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The FDIC has made public its enforcement actions taken in January 2025. They include four consent orders, three prohibition orders, three orders to pay civil money penalties, one order for restitution, and one decision and order to remove and prohibit from further participation.

Consent orders:

• Lamont Bank of St. John, Saint John, Washington (jointly issued with the Washington Department of Financial Institutions) — charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices relating to Board and senior management oversight, credit underwriting and administration, internal audit, and information technology
• FFB Bank, Fresno, California (issued jointly with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation) — charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices and violations of law relating to the Bank Secrecy Act; 31 C.F.R. Chapter X; and 12 U.S.C. § 1818(s), and the FDIC’s implementing regulations, 12 C.F.R. § 326.8 and 12 C.F.R. Part 353 (collectively, the BSA) with respect to the Bank’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Program
• Independence Bank, East Greenwich, Rhode Island (issued jointly with the Rhode Island Division of Banking) — charges of violations of law or regulations (see Order for Restitution, below). The bank is directed to dispose of all SBA loans in its portfolio or ensure the maintenance of all servicing rights and obligations associated with such loans
• Crescent Bank, New Orleans, Louisiana (issued jointly with the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions) — charges of or unsound banking practices or violations of law related to the bank's current expected credit loss (CECL) and underwriting model risk management (MRM) framework, its methodology for determining the Allowance for Credit Losses, compliance with loan policy, and capital maintenance

Civil money penalties:

• The Farmers Bank and Savings Company, Pomeroy, Ohio — $12,000 CMP for violation of flood insurance regulations
• First Secure Bank and Trust Co., Palos Hills, Illinois — $12,375 CMP for violation of flood insurance regulations
• Pinnacle Bank, Inc., Pineville, Kentucky — $4,500 CMP for violation of flood insurance regulations

Restitution:

• Independence Bank, East Greenwich, Rhode Island — Restitution of $3,500,00 to affected SBA borrowers (charging fees in connection with the bank's SBA lending program that were prohibited by applicable SBA regulations and failing to disclose that the fees were prohibited by the SBA

Removal/Prohibition orders:

• Shirley L. Watson, formerly affiliated with State Bank of Cochran, Cochran, Georgia
• Martin Fernandez Jr., formerly affiliated with International Bank of Commerce, Laredo, Texas
• John B. Padilla, formerly affiliated with BancFirst, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Jaqueline R. Brandt, formerly affiliated with Foundation One Bank, Waterloo, Nebraska

The Federal Reserve has announced it will begin in March its regular study of household finances, the Survey of Consumer Finances, which provides the public and policymakers with detailed and important insights into the economic condition of American families.

The data collected will provide a representative picture of what Americans own—from houses and cars to stocks and bonds—how and how much they borrow, and how they bank, as well as their feelings about their economic situation and that of the United States more broadly. Past study results have contributed to policy discussions regarding the evolution of housing as a key component of wealth, the recovery of households from the Great Recession, changes in the kinds and amount of credit used by families, and a broad range of other issues.

Th survey is being conducted for the Board through December of this year by NORC, a social science research organization at the University of Chicago.

Participants in the study are chosen at random from 119 geographic areas, including metropolitan areas and rural counties across the United States, using a scientific sampling procedure. A representative of NORC contacts each potential participant personally to explain the study and request time for an interview.

The FDIC has issued FIL-3-2025 with guidance to help financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of West Virginia — McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, and Wyoming Counties are currently included— affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides on February 15, 2025, and continuing.

The FDIC has issued the lists of institutions scheduled for a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination during the second quarter 2025 and third quarter 2025.

The OCC has opened registrations for its upcoming virtual and in-person workshops for board directors and senior management of national community banks and federal savings associations.

The OCC examiner-led workshops provide practical training and guidance to directors and senior management of national community banks and federal savings associations to support the safe and sound operation of community-based financial institutions.

Six workshops are listed. Two virtual sessions are scheduled in March. In-person and virtual sessions are scheduled in cities across the country between April 8 and October 16, 2025.

The NCUA has reported that it issued a Consent Order of Prohibition in February 2025 to Kelly Jo Muzzana, a former employee of Altana Federal Credit Union, Billings, Montana, after a finding that she engaged in a prolonged scheme to defraud Altana’s member funds, causing Altana significant financial loss.