Top Story Compliance Related

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.