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The Federal Reserve Board has provided a technical clarification that its account access guidelines also apply to excess balance accounts, known as EBAs. An EBA is a limited-purpose account at a Federal Reserve Bank established for maintaining the reserve balances of eligible institutions. An EBA is managed by an agent on behalf of the participating institutions.

The Board's account access guidelines establish transparent, risk-based, and consistent factors for Reserve Banks to use in reviewing requests for access to accounts and services.

The guidance on excess balance accounts is effective upon its publication in the Federal Register, which is expected shortly.

PUBLICATION UPDATE: Published 12/12/2024 at 89 FR 100495.

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has sanctioned one individual and one entity involved in abuses against prisoners held in Houthi-run prisons in Yemen and one individual providing support to Bashar al-Assad, and that the State Department has announced steps to impose visa restrictions on dozens of individuals pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and designated one official under Section 7031(c) of the annual Appropriations Act for involvement in a gross violation of human rights.

Treasury also reported that OFAC has sanctioned 28 individuals and businesses involved in a global gold smuggling and money laundering network based in Zimbabwe, under the authority of Executive Order 13818, which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.

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

On Friday, the Financial Stability Oversight Council unanimously approved its 2024 annual report, which reviews developments in financial markets, identifies vulnerabilities and emerging threats to U.S. financial stability, and makes recommendations to mitigate those vulnerabilities and threats. The report also details the activities of the Council and summarizes significant regulatory developments. The report was developed collaboratively by Council members and their agencies and staffs. Overall, the Council finds that the U.S. financial system remains resilient, though vulnerabilities warrant ongoing vigilance.

The report made recommendations in the following areas:

• Cybersecurity
• Depository institutions
• Third-party service providers
• Commercial real estate credit risk
• Digital assets
• Investment funds

The CFPB on Friday announced it has published an order establishing supervisory authority over Google Payment Corp. While Google Payment Corp. is already subject to CFPB’s enforcement jurisdiction, the CFPB has determined that Google Payment Corp. has met the legal requirements for supervision. The CFPB is making this order public to provide transparency about how it assesses risks using consumer complaints and other factors.

The CFPB's order does not constitute a finding that the entity has engaged in wrongdoing and does not require the CFPB to conduct a supervisory examination.

CNN reported on Friday that Google has filed suit against the CFPB, challenging the Bureau's decision to place Google Payment Corp. under federal supervision. A Google spokesman was quoted as saying "This is a clear case of government overreach involving Google Pay peer-to-peer payments, which never raised risks and is no longer provided in the U.S., and we are challenging it in court.”

The Federal Reserve Board has released results of a survey of senior financial officers at banks about their strategies and practices for managing reserve balances. The Senior Financial Officer Survey is used by the Board to obtain information about banks' reserve balance management strategies and practices, their deposit pricing strategies, their expectations for potential changes in both the size and composition of their balance sheets, and their views regarding Federal Reserve facilities.

The CFPB has announced it has sued Comerica Bank for "systematically failing its 3.4 million Direct Express cardholders — primarily unbanked Americans receiving federal benefits" on Direct Express prepaid debit cards. The CFPB alleges that Comerica deliberately disconnected 24 million customer service calls, impeding cardholders from exercising their rights under the law, charged illegal ATM fees to over 1 million cardholders, and mishandled fraud complaints while providing federal benefits through the Direct Express prepaid debit card program. The CFPB is asking the court to order Comerica to halt these practices, provide refunds to affected customers, and pay civil penalties that would go to the CFPB's victim relief fund.

The Bureau's complaint against Comerica seeks to stop Comerica’s unlawful conduct, to provide redress for harmed borrowers, and the imposition of a civil money penalty, which would be paid into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

[Editor's Note:The Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service recently announced it has selected Bank of New York Mellon Corporation to be the Financial Agent of the Direct Express program for five years starting January 3, 2025.]

FinCEN has published [89 FR 96708] an invitation to the public to nominate financial institutions, trade groups, and non-Federal regulators or law enforcement agencies for membership in the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG). New members will be selected for three-year membership terms.

BSAAG membership is open to financial institutions subject to the BSA, trade groups that represent financial institutions subject to the BSA, and federal and non-federal regulators and law enforcement agencies that are located within the United States. The BSAAG is the means by which the Treasury receives advice on the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and informs private sector representatives on how the information they provide is used.

Nominations must be emailed to BSAAG@fincen.gov, and received by January 6, 2025.

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Board, CFPB, FDIC, OCC, FinCEN, NCUA and state financial regulators issued a joint press release to announce a joint Statement on Elder Financial Exploitation.

The eleven-page Statement provides supervised institutions with examples of risk management and other practices that may be effective in combating such exploitation.

• FDIC FIL-83-2024
• OCC Bulletin 2024-34

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has sanctioned five individuals and four entities — including Pullman Global Solutions LLC, a Wyoming-based entity that is owned 50 percent or more by a sanctioned individual — that are associated with or leverage the TGR Group, a sprawling international network of businesses and employees that have facilitated significant sanctions circumvention on behalf of Russian elites.

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

The Treasury Department yesterday announced that the U.S. is imposing sanctions on 35 entities and vessels that play a critical role in transporting illicit Iranian petroleum to foreign markets. This action imposes additional costs on Iran’s petroleum sector following Iran’s attack against Israel on October 1, 2024, as well as Iran’s announced nuclear escalations. Petroleum revenues provide the Iranian regime with the resources to fund its nuclear program, develop advanced drones and missiles, and provide ongoing financial and material support for the terrorist activities of its regional proxies.

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