Compliance

WASHINGTON — NCUA is working to streamline the exam process and reduce the burden for credit unions, according to Larry Fazio, director of the agency's Office of Examination and Insurance.

Apple Pay and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have a lot of appeal for banks looking to stay at the cutting edge of digital payments. But security and compliance risks are part and parcel of these innovations.

For the past two years, acquirers and processors have taken aim at the lengthy EMV chip-card certification process as a major stumbling block for U.S. merchants preparing to upgrade from magnetic stripe technology in time to avoid a shift in fraud liability.

Banks can expect to incur higher costs in several areas during the implementation of a settlement agreement to improve the accuracy of credit reports. But they might benefit in the long run by getting better information on borrowers.

Lucrative sale of a subprime lending unit. Big credit card deal. Clear business plan. It's looking like a good year for Citi — provided it passes the CCAR stress test this week and fills a key executive post.

Seeking a uniform process for card-not-present transactions in the Single Euro Payments Area throughout Europe, the European Payments Council has created a blueprint for an interoperable card and terminal infrastructure.

The European Parliament on March 9 voted in favor of capping interchange fees for domestic and cross-border transactions, a move that many European banks anticipated.

Industry groups are urging the Pentagon to soften its proposed expansion of a rate cap on loans sold to service members, but banks face opposition from dozens of advocacy groups that favor tougher restrictions.

The Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase were far apart last week in how much revenue the company would be making after the kind of economic shock envisioned in the Dodd-Frank stress test. The gap has JPM observers cautiously awaiting the results of this week's CCAR test.

Banks have spent a lot of money in order to comply with stress-test requirements. But they will only realize the value on their investments if they integrate stress-test tools and results into their daily decision-making process.

WASHINGTON — A group of representatives from across the credit union spectrum has banded together as Credit Union Voices and will be hosting a booth at CUNA's GAC here next week allowing guests to comment on and submit letters regarding NCUA's revised risk-based capital proposal.

Two activist groups are urging the Fed and OCC to investigate whether OneWest used donations and other sweeteners to buy community support for its sale to CIT.

Observers fear state regulator Benjamin Lawsky's proposal to model anti-laundering reviews after Sarbanes-Oxley requirements could thin ranks of compliance specialists and slow monitoring.

Community and regional banks should be subjected to simpler rules than very large banks, the chairman and CEO of the Buffalo, N.Y., company said. In fact, size is the wrong determinant for risk-based regulation, he said.

Banks process billions of dollars in international remittances, and the business is growing. But complex competing forces — namely anti-laundering rules and pressure from humanitarian groups — make the decision to stay in the business a difficult one.

Some newcomers to mortgage servicing did not hedge because hedging would have increased costs. Had rates moved up, the strategy would have paid off handsomely. Instead, it worked against them.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said a review of its "qualified mortgage" rule will allow enough time to consider changes if lawmakers fail to make progress on housing finance before a key deadline.

NCUA will webcast a seminar on field of membership expansion and improved service to underserved communities, the agency announced Tuesday.

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to a $50.4 million settlement with the Justice Department for robo-signing documents sent to homeowners in bankruptcy and for related abuses.

WASHINGTON — Two senior members of the House Financial Services Committee on Monday introduced H.R. 1188, the Credit Union Small Business Jobs Creation Act, which would increase the member business lending cap for qualified credit unions to 27.5% from its current 12.25%.