdraft  fee practices.  The OCC bulletin also addresses non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee practices.  Based on the bulletin and guidance, it would appear that the OCC and FDIC share the CFPB’s apparent view that APSN fees are unfair regardless of how clearly and conspicuously they are disclosed to consumers. … Continue Reading

The Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued a joint statement on crypto-asset risks to banking organizations.  The term “crypto-asset” refers to any digital asset implemented using cryptographic techniques.

The statement begins with the agencies’ observations that “[t]he events of the past year have been marked by significant volatility and the exposure of vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset sector” and that “[t]hese events highlight a number of key risks associated with crypto-assets and crypto-asset sector participants that banking organizations should be aware of.”… Continue Reading

In recent remarks at the CRA & Fair Lending Colloquium, Grovetta Gardineer, Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, discussed the OCC’s current fair lending initiatives.  Her remarks were intended to convey the message that the OCC is “laser focused on fair lending” and considers fair lending compliance to be an important component of safety and soundness.… Continue Reading

The OCC’s announcement that it will establish an Office of Financial Technology to “bolster the agency’s expertise and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing banking landscape” should come as no surprise to those who have been following recent pronouncements of Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu.

Over the past few months, Mr.… Continue Reading

The CFPB, Fed, and OCC have announced that they are increasing three exemption thresholds that are subject to annual inflation adjustments.  Effective January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, these exemption thresholds are increased as follows:

… Continue Reading