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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.

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has designated Paraguayan tobacco company Tabacalera del Este S.A. (Tabesa) for providing financial support to Paraguay’s former president, Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, whom OFAC sanctioned on January 26, 2023, for his involvement in corruption. Tabesa was designated pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

BankersOnline’s August 6, 2024, OFAC Update includes identification information on Tabesa.

The Federal Reserve Board yesterday issued final joint guidance to help certain large banks further develop their resolution plans. The Board developed the guidance jointly with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and it is now final following both agencies' approval. These resolution plans, also known as living wills, describe a bank's strategy for orderly resolution under bankruptcy in the event of material financial distress or failure.

The guidance generally applies to domestic and foreign banks with more than $250 billion in total assets but that are not the largest and most complex banks, for which guidance is already in place. The guidance addresses the specific characteristics of, and risks posed by, this group of banks.

Distinct from the guidance to the largest and most complex banks, this guidance provides agency expectations for both single point of entry and multiple point of entry resolution strategies, which are different strategies banks have adopted for their rapid and orderly resolution. It also recognizes that the preferred resolution outcome for foreign banks is often a successful home country-led resolution and guides foreign banks on how to address the global resolution plan in their U.S. plan.

The agencies also announced that they are extending the resolution plan submission deadline for the banks to which the guidance applies. Banks will be required to submit their resolution plans by October 1, 2025, instead of March 31, 2025. The purpose of the extension is to provide reasonable time for banks to consider the final guidance as they develop their plan submissions.

The guidance will be effective upon publication in the Federal Register.

• Guidance for Resolution Plan Submissions of Domestic Triennial Full Filers
• Guidance for Resolution Plan Submissions of Foreign Triennial Full Filers
• Statement by Governor Michelle W. Bowman
• Publication update: Published at 89 FR 66388 (domestic) and 89 FR 66510 (foreign) in the Federal Register. Effective on publication.

OFAC has announced upcoming updates for users of its Compliance Hotline service. OFAC is transitioning to a single, user-friendly online platform to receive questions from the public. Users can now submit queries—and provide all necessary details—directly through OFAC’s new OFAC Compliance Hotline page. This new platform is designed to improve OFAC’s tracking of queries and help OFAC assess when additional public guidance may be helpful.

OFAC will fully transition its Compliance Hotline to this web form platform by January 1, 2025, and will retire other existing forms of contacting the OFAC Compliance Hotline according to the following schedule: OFAC will retire the Compliance Hotline email (OFAC_Feedback@treasury.gov) on August 16, 2024; and its Compliance Hotline telephone (1-800-540-6322 and 202-622-2490) on December 31, 2024.

The NCUA yesterday reported it issue2 two prohibition orders in July barring individuals from participating in the affairs of any federally insured depository institution. The orders were issued to:

• Jose Prado-Valero, a former employee of Financial Center First Credit Union in Indianapolis, Indiana, after finding that he engaged in an elaborate fraud to share credit union members’ personal information with non-members who fraudulently withdrew members’ funds, in exchange for a portion of the proceeds of the fraud. Valero pleaded guilty to a one-count information in federal court in April 2024.
• Tracy H. Thibodeau, a former employee of Vermont VA Federal Credit Union in White River Junction, Vermont, after finding that, as a branch manager of the credit union, she fraudulently obtained a personal Vermont VA FCU credit card and exempted herself from credit limits, late fees, interest payments, and making minimum monthly payments, defrauding the credit union of $137,170. She subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of bank fraud in federal court.

The Department of the Treasury yesterday reported that OFAC has sanctioned two individuals and four companies that have facilitated weapons procurement for Ansarallah, commonly referred to as the Houthis. This action targets key actors located in the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong, and Yemen who have directly supported Houthis’ efforts to procure military-grade materials abroad and ship these items to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, enabling the group’s ongoing attacks.

For the names and identification information of the designated parties, see this July 31, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Department of the Treasury yesterday reported that OFAC has targeted five individuals and seven entities based in Iran, the People’s Republic of China, and Hong Kong that have facilitated procurements on behalf of subordinates of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. Those designated today procure various components, including accelerometers and gyroscopes, which serve as key inputs to Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program. Iran’s acquisition of critical missile and UAV components continues to enable its proliferation of weapons systems to its proxies in the Middle East and to Russia.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and entities, see this July 30, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The FDIC has released a list of enforcement orders and notices it issued in June 2024. Among those orders are four prohibition orders; one combined prohibition order and order to pay a civil money penalty (CMP); and one CMP order. The first Notice seeks a prohibition order; the second Notice seeks a prohibition order and assessment of a CMP.

• A Notice of Charges and Hearing seeking a civil money penalty and prohibition order against Elias Israel Robiero Rangel, now or formerly affiliated with Truist Bank, Charlotte, NC
• A Notice of Charges and Hearing for a prohibition order against Martin Fernandez Jr., now or formerly affiliated with International Bank of Commerce, Laredo, TX
• An order for assessment of a $15,000 CMP and prohibition against Toni Miller, formerly affiliated with South State Bank, Columbia, SC
• An order assessing a CMP of $7,000 against Mohammed A. Kasem, now or formerly affiliated with Truist Bank, Charlotte, NC
• An order of prohibition against Joshua E. Breedwell, formerly affiliates with Discover Bank, Greenwood, DE
• An order of prohibition against Brady D. Torgerson, formerly affiliated with The Union Bank, Beulah, ND, and First Security Bank, West Beulah, ND
• An order of prohibition against Mitchell A. Fowler, formerly affiliated with Sunmark Community Bank, Perry, GA

On Friday, FinCEN issued a notice to customers of financial institutions about reporting beneficial ownership information.

The Corporate Transparency Act requires certain entities, including many small businesses, to report to FinCEN information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them. A separate regulatory requirement currently requires many financial institutions to also collect beneficial ownership information from certain customers that seek to open accounts as part of Federal customer due diligence requirements. Today’s notice provides answers to key questions about: (1) reporting beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act (https://www.fincen.gov/boi); and (2) providing beneficial ownership information to financial institutions in connection with Federal customer due diligence requirements.

FinCEN encourages financial institutions to share this reference guide with customers that may be required to report beneficial ownership information.

The notice reflects the current legal and regulatory situation. FinCEN has plans to revise the customer due diligence regulations by 2025, as required by the Corporate Transparency Act.

• Notice to Customers: Beneficial Ownership Information Reference Guide

OFAC has announced a $7,452,501 settlement with State Street Bank and Trust Company, a Massachusetts-based financial institution, on behalf of itself and its subsidiary, Charles River Systems, related to 38 apparent violations of OFAC's Ukraine-/Russia-Related sanctions. The apparent violations involved invoices that were redated or reissued by Charles River between 2016 and 2020 for certain customers who were subject to Directive 1 of Executive Order 13662, as well as certain payments outside of the applicable debt tenor accepted by Charles River from these customers.

For additional information, see "State Street settles for $7.5M penalty with OFAC" in BankersOnline's Penalty pages.