Compliance

In a letter to nine lenders, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said investigators uncovered identity-theft schemes hatched by tellers at some of the biggest institutions.

Several weighty issues remain on the agenda for policymakers over the next few months, including everything from living wills to regulatory relief to a long-lost compensation rule.

Many community banks are trying to determine the right balance of in-house staff and outsourced assistance in the area of risk management. Cost cutting and regulatory oversight loom large over such decisions.

U.S.-based payment processor Total System Services (TSYS) has launched a service called Chip Card on Demand that provides issuers the option to add EMV chips to compatible magstripe cards during the production process.

New York financial watchdog Benjamin Lawsky is stepping down, and his successor is likely to follow a similar strict yet innovative approach to Wall Street oversight. However, the next head of NYDFS would likely benefit from better industry relations.

There have been various media reports about some of the security shortcomings within Apple Pay. The shortcomings are not security holes per se, in the sense that a hole is generally unintended. No, the security issues were deliberate, done with the goal of making signups and initial usage as easy as possible for shoppers.

The Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board has fined an appraisal management company $5,000 for failing to pay "customary and reasonable" fees to appraisers.

Nacha recently announced a rule change allowing for same day ACH payments. This decision was a heavily debated throughout the industry for several years.

The regulatory burden for originators has not only been the main driver of acquisition activity in mortgages but also influences deal structures. Acquirers are looking to craft transactions so they don't get burned by targets' compliance lapses.

As part of its proposed sale to Royal Bank of Canada, City National has made a big Community Reinvestment Act commitment, which includes targeting small-business loans at the minority- and women-owned suppliers of three power companies.