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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

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.

The OCC has issued Bulletin 2024-33 announcing it has issued version 1.1 of its “Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices and Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook. The booklet contains information for examiners regarding supervision of a bank’s practices related to section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits banks from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP), and sections 1031 and 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP).

The updated booklet—

• provides further clarity regarding sound risk management practices and guidance to examiners regarding overdraft services.
• incorporates updates from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding data protection and information security.
• includes an updated version of the “Appendix B: UDAP and UDAAP Risk Indicators.”
• reflects OCC and interagency issuances that have been published or rescinded since June 2020.
• includes other minor updates for general clarity.

The FBI has posted a Public Service Announcement warning the public that criminals exploit generative artificial intelligence (AI) to commit fraud on a larger scale which increases the credibility of their schemes. The PSA calls attention to criminals' use of AI-generated text, images, audio, and video in furtherance of their schemes. The FBI's message also includes tips for self-protection.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this morning proposed a new rule to rein in data brokers that sell Americans' sensitive personal and financial information. The proposed rule would limit the sale of personal identifiers like Social Security Numbers and phone numbers collected by certain companies and make sure that people’s financial data such as income is only shared for legitimate purposes, like facilitating a mortgage approval, and not sold to scammers targeting those in financial distress. The proposal would make clear that when data brokers sell certain sensitive consumer information they are "consumer reporting agencies" under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), requiring them to comply with accuracy requirements, provide consumers access to their information, and maintain safeguards against misuse.

The proposed rule would:

• Treat data brokers just like credit bureaus and background check companies: Companies that sell data about income or financial tier, credit history, credit score, or debt payments would be considered consumer reporting agencies required to comply with the FCRA, regardless of how the information is used.
• Protect consumers' personal identifiers from abuse and misuse: When consumer reporting agencies collect information like names, addresses, or ages for credit reports, any subsequent sale of that information would be covered by the FCRA's protections.
• Require clear consumer consent for data sharing: Under the proposed rule, companies relying on consumers’ consent to obtain or share a consumer’s credit report would need separate, explicit authorization to do so, rather than burying permissions in fine print.

Comments on the proposal will be accepted through March 3, 2025.

• Fact Sheet on the proposed rule
• Director Chopra's remarks on the proposal
• Proposed rule
• Press release
• Publication update: Published at 89 FR 101402 on 12/13/2024

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC had sanctioned three former Government of Uzbekistan officials who were involved in human trafficking and gender-based violence. All three individuals were designated under the authority of Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse around the world.

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