John began his banking career in high school when he started as a teller at a $15 million bank that didn't have account numbers for its checking accounts (he says they actually filed by signature!) He moved to Cape Cod Bank and Trust Company in 1971 and assumed the position of Compliance Officer in 1976. He also served as corporate secretary and secretary of CCBT's Board of Directors, and as clerk of the bank's holding company.
He was a member of the Massachusetts Bankers Association Legal and Regulatory Compliance Committee, and of the American Bankers Association Compliance Executive Committee and NCS/NGCS Advisory Board. He is a regular presenter and participant in BOL Conferences events.
You may contact John via email at jburnett@bankersonline.com.
01/26/2025
Can an attorney-in-fact or agent for the executor of an estate be listed on the estate account as a signer if they weren't appointed by the court to specifically be on the estate account? The executor wanted to put their agent on the estate account, but I feel this could get messy because I feel the agent isn't legally bound by the will to carry out the duties of the executor.
01/26/2025
I have two questions about accounts for trusts. Does the account title of a revocable trust need to change when the trust becomes irrevocable? If a customer had an EIN for a revocable trust prior to her death, can that EIN continue to be used now, since the trust became irrevocable after her death, or must the new trustee(s) apply for a new EIN?
01/19/2025
Why Is it so difficult to ascertain whether or not an online bank has physical bank locations?
01/12/2025
I have a customer application for a home loan to be used for home improvements. We have run the credit report and approved the application, and she has signed the intent to proceed. We just got back the appraisal. Now, she has says that her contractor may be 5-6 months away from beginning her project and she wants to wait until then to do the loan. Am I able to let this sit that long? How long can we sit on this same application? I've never had something like this happen before.
01/12/2025
How does Reg CC impact deposits made at ATMs, are there required notices or procedures and are they different for your own ATMs and others?
01/12/2025
We are thinking about placing the Annual Escrow Analysis statements on customers' online banking portal (same place where monthly statements reside). In looking at 1024.17 (and its subpart under RESPA), there doesn't appear to be any call out eliminating the need to deliver via USPS. If we went to electronic delivery (within compliance under the ESIGN Act), would we then still have to deliver a physical copy of the annual escrow analysis statement (when required under the same citation)?
01/05/2025
How does a bank in New Jersey report an Attorney Trust account when it is overdrawn?
01/05/2025
Our institution does bridge loans where we take both the property being purchased and the borrower’s current primary residence as collateral. Both properties get listed on the Note and Mortgage. These are treated as a purchase. Do we need to disclose both addresses for this type of transaction on the LE and CD, or would that only be the case if they were refinancing multiple properties or purchasing multiple properties in one transaction? Would the fact that they are purchasing a new home using the equity in the current home that will be sold make it so we would not have to disclose both addresses and only the property being purchased? Currently, I think we would have to disclose both, but want to ensure I am interpreting comments 1026.37(a)(6)-3 and 1026.38(a)(3)(vi)-2 correctly.
12/29/2024
I'm looking for some insight on bank controlled internal accounts (i.e. cashier's checks, accounts payable, interest disbursements, etc). I need to perform account maintenance and add signers to the accounts. Are there any compliance regulations that can help steer me in the right direction as to who in our institution should be signers on these accounts? For our cashier's checks, we are not limited to bank officers, so any employee with signing authority can sign a check, but they do not have access to the accounts outside of that. There has been debate about who should be on the accounts and if it needs to be those who are reconciling or processing funds.
12/29/2024
What are the five "C's" of lending?