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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has announced increased assessment rates for national banks and federal savings associations for the 2025 calendar year. The increases are primarily targeted at large banks and other institutions that require increased supervisory resources, according to the OCC.

The OCC increased the rates in the general assessment fee schedule for assets above $40 billion by 16 percent to reflect the increased cost of supervising the largest institutions. The OCC increased all other rates in the general assessment fee schedule by 2.65 percent to account for inflation.

The calendar year 2025 assessment rates will be in effect as of January 1, 2025, and will be reflected in assessments paid on March 31, 2025, and September 30, 2025.

• OCC Bulletin 2024-32, with further details and complete assessment schedule

The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2024-85 providing transition relief for third-party settlement organizations (TPSOs), also known as payment apps and online marketplaces, regarding transactions during calendar years 2024 and 2025.

Under the guidance issued yesterday, TPSOs will be required to report transactions when the amount of total payments for those transactions is more than $5,000 in 2024; more than $2,500 in 2025; and more than $600 in calendar year 2026 and after.

Notice 2024-85 also announces for calendar year 2024, that the IRS will not assert penalties under section 6651 or 6656 for a TPSO’s failure to withhold and pay backup withholding tax during the calendar year. TPSOs that have performed backup withholding for a payee during calendar year 2024 must file a Form 945 and a Form 1099-K with the IRS and furnish a copy to the payee. For calendar year 2025 and after, the IRS will assert penalties under section 6651 or 6656 for a TPSO’s failure to withhold and pay backup withholding tax.

The 1099-K requirement is generally not applicable to banks or credit unions.

The Treasury Department has announced that OFAC has sanctioned five Mexican individuals associated with the Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico’s most dangerous criminal organizations. Those designated today are tied to the Gulf Cartel’s involvement in criminal activities associated with illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, human smuggling, and narcotics trafficking in the Gulf of Mexico.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

OFAC has posted a Notice announcing that it will retire its RSS feed on January 31, 2025. Email updates on recent updates will continue, and can be subscribed to HERE.

FinCEN has announced it has joined a multi-sector national task force dedicated to the prevention of fraud and scams. The National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention, convened by the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program, brings together key stakeholders including the financial services sector, technology companies, consumer advocacy groups, information sharing and analysis centers, and federal government agencies to develop a comprehensive national strategy for combating fraud and scams. Fraud and cybercrime (including fraudulent schemes) are two of FinCEN’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism National Priorities.

As part of its role on the Task Force, FinCEN will participate in specific working groups that will develop recommendations to include in the Task Force’s national strategy to combat fraud through cross-sector collaboration and “whole-of-government” support.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that broker-dealers Webull Financial LLC, Lightspeed Financial Services Group LLC, and Paulson Investment Company, LLC have agreed to settle charges that they filed with law enforcement suspicious activity reports (SARs) that failed to include important, required information. The three broker-dealers agreed to pay $275,000 combined in civil penalties to settle the SEC’s charges.

The SEC’s orders find that the broker-dealers violated Section 17(a) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 17a-8. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firms agreed to be censured, cease and desist from violating the charged provisions, and pay civil penalties. Further, Webull Financial LLC and Paulson Investment Company, LLC agreed to undertake a review of their anti-money-laundering programs by compliance consultants. The resolutions reflect each of the firms’ cooperation after being contacted by Commission staff, as well as certain remedial measures taken by Lightspeed.

• Webull Financial LLC, of New York, NY, agreed to pay a $125,000 civil penalty.
• Lightspeed Financial Services Group LLC, of Morristown, NJ, agreed to pay a $75,000 civil penalty.
• Paulson Investment Company, LLC, of Lake Oswego, OR, agreed to pay a $75,000 civil penalty.

The Federal Reserve Board has announced pricing, effective January 1, 2025, for payment services the Federal Reserve Banks provide to banks and credit unions, such as the clearing of checks, automated clearing house (ACH) transactions, instant payments, and wholesale payment and settlement services.

By law, the Federal Reserve must establish fees to recover the costs, including imputed costs, of providing payment services over the long run. The Federal Reserve expects to recover 104.1 percent of actual and imputed expenses in 2025, including the return on equity that would have been earned if a private-sector firm provided the services. Overall, the Reserve Banks estimate that the price changes for 2025 will result in a 2.8 percent average price increase for established, mature services.

Along with the pricing information, the Board also released transaction volume and value data for FedNow, the Federal Reserve's 24x7x365 instant payments service. The data show that adoption continues to grow, with modest volumes that are in line with the introduction of a new payments service.

The entire 2025 fee schedule is included in the Federal Register notice and will also be published on FRBservices.org.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service has announced the selection of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (“BNY”), a global financial services company, as the financial agent for the Fiscal Service's Direct Express program.

In its press release, Fiscal Service said it selected BNY as the new financial agent for the program after conducting a competitive selection process and evaluating proposals from multiple financial institutions. Based on this review, Fiscal Service determined that BNY’s suite of features and customer service options will enable an evolution in the Direct Express program by providing enhanced efficiency and services tailored to the program’s customer base. With the new financial agent, customers will enjoy rent and other bill payment solutions, virtual cards, cardless ATM access, chat and text customer service, online dispute filing, in-person identity authentication options, and more.

The Treasury Department yesterday reported that OFAC has taken another major step in implementing commitments made by G7 leaders to curtail Russia’s use of the international financial system to further its war against Ukraine. OFAC’s action includes the designation of Gazprombank, more than 50 internationally connected Russian banks, more than 40 Russian securities registrars, and 15 Russian finance officials. OFAC is also issuing an alert describing sanctions risks related to Russia’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), which the Kremlin created and uses to evade sanctions.

For the names and identification information of all the designated parties, links to new and revised Russia-related General Licenses, FAQs and the Alert, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has released enforcement actions recently taken against financial institutions it supervises and individuals now or formerly associated with such financial institutions.

• A Cease and Desist Order against Clear Fork Bank, N.A., Albany, Texas, for violations of law and unsafe or unsound practices related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering. The bank had failed to correct previously reported BSA problems.
• A Formal Agreement with Hiawatha National Bank, Hager City, Wisconsin, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those relating to liquidity oversight, annual credit review processes, loan risk ratings, independent loan review, and allowance for credit losses.
• Cease and Desist Orders against The First National Bank of Shiner, Shiner, Texas; Bank of Brenham, N.A., Brenham, Texas; and The First National Bank of Bellville, Bellville, Texas, three subsidiary banks of Industry Bancshares, Inc., Industry, Texas, resolving the Notices of Charges filed on January 2, 2024, in which the OCC alleged, among other things, that each bank engaged in unsafe or unsound practices relating to an investment strategy concentrated in long-term securities that exposed each bank to excessive interest rate risk. The orders also address unsafe or unsound practices relating to corporate governance and, for Bank of Brenham, N.A., and The First National Bank of Bellville, credit administration practices. [Editor's Note: See also the Federal Reserve Board's Cease and Desist Order against Industry Bancshares, Inc. in "Federal Reserve enforcement actions against bank and holding company," in yesterday's Top Stories.]
• A Formal Agreement with The National Bank of Coxsackie, Coxsackie, New York, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those related to corporate and risk governance, strategic and capital planning, liquidity risk management, interest rate risk management, the audit function, and internal controls, and for violations, including those relating to loans to insiders.
• A Personal Cease and Desist Order against Dean A. Lafrentz, former senior vice president at Midstates Bank, N.A., Council Bluffs, Iowa, for falsifying collateral information in a borrower’s loan file, leading the bank to believe it had a surplus, rather than a deficit, of eligible collateral when considering the borrower's loan extension request.
• An Order of Prohibition against Clarice Saw, former financial advisor at a New York, New York, branch of Citibank N.A., Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for obtaining a power of attorney over an elderly bank customer under false pretenses, using the power of attorney to open new accounts, and misappropriating the customer’s funds.