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The OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, NCUA, CFPB, FHFA, CFTC, SEC, and Treasury Department have published [89 FR 67890] in today's Federal Register, their previously announced notice of proposed rulemaking to establish data standards to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across these agencies. Final standards established pursuant to this rulemaking will later be adopted for certain collections of information in separate rulemakings by the agencies or through other actions taken by the agencies. The agencies are proposing this rule as required by the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022.

Comments on the proposal will be accepted for 60 days, through October 21, 2024.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced settled charges against New York-based registered transfer agent Equiniti Trust Company LLC, formerly known as American Stock Transfer & Trust Company LLC, for failing to assure that client securities and funds were protected against theft or misuse. Those failures led to the loss of more than $6.6 million of client funds as a result of two separate cyber intrusions in 2022 and 2023. American Stock Transfer was able to recover approximately $2.6 million of the losses and fully reimbursed the clients for their losses. To settle the SEC’s charges, Equiniti agreed to pay a civil penalty of $850,000.

• SEC Order

The FDIC has published [89 FR 67002] in this morning's Federal Register a proposal to amend its filing requirements and processing procedures for notices filed under the Change in Bank Control Act (CBCA) by removing the exemption from the notice requirement for acquisitions of voting securities of a depository institution holding company with an FDIC-supervised subsidiary institution for which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) reviews a notice under the CBCA and by making conforming definitional changes. The FDIC also seeks information and comment regarding its approach to change in control notices under the CBCA with regard to persons who may be directly or indirectly exercising control over an FDIC-supervised institution.

Comments are due by October 18, 2024.

FDIC FIL-57-2024 was issued Friday with information to provide regulatory relief to FDIC-supervised financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Florida affected by Hurricane Debby. The affected areas are Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Manatee, Sarasota, Suwannee, and Taylor Counties.

The FDIC has issued FIL-56-2024 to alert financial institutions it has updated its Questions and Answers page for the final rule governing FDIC Official Signs and Advertising Requirements, False Advertising, Misrepresentation of Insured Status, and Misuse of the FDIC Name or Logo (part 328). The Q&As provide clarifying information on the final rule to support stakeholders in the implementation of part 328.

The Q&As cover key implementation topics that include, for example, the placement and display of the official digital sign and non-deposit sign, use of the advertising statement on various deposit-taking channels on websites, mobile apps, ATMs, and social media, as well as information on technical assistance support, such as where to obtain downloadable versions of the official digital sign.

Yesterday, the OCC announced the release of its annual update to the Bank Accounting Advisory Service (BAAS).

The BAAS contains staff responses to frequently asked questions from the banking industry and bank examiners on a variety of accounting topics and promotes consistent application of accounting standards and regulatory reporting among national banks and federal savings associations.

This edition of the BAAS revises certain content for general clarity and also removes superseded content. The updates do not alter the OCC Office of the Chief Accountant’s prior conclusions or interpretations.

The BAAS does not represent rules or regulations of the OCC. Rather, it represents the OCC Office of the Chief Accountant’s interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles and regulatory guidance based on the facts and circumstances presented.

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has sanctioned several companies, individuals, and vessels for their involvement in the shipment of Iranian commodities, including oil and liquefied petroleum gas, to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of the network of Iran-based, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force-backed Houthi financial official Sa’id al-Jamal. OFAC also updated the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List entry for the sanctioned vessel ARTURA (IMO: 9150365), which was responsible for shipping commodities for Sa’id al-Jamal, to reflect the changing of its name to OHAR.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties, see this August 15, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The White House has issued a Fact Sheet on a new administration effort to address "hassles that waste Americans’ time and money."

Among the initiatives listed in the Fact Sheet, there are two that could affect banks. The CFPB will initial a rulemaking to require businesses under its jurisdiction to provide consumers direct, one-button access to a live human being instead of being forced to listen to a series of long messages and menu options. The Bureau will also issue rules or guidance to crack down on ineffective and time-wasting chatbots used by some banks and other financial institutions in lieu of customer service. The CFPB will identify when the use of automated chatbots or AI voice recordings is unlawful, including in situations in which customers are led to believe they are speaking with a human being.

The FDIC has issued FIL-55-2024 to notify FDIC-supervised institutions of an amendment of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption rule (PTE 84-14) for Qualified Professional Asset Manager (QPAM) exemptions. The QPAM Exemption (hereafter, PTE 84-14) provides broad relief for employee benefit plan and individual retirement account transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) and Title II of ERISA, as codified in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, as long as the transactions involve a QPAM. Under the prior rule, QPAMs did not need to notify the DOL that they were relying on the Exemption. However, under the newly amended rule, a one-time notice is now required in order to continue to rely on the Exemption, provided certain conditions are met.

The revised DOL QPAM Exemption PTE 84-14 was published [89 FR 23090] in the Federal Register on April 3, 2024, and became effective June 17, 2024. Among other things, PTE 84-14 will require institutions relying on the exemption to:

• Notify DOL of their intent to rely upon the Exemption. Each QPAM that relies upon the Exemption must report its legal name (and any name the QPAM may be operating under) by email to the DOL at QPAM@dol.gov within an initial 90-day period from the date the Exemption became effective, with an additional 90-day period to cure inadvertent failures to report;
• Meet the adjusted QPAM asset management and equity thresholds, which will phase in through incremental changes in 2024, 2027, and 2030;
• Become familiar with Section I(g)(3)’s expanded list of types of misconduct and entities that may cause ineligibility for the QPAM exemption;
• Comply with the new recordkeeping requirements in PTE 84-14 section VI(u), which would require maintaining records for six years demonstrating compliance with this exemption; and
• Request any individual exemptions in case a bank becomes ineligible or anticipates becoming ineligible under the new PTE 84-14 section I(k).

Generally, banks have until September 24, 2024, to notify DOL of their intent to rely upon the Exemption; see the exemption amendment to PTE 84-14 for additional information.

• Fact Sheet

OTC Link LLC, a New York-based broker-dealer, has agreed to pay $1.19 million to settle SEC charges that it failed to file numerous reports of suspicious financial transactions (SARs) for a period of more than three years, according to an SEC news release.

The SEC’s order finds that, from March 2020 through May 2023, OTC Link failed to adopt or implement reasonably designed anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures to surveil transactions conducted through its three alternative trading systems (ATSs) for possible red flags of suspicious activity. As a result, OTC Link did not file a single SAR over this time period. The three ATSs are used by broker-dealers on a daily basis to execute or facilitate tens of thousands of transactions in over-the-counter (OTC) securities, many of which are considered microcap or penny stock securities.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, OTC Link agreed to a censure and a cease-and-desist order in addition to the $1.19 million penalty. The SEC’s order also directs OTC Link to continue its engagement of a compliance consultant to review and recommend changes to the firm’s AML policies and procedures.