I'm From The Government And I'm Here to Help

"I'm From The Government And I'm Here to Help"

During the past year, we have reported the online offerings of the three bank regulators and the FFIEC (http://www.ffiec.gov). By now you have probably surfed to these sites a time or two -- but have your dropped in lately? Regulators are expanding their websites to include new types of information. OCC's site is so large that the agency has added a "site search" feature. FDIC now features a "site map."

With the FDIC (http://www.fdic.gov) still leading the way, all four sites offer much for the compliance officer. Recent advisory letters are now standard features (the Fed just added its SR letters), and copies of a few regs are beginning to show up. FDIC's "FDIC-Announce" service saves you the time to look for changes. Register your e-mail address and FDIC will automatically mail you its Press Releases, Financial Institution Letters (FILs) and copies of public statements by FDIC officials.

As you would expect, much CRA and HMDA information is available for banks and the public. CRA exam schedules and past ratings are available from all agencies, and OCC (http://www.occ.treas.gov) and FDIC offer full text of recent public exam reports. FFIEC offers interagency CRA Q&As and HMDA "FACs" plus other technical information on HMDA reporting. OCC's "Community and Consumer Organization Database" lists (by location or type) organizations that have registered as contacts for banks and their regulators. (Hint: organizations within your assessment area would look very good in the "community affairs" section of your bank's website.)

Expect to find "one of a kind" resources, too. The Fed supplies a vast amount of economic and statistical data of limited interest to the compliance officer, but its weekly H.15 statistical release contains interest rates used as indexes for HELCs and ARM loan disclosures. FDIC's Institution Directory System allows you to look up any insured bank in the country and view historical balance sheet and income information. OCC offers the APR and APY calculator programs developed by Alan Dombrow. State-chartered institutions should also visit the Conference of State Bank Supervisors site at http://www.csbs.org. If your state's banking commissioner has a website, it will be linked to CSBS.

Copyright © 1997 Compliance Action. Originally appeared in Compliance Action, Vol. 2, No. 8, 7/97