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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.

FinCEN has published in today's Federal Register three notices and requests for comment on proposals to renew, without change, certain recordkeeping requirements. Comments on each of the notices will be accepted through October 15, 2024.

• Additional Records to be Made and Retained by Dealers in Foreign Exchange and Additional Records to be Made and Retained by Brokers or Dealers in Securities (89 FR 65980)
• Anti-Money Laundering Program Requirements for Casinos (89 FR 65977)
• Records to be Made and Retained by Financial Institutions, Banks, and Providers and Sellers of Prepaid Access (89 FR 65971)

On Friday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC has acted against 19 individuals, 14 entities, and one aircraft under Belarus-related Executive Order 14038. This action targets persons involved in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine through military resource production and transshipment of goods to Russia, sanctions evasion on behalf of Belarusian defense entities, and revenue generation for Belarusian oligarchs in Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s inner circle. OFAC concurrently designated five of these targets—three individuals and two entities—under Russia-related Executive Order 14024.

For identification information on the designated individuals, entities, and aircraft, see BankersOnline’s August 9, 2024, OFAC Update.

The FDIC has issued Financial Institution Letter FIL-53-2024, "Classification of Interactive Teller Machines as Domestic Branches or Remote Service Units."

Interactive Teller Machine (ITM) technology has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years. State nonmember banks have sought guidance from the FDIC regarding whether the proposed use of an ITM at a location other than an established branch facility would require the filing of a domestic branch application, or would qualify for the RSU exclusion to the definition of domestic branch (meaning no branch application would be necessary). ITMs generally resemble automated teller machines but allow customers to interact with live tellers to complete a variety of banking transactions.

The FDIC would not consider an ITM established by a state nonmember bank to be a “domestic branch” subject to FDIC approval under section 18(d) of the FDI Act under the following circumstances:

• The ITM is an automated, unstaffed banking facility owned or operated by, or operated exclusively for, the bank, which is equipped to enable existing customers to initiate an interactive session with remotely located bank personnel;
• State nonmember banks may also provide access to ITM facilities to non-customers as long as the ITM services available to non-customers are limited to the same functionality typically provided by an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) to non-customers (e.g., withdrawal of cash) and such users are unable to engage a live remote teller to remotely perform core banking functions for the customer; and,
• To the extent that bank personnel have the ability to remotely assist the customer with the operation of the ITM to perform core banking functions, customers must also be able to perform such transactions without the involvement of bank personnel and must have the sole discretion to initiate and terminate interactive sessions with bank personnel.

ITMs that operate outside of these parameters may require a branch application.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has announced the launch of a public service announcement (PSA) campaign as part of its ongoing efforts to educate the small business community about new beneficial ownership reporting requirements. To directly reach business owners, educate stakeholders about these reporting requirements, and encourage compliance, television and radio PSAs are now running nationwide in tandem with digital and print ads.

The United States, Italy, and Saudi Arabia virtually hosted a meeting last month of the Counter ISIS Finance Group (CIFG) under the auspices of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The CIFG co-leads yesterday issued a joint statement exhorting the Coalition members to continue working together and encouraging them to implement a list of comprehensive strategies to counter ISIS financing worldwide.

The joint statement was accompanied by a Fact Sheet on ISIS Financing.

On Thursday, the Federal Reserve Board announced the execution of a written agreement among Customers Bancorp, Inc., West Reading, Pennsylvania, Customers Bank, Malvern, Pennsylvania (together, the "organization"), and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to the agreement, Customers Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Customers Bank, has pursued a business strategy that involves offering banking services to digital asset customers, and also operates an instant payments platform that allows commercial clients to make tokenized payments over a distributed ledger technology system to other commercial clients of the Bank. Recent examinations of the holding company and bank by the Reserve Bank identified significant deficiencies related to the Bank’s risk management practices and compliance with the applicable laws, rules, and regulations relating to anti-money laundering, including the Bank Secrecy Act and the regulations issued by OFAC.

The agreement acknowledges that the organization has begun to address the identified deficiencies and sets forth specific further steps the organization must take in that regard.

Yesterday, the OCC announced it will allow national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks to close offices in areas of Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. if the offices are directly affected by potentially unsafe conditions caused by Hurricane Debby.