OCC Takes Action Against Six Banks

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has taken enforcement measures against six banks and terminated actions against a half dozen others.

The moves were announced Friday and took place over the last several months.

On Dec. 11, the OCC ordered HSBC's (HBC) U.S. subsidiary in McLean, Va., to detail plans to prevent criminals from laundering money through the bank. The OCC issued the order in connection with an agreement byHSBC, which has $2.7 trillion of assets, to pay $1.9 billion in fines to settle a U.S. probe of money-laundering allegations.

The $196 million-asset Home Loan Investment Bank of Warwick, R.I., was ordered on Oct. 11 to ensure it has sufficient funding to meet contingencies, maintain internal controls, comply with regulations governing treatment of loan losses and refrain from paying dividends or distributing capital without the permission of regulators.

The bank also must detail plans to strengthen its operations and improve its earnings, boost total capital to at least 13% of risk-weighted assets and Tier 1 capital to at least 9%, and to restore the quality of its loan portfolio. The OCC also terminated an enforcement action against Home Loan that the former Office of Thrift Supervision took in 2009.

On Nov. 26, the OCC fined the First National Bank in Wellston, Ohio, for renewing loans on property that had insufficient flood-insurance coverage. The OCC ordered the bank to pay $1,155 to the National Flood Insurance Program, which is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In January, the bank was ordered to pay $1,540 to the program.

GCF Bank in Sewell, N.J., agreed on Sept. 20 to ensure it has managers in place who have the skills and experience to supervise the $314 million-asset bank's activities effectively, adopt a program of audits sufficient to detect lapses in the bank's governing practices and ensure that its information systems, books and records are accurate.

The bank also agreed to detail plans to analyze securities backed by home loans that regulators have flagged, to maintain adequate capital, to operate its business profitably and strategically and to properly manage its balance sheet.

On Nov. 30, Los Alamos National Bank in Los Alamos, N.M., promised to ensure it has managers who are qualified to supervise the bank's activities effectively and to refrain from paying dividends without the permission of regulators. The $1.5 billion-asset bank also agreed to protect its interest in loans that examiners have criticized as substandard and obtain credit information for loans that lack such information.

Los Alamos also agreed to detail in writing plans to ensure that its books reflect risk associated with the bank's loans, to maintain a sufficient allowance for loan losses and to strengthen controls for its systems and software.

The $525 million-asset Westbury Bank in West Bend, Wis., agreed on Oct. 29 to appoint, in the event the position of chief credit officer were to become vacant, a loan officer who has the skills and experience to ensure the bank adheres to sound practices, and to take steps to protect its interest in loans that examiners have flagged.

Westbury also agreed to detail plans to maintain adequate capital, to improve its credit administration practices, to maintain sufficient allowances for losses on loans and to refrain from lending more than $250,000 without a finding by the bank's board that the loan would be in the best interests of the bank.

The OCC also terminated enforcement actions against The Midlands National Bank of Newton, Kan.; National Bank of Kansas City in Overland Park, Kan.; Riverwood Bank in Bemidji, Minn.; Texas Republic Bank in Frisco, Texas; and First Community Bank in Sugar Land, Texas.