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Yesterday, OFAC sanctioned Jumilca Sandivel Hernandez Perez (Hernandez Perez), a key leader of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization (HSO), a Guatemala-based Transnational Criminal Organization responsible for the smuggling of thousands of illegal aliens from Guatemala, through Mexico, and into the United States. Additionally, Hernandez Perez has coordinated her illegal activity with members of the violent U.S.-sanctioned drug trafficking organization, La Linea, which among other heinous acts is responsible for the November 2019 murders of nine American citizens, including six children, in the Mexican state of Sonora.

OFAC also issued an alert to raise awareness of sanctions and criminal liability risks for foreign financial institutions and other entities with exposure to international cartels recently designated as terrorist organizations, some of which had been previously designated as transnational criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling and other violent acts.

For a link to identification information on Hernandez Perez, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Social Security Administration has announced that, in addition to strengthening its procedures for identity proofing to protect Social Security records and benefits against fraudulent activity, SSA will expedite processing all direct deposit change requests — both in-person and online — to one business day. Currently, online direct deposit changes are being held for 30 days.

The FTC has announced it has obtained a federal court's temporary restraining order halting a business opportunity scheme known as Click Profit, which allegedly took millions from consumers by falsely promising them that they could earn big profits through online sales.

In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Click Profit and its owners deceived consumers by promising they could make large sums in “passive income” using a proprietary system powered by artificial intelligence. The system supposedly enables consumers to sell goods through online platforms such as Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok. Click Profit also deceived consumers by claiming to be affiliated with major companies like Nike and Disney as a ploy to convince consumers to turn over tens of thousands of dollars each, according to the complaint.

Consumers who purchased the company’s business opportunity were charged a “management fee” of at least $45,000, in addition to thousands of dollars more, purportedly to buy inventory for their stores. The complaint alleges that few of these consumers see a return on their investments, much less the promised earnings. In fact, most consumers lose their entire payments, and some are saddled with burdensome credit card debt and unsold products.

The FTC’s complaint charges that Click Profit, its co-founders Emslie and Patrick McGeoghean, partners Jason Masri and William Holton, and a number of associated companies have violated the FTC Act, the Business Opportunity Rule, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, and the Rule On Impersonation of Government and Businesses.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have announced a Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing to identify underutilized federal lands suitable for residential development, streamline land transfer processes and promote policies that increase the availability of affordable housing.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle W. Bowman has issued a statement following her nomination by the president to be Vice Chair for Supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The OCC has announced conditional approval of the application for financial technology (fintech) company SmartBiz Loans to change the business model of CenTrust Bank, N.A., Northbrook, Illinois, upon its acquisition of CenTrust Bank, N.A.

Upon acquisition, CenTrust Bank, N.A. was renamed SmartBiz Bank, N.A. CenTrust further applied to change its business model to conduct small business lending activities on a nationwide basis.

The OCC granted a change to the business model after thorough review of SmartBiz and its current operations. In granting this application, the OCC applied the same rigorous review and standards applied to all new entrants to the federal banking system.

• Conditional approval

The Federal Reserve Board has announced its approval of—

• The application by Renasant Corporation, of Tupelo, Mississippi, to merge with The First Bancshares, and thereby indirectly acquire The First Bank, both of Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• The proposal by EverBank Financial Corp, of Jacksonville, Florida, to acquire Sterling Bank and Trust, FSB, of Southfield, Michigan

The Small Business Administration on Friday issued press releases concerning disaster relief to areas of Oregon; Alaska; Bronx County, NY; Illinois; and New York.

Yesterday, the Department of the Treasury announced that OFAC has designated Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, Mohsen Paknejad, who oversees the export of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and has allocated billions of dollars’ worth of oil to Iran’s armed forces for export. OFAC also designated several entities in multiple jurisdictions, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India, for their ownership or operation of vessels that have delivered Iranian oil to the PRC, or lifted Iranian oil from storage in Dalian, PRC. These sanctions apply further pressure on the “shadow fleet” and other vessels upon which Iran depends to deliver its oil to the PRC, advancing United States’ commitment to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.

Concurrently, the State Department designated three entities under Executive Order 13846 and identified three vessels as blocked property in which these entities have an interest.

For a link to the names and identification information of the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Internal Revenue Service has posted a reminder that April 1, 2025, is the final day to begin required withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s for most retirees who turned 73 in 2024.

RMD rules apply to owners of traditional, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) and Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs while the original owner is alive, and to participants in 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans. Roth IRAs are not subject to required minimum distributions.

It's official. The FDIC has published a notice [90 FR 12115] in this morning's Federal Register that it is withdrawing notices of proposed rulemaking relating to brokered deposit restrictions, corporate governance and risk management, and the Change in Bank Control Act. If the FDIC decides to pursue future regulatory action in any of these areas, it will issue a new proposed rule.

The Social Security Administration has issued a clarification of media misstatements that it plans to eliminate telephone access to services for SSA beneficiaries. SSA is increasing its protection for America’s seniors and other beneficiaries by eliminating the risk of fraud associated with changing bank account information by telephone.

Approximately 40 percent of Social Security direct deposit fraud is associated with someone calling SSA to change direct deposit bank information. SSA’s current protocol of simply asking identifying questions by telephone is no longer enough to prevent fraud.

If someone needs to change their bank account information on SSA’s record, they will need to either:

• Use two-factor authentication with SSA’s “my Social Security” service; or
• Visit a local Social Security office to prove their identity.

All other SSA telephone services remain unchanged.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced virtual Office Hours with its Office of Financial Technology on May 6–8, 2025, to promote responsible innovation in the federal banking system.

Interested parties may request a meeting with OCC staff who will provide feedback on topics discussed and respond to questions. The OCC will provide specific meeting times to selected participants following a review of all requests. Each meeting will be scheduled for 50 minutes.

Information on how to request a meeting is available on the Office Hours event page. To be considered, requests must be made by March 31, 2025.

The Treasury Department yesterday announced that OFAC has sanctioned the Foxtrot Network, a transnational criminal organization (TCO) primarily based in Sweden that has trafficked illicit drugs and that carried out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe, along with its fugitive leader Rawa Majid. In January 2024, the Foxtrot Network orchestrated an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, on behalf of the Government of Iran.

For a link to identification information on the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Internal Revenue Service has advised that over 1.1 million people across the nation have unclaimed refunds for tax year 2021 but face an April 15, 2025, deadline to submit their tax returns.

The Service's press release breaks the estimated unclaimed refunds down by state and provides suggestions on collecting key documents for filing tax returns for past years. Under the law, taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim their tax refunds. If they don’t file within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.

The CFPB has filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal with prejudice, and withdrawn its 2024 suit against Acima Holdings, LLC; Acima Digital, LLC (formerly Acima Credit, LLC, d/b/a Acima Leasing); and Aaron Allred. The Bureau had alleged that the defendants' lease-to-own agreements were actually credit extensions, and accused the defendants of violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act.

FinCEN has announced it has issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) that will require all money services businesses (MSBs) located in 30 ZIP codes across California and Texas near the southwest border to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) with FinCEN at a $200 threshold, in connection with cash transactions.

The terms of the GTO are effective beginning 30 days after the date on which the order is published in the Federal Register. The terms are effective for 179 days thereafter.

The order covers the following ZIP codes across seven counties in California and Texas:

• Imperial County, California: 92231, 92249, 92281, 92283
• San Diego County, California: 91910, 92101, 92113, 92117, 92126, 92154, 92173
• Cameron County, California: 78520, 78521
• El Paso County, Texas: 79901, 79902, 79903, 79905, 79907, 79935
• Hidalgo County, Texas: 78503, 78557, 78572, 78577, 78596
• Maverick County, Texas: 78852
• Webb County, Texas: 78040, 78041, 78043, 78045, 78046

UPDATE ON PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATES: Scheduled for publication on March 14, 2025. Will be effective 4/14/2025–9/9/2025.

The NCUA reports it has granted a federal charter and Share Insurance Fund coverage to Heritage Hub Federal Credit Union, located in Houston.

Heritage Hub will primarily serve people who live, work, worship, or attend school in an 84-census-tract community within Harris County, Texas. Heritage Hub plans to open its doors in mid-2025 and offer members basic savings and lending services to start.

Yesterday, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced the agency’s new Made in America Manufacturing Initiative to empower small manufacturers.

As part of the Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, the SBA said it will:

• Cut $100 billion in regulation through the Office of Advocacy, which is empowered by law to work across federal agencies to identify and eliminate rules, policies, and procedures that disproportionately burden small businesses and manufacturers
• Launch a Red Tape Hotline for small business owners and manufacturers to share feedback and submit onerous regulations for review
• Deploy the newly announced Office of Manufacturing and Trade to offer small manufacturers dedicated resources and training in partnership with SBA field offices across the country
• Reduce barriers to access for the 504 loan program, a zero-subsidy program which provides capital for real estate, construction, and equipment purchases. Zero-subsidy means the program operates without ongoing taxpayer funding and is sustained by borrower and lender fees.
• Expand the use of the 7(a) Working Capital Pilot program, which provides financing to fund inventory purchases and export-related expenses for international markets
• Promote a skilled manufacturing workforce by partnering with agencies, trade schools and private sector stakeholders to create a pipeline of skilled workers to support manufacturing

The Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC have announced in a joint press release that their 2024 Shared National Credit (SNC) Program Report indicates that credit risk associated with large, syndicated bank loans remains moderate. However, the agencies noted weakened credit quality trends continue due to the pressure of higher interest rates on leveraged borrowers and compressed operating margins in some industry sectors.

The agencies also noted that the magnitude and direction of risk in 2025 is likely to be impacted by borrowers’ ability to manage interest expenses, real estate conditions, and other macroeconomic factors.

The 2024 review reflects the examination of SNC loans originated on or before June 30, 2024. The review focused on leveraged loans and stressed borrowers from various industry sectors and assessed aggregate loan commitments of $100 million or more that are shared by multiple regulated financial institutions.

Our monthly review of the Federal Reserve Board's archive of Community Reinvestment Act evaluation reports determined that the Reserve Banks made public nine evaluations of state chartered member banks in February. Eight of those evaluations received ratings of Satisfactory.

We congratulate ANB Bank, Denver, Colorado, whose evaluation received a rating of Outstanding.

The OCC has issued Interpretive Letter 1183 to rescind OCC Interpretive Letter 1179 (11/18/2021). [Interpretive Letter 1179 outlined a supervisory nonobjection process for banks that seek to engage in the activities addressed in Interpretive Letters 1170, 1172, or 1174.] In a related Press Release, the OCC said its actions are intended to "reaffirm that a range of cryptocurrency activities are permissible in the federal banking system. "

The OCC also withdrew from two interagency statements as they apply to national banks and federal savings associations—the “Joint Statement on Crypto-Asset Risks to Banking Organizations” (1/3/2023), and the “Joint Statement on Liquidity Risks to Banking Organizations Resulting from Crypto-Asset Market Vulnerabilities” (2/23/2023) (together, the interagency statements).

These actions are intended to reduce burden, encourage responsible innovation, and enhance transparency. The OCC will examine the activities described in IL 1170 (addressing crypto-asset custody services), 1172 (addressing holding deposits that serve as reserves backing stablecoins), and 1174 (addressing the use of stablecoins and distributed ledger technology to facilitate payments) as part of its ongoing supervisory process.

As with all activities, banks must conduct crypto-asset activities in a safe, sound, and fair manner and in compliance with applicable law. New activities should be developed and implemented consistent with sound risk management practices and align with banks’ overall business plans and strategies.

The U.S. Senate has passed S.J.Res. 28, a resolution under the Congressional Review Act disapproving the rule [89 FR 99582, 12/10/2024] submitted by the CFPB relating to “Defining Larger Participants of a Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications.”

The House of Representatives has introduced a related bill, H.J.Res. 64, which has been referred to committee. If the House resolution is passed and the president approves the joint resolution, the CFPB rule will be nullified and the Bureau will not be able to issue a substantially similar rule in the future.

The rule in question established the CFPB's supervisory authority over nonbank covered persons that are larger participants in a market for “general-use digital consumer payment applications.” Included are providers of funds transfer and payment wallet functionalities through digital payment applications for consumers' general use in making payments to other persons for personal, family, or household purposes. Examples include consumer financial products and services that are commonly described as “digital wallets,” “payment apps,” “funds transfer apps,” “peer-to-peer payment apps,” “person-to-person payment apps,” “P2P apps,” and the like.

HUD has announced a 90-day extension of its foreclosure moratorium on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single family mortgages in the areas of Los Angeles County, California, devastated by the January 2025 wildfires.

The moratorium prohibits mortgage servicers from initiating or completing foreclosure actions on FHA-insured single family forward or Home Equity Conversion mortgages in the Los Angeles County Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Area (PDMDA) through July 7, 2025. The moratorium was originally set to expire on April 8, 2025.

Yesterday, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced plans to put American citizens first by ending taxpayer benefits for illegal aliens and moving SBA offices out of sanctuary cities.

The SBA will issue a new policy requiring SBA loan applications to include a citizenship verification provision to ensure only legal, eligible applicants can access SBA programs. Lenders will be required to confirm that applicant businesses are not owned in whole or in part by an illegal alien.

Loeffler's statement also said the SBA will relocate six of its regional offices currently in municipalities that [allegedly] do not comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Over the coming months, the Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Seattle regional offices will be moved to less costly, more accessible locations that better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law.

The Securities and Exchange Commission reports it is providing extensive guidance and resources to assist filers with upcoming access and account management enhancements to the security of the agency’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system. On March 24, a new EDGAR Filer Management dashboard will go live on the SEC’s website, and filers can begin enrolling in “EDGAR Next” by submitting an amended Form ID, which is the application that individuals or companies complete to obtain EDGAR access credentials.

More information about enrollment is available on the EDGAR Next webpage.

The CFPB has published a Notice [90 FR 11495] in today's Federal Register extending the comment period on the Bureau's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on Identity Theft and Coerced Debt. The comment period was scheduled to end today. Today's notice extends the comment period to end April 7, 2025.

The U.S. Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has taken action against seven high-ranking members of Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis. These individuals have smuggled military-grade items and weapon systems into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and also negotiated Houthi weapons procurements from Russia. OFAC is also designating one Houthi-affiliated operative and his company that have recruited Yemeni civilians to fight on behalf of Russia in Ukraine and generated revenue to support the Houthis’ militant operations.

Treasury also reported that OFAC has designated Zhou Shuai, a Shanghai-based malicious cyber actor and data broker, and his company, Shanghai Heiying Information Technology Company, Limited. In collaboration with another malicious cyber actor, U.S.-sanctioned Yin Kecheng, Zhou Shuai illegally acquired, brokered, and sold data from highly sensitive U.S. critical infrastructure networks.

For a link to identification information on the designated parties, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Federal Trade Commission has reported it has secured an initial win in its case against Seek Capital and the company’s founder and CEO, Roy Ferman, after the U.S. Court for the Central District of California granted the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

Under the preliminary injunction, Seek Capital is prohibited from making false claims related to small business loans or lines of credit and is forbidden from contacting any consumers whose information the company obtained before February 20, 2025.

According to the FTC’s complaint filed in November 2024, Seek Capital targets new and aspiring small business owners looking for loans or lines of credit to open or grow their businesses. The company falsely advertises that it can secure business loans or lines of credit and instead charges clients thousands of dollars simply to open credit cards in the owners’ names. These actions have cost small business owners more than $37 million.

Yesterday, OFAC reported it has issued Venezuela General License 41A, "Authorizing the Wind Down of Certain Transactions Related to Chevron Corporation's Joint Ventures in Venezuela."

Additionally, OFAC has updated its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, designating an Iranian national under its Counter-narcotics sanctions program.

For a link to the Venezuela General License and to information on the Iranian national, see this BankersOnline OFAC update.

The Social Security Administration reported yesterday it had paid 1,127,723 people more than $7.5 billion in retroactive payments that resulted from the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), back-dated to January 1, 2024. The average retroactive payment so far is $6,710.

The WEP and GPO provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a "non-covered pension") because they did not pay Social Security taxes.

The SSA said it continues to pay remaining retroactive payments and is ready to begin paying higher monthly benefit payments beginning in April for individuals' March benefit.

Because over 95% of Social Security payments are made by direct deposit, most of the retroactive payments have been sent electronically to recipients' accounts.

The Federal Trade Commission has reported that as a result of an FTC lawsuit, a federal court has temporarily halted the operations and frozen the assets of a phantom debt collection scheme and its operators. The scheme has operated under numerous names, including Blackrock Services, Blackstone Legal Group, Capital Legal Services, Quest Legal Group, Viking Legal Services, and others.

According to the FTC’s complaint, the operators of this scheme are Ryan and Mitchell Evans and their affiliated companies. Debt collectors working for the scheme’s operators and their affiliated companies have sent consumers deceptive warning and collection letters or called them directly, claiming that consumers owed a debt of some kind and threatening legal action, wage garnishment, negative impacts to consumers’ credit, and even arrest if they don’t pay. The debts described in these letters and calls never existed, according to the complaint, and the defendants have no basis to make legal threats toward consumers.

The FTC’s complaint asks the court to stop the defendants’ unlawful conduct and provide redress to consumers harmed by the scheme.

The FDIC has released a March 2025 list of 56 financial institutions it recently examined for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). We congratulate four institutions whose evaluations were rated Outstanding:

• Bank of Bluffs, Bluffs, Illinois
• First Commerce Bank, Lakewood, New Jersey
• Pinnacle Bank, Fort Worth, Texas
• United Cumberland Bank, Whitley City, Kentucky

The remaining 52 institutions on the list received ratings of Satisfactory.

On December 13, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published at 89 FR 101402 in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) requesting comment on the CFPB's "Protecting Americans from Harmful Data Broker Practices" proposal to amend Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The proposed rule would implement the FCRA's definitions of consumer report and consumer reporting agency as well as certain of the FCRA's provisions governing when consumer reporting agencies may furnish, and users may obtain, consumer reports. The NPRM provided a comment period that was set to close on March 3, 2025.

The CFPB has this morning published a Federal Register notice [90 FR 11236] extending the comment period to end on April 2, 2025.

Yesterday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a list of 26 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public during February. Sixteen of the evaluations were rated "Satisfactory." Ten were rated "Outstanding." The ten institutions that earned Outstanding ratings were:

• Capital One, National Association, McLean, VA
• Collinsville Building and Loan Association, Collinsville, IL
• First Neighbor Bank, National Association, Toledo, IL
• The Granger National Bank, Granger, TX
• Lake Shore Savings Bank, Dunkirk, NY
• Lyons Federal Bank, Lyons, KS
• Ponce Bank, Bronx, NY
• The Security National Bank of Enid, Enid, OK
• Shamrock Bank, National Association, Coalgate, OK
• Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, Sioux Falls, SD

The FDIC has issued FIN-4-2025 to announce that is issuing a proposal to rescind the Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions published in 2024 and reinstate its prior Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions, which was in effect prior to the 2024 Statement.

The FDIC is taking this action due to concerns that implementation of the 2024 Statement has added considerable uncertainty to the merger application process. The proposed reinstatement of the earlier Statement would be an interim measure while the FDIC conducts a broader reevaluation of its bank merger review process.

• Draft Federal Register Notice
• Applications Procedures Manual, Section 4, Mergers
• Bank Application Resources - Mergers

The FDIC has issued FIL-5-2025 to announce it is postponing the compliance date from May 1, 2025 to March 1, 2026 for the requirements under 12 CFR 328.5 related to the display of the FDIC official digital sign on an insured depository institution’s (IDI’s) digital channels, as well as analogous requirements related to IDI’s automated teller machines (ATMs) and like devices under 12 CFR 328.4. This delay will allow the FDIC to propose changes to the regulation for public comment to address implementation concerns and potential sources of confusion.

This delay does not apply to the other amendments made by the final rule to subpart A, such that compliance for those requirements remains unchanged and is required by May 1, 2025.

PUBLISHING UPDATE: Published at 90 FR 11659 on 3/11/2025.

The FDIC has issued FIL-6-2025 to announce it is withdrawing three proposed rules relating to brokered deposits, corporate governance, and the Change in Bank Control Act (CBCA). The FDIC is also withdrawing the authority previously approved by the FDIC Board of Directors to publish a proposed rule on incentive-based compensation arrangements.

The FDIC is withdrawing these Notices of Proposed Rulemaking because it no longer intends to issue final rules with respect to these proposals. If the FDIC pursues regulatory action on these matters in the future, it will do so by publishing new proposed rules or other issuances consistent with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The NCUA has announced that it will no longer publish overdraft and non-sufficient fund fee income for individual credit unions. The NCUA will collect the data during supervisory examinations.

Under the previous data collection policy, the NCUA required federally insured credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets to disclose, separately, income from overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees. This data was available to the public on an individual basis and in the aggregate. Under the new policy, which goes into effect with the March 31, 2025, Call Report cycle, the NCUA will collect overdraft and NSF fee data as part of the examination process. The agency will continue to publish overdraft and NSF fee income data in the aggregate once updates to its examination system are complete.

The Treasury Department has announced that, with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act, not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either. The Treasury Department will further be issuing a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only.

The FDIC has made public its enforcement actions taken in January 2025. They include four consent orders, three prohibition orders, three orders to pay civil money penalties, one order for restitution, and one decision and order to remove and prohibit from further participation.

Consent orders:

• Lamont Bank of St. John, Saint John, Washington (jointly issued with the Washington Department of Financial Institutions) — charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices relating to Board and senior management oversight, credit underwriting and administration, internal audit, and information technology
• FFB Bank, Fresno, California (issued jointly with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation) — charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices and violations of law relating to the Bank Secrecy Act; 31 C.F.R. Chapter X; and 12 U.S.C. § 1818(s), and the FDIC’s implementing regulations, 12 C.F.R. § 326.8 and 12 C.F.R. Part 353 (collectively, the BSA) with respect to the Bank’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Program
• Independence Bank, East Greenwich, Rhode Island (issued jointly with the Rhode Island Division of Banking) — charges of violations of law or regulations (see Order for Restitution, below). The bank is directed to dispose of all SBA loans in its portfolio or ensure the maintenance of all servicing rights and obligations associated with such loans
• Crescent Bank, New Orleans, Louisiana (issued jointly with the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions) — charges of or unsound banking practices or violations of law related to the bank's current expected credit loss (CECL) and underwriting model risk management (MRM) framework, its methodology for determining the Allowance for Credit Losses, compliance with loan policy, and capital maintenance

Civil money penalties:

• The Farmers Bank and Savings Company, Pomeroy, Ohio — $12,000 CMP for violation of flood insurance regulations
• First Secure Bank and Trust Co., Palos Hills, Illinois — $12,375 CMP for violation of flood insurance regulations
• Pinnacle Bank, Inc., Pineville, Kentucky — $4,500 CMP for violation of flood insurance regulations

Restitution:

• Independence Bank, East Greenwich, Rhode Island — Restitution of $3,500,00 to affected SBA borrowers (charging fees in connection with the bank's SBA lending program that were prohibited by applicable SBA regulations and failing to disclose that the fees were prohibited by the SBA

Removal/Prohibition orders:

• Shirley L. Watson, formerly affiliated with State Bank of Cochran, Cochran, Georgia
• Martin Fernandez Jr., formerly affiliated with International Bank of Commerce, Laredo, Texas
• John B. Padilla, formerly affiliated with BancFirst, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Jaqueline R. Brandt, formerly affiliated with Foundation One Bank, Waterloo, Nebraska

The NCUA has reported that it issued a Consent Order of Prohibition in February 2025 to Kelly Jo Muzzana, a former employee of Altana Federal Credit Union, Billings, Montana, after a finding that she engaged in a prolonged scheme to defraud Altana’s member funds, causing Altana significant financial loss.

The OCC has opened registrations for its upcoming virtual and in-person workshops for board directors and senior management of national community banks and federal savings associations.

The OCC examiner-led workshops provide practical training and guidance to directors and senior management of national community banks and federal savings associations to support the safe and sound operation of community-based financial institutions.

Six workshops are listed. Two virtual sessions are scheduled in March. In-person and virtual sessions are scheduled in cities across the country between April 8 and October 16, 2025.

The FDIC has issued the lists of institutions scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the second quarter 2025 and third quarter 2025.

The FDIC has issued FIL-3-2025 with guidance to help financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of West Virginia — McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, and Wyoming Counties are currently included— affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides on February 15, 2025, and continuing.

The Federal Reserve has announced it will begin in March its regular study of household finances, the Survey of Consumer Finances, which provides the public and policymakers with detailed and important insights into the economic condition of American families.

The data collected will provide a representative picture of what Americans own—from houses and cars to stocks and bonds—how and how much they borrow, and how they bank, as well as their feelings about their economic situation and that of the United States more broadly. Past study results have contributed to policy discussions regarding the evolution of housing as a key component of wealth, the recovery of households from the Great Recession, changes in the kinds and amount of credit used by families, and a broad range of other issues.

Th survey is being conducted for the Board through December of this year by NORC, a social science research organization at the University of Chicago.

Participants in the study are chosen at random from 119 geographic areas, including metropolitan areas and rural counties across the United States, using a scientific sampling procedure. A representative of NORC contacts each potential participant personally to explain the study and request time for an interview.