Compliance

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced settlements Wednesday with student banking business Higher One of New Haven, Conn., and WEX Bank of Midvale, Utah, for deceptive practices in the marketing of college and university debit accounts.

Privacy advocates were appalled by the cybersecurity act Congress passed in the omnibus spending bill, with its abandonment of data-privacy provisions that existed in earlier versions. Now consumer and business-client privacy is at the discretion of the banks and other private companies.

So, here we are, living in the “future”…many of us now finally have chip cards; the G20 nations are all in the post “liability-shift” world; we’re all expecting to be living in the new paradigm.

The ease with which Congress was able to take money from the Federal Reserve to pay for a highway transportation bill — by slashing the dividend the central bank pays large banks — is likely to encourage lawmakers to take another dip into the Fed's books next year.

Privacy advocates were appalled by the cybersecurity act Congress passed in the omnibus spending bill, with its abandonment of data-privacy provisions that existed in earlier versions. Now consumer and business-client privacy is at the discretion of the banks and other private companies.

Existing-home sales plummeted in November confirming fears in the mortgage industry that a new consumer disclosure rule is delaying mortgage closings.

A healthy bank culture can only be built from within, rather than as a compliance exercise to satisfy regulators.

NACHA's adoption of same-day payment, or ACH (Automated Clearing House) payment - allows businesses and customers to benefit from receiving same-day transaction processing, though with security risk.

Some mortgage investors are refusing to buy home loans that are at risk of violations of new consumer-disclosure rules. The problem appears to be worst among nonagency jumbo loans purchased by private investors.

The U.S. migration to EMV chip cards garnered most of the spotlight in 2015, but the October liability shift was just the start.