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The OCC, Federal Reserve Board, and FDIC have jointly published [89 FR 95786] in today's Federal Register their collective annual report to congressional committees describing differences among the accounting and capital standards used by the agencies for insured depository institutions.

As of September 30, 2024, the agencies have not identified any material differences among the agencies' accounting standards applicable to institutions.

With regard to differences in capital requirements, in 2013 the agencies revised the risk-based and leverage capital rule for institutions (capital rule) which harmonized the agencies' capital rule in a comprehensive manner. Since 2013, the agencies have revised the capital rule on several occasions, further reducing the number of differences in the agencies' capital rule. Today, only a few differences remain, which are statutorily mandated for certain categories of institutions, or which reflect certain technical, generally nonmaterial differences among the agencies' capital rule. No new material differences were identified in the capital standards applicable to institutions in this report compared to the previous report submitted by the agencies.

The FDIC has updated its webpage Questions and Answers Related to the FDIC's Part 328 Final Rule to add several answers to a growing collection of frequently asked questions relating to the updated regulation from stakeholders, including banks, trade associations, tech companies, vendors, and others.

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

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.

The OCC has released a list of 19 OCC-supervised financial institutions whose Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluations became public during November. The list includes 16 institutions that received evaluation ratings of "Satisfactory," and the following three whom we congratulate for receiving "Outstanding" ratings:

• Evergreen Federal Bank, Grants Pass, Oregon
• FNC Bank, National Association, Brookville, Indiana
• Santander Bank, National Association, Wilmington, Delaware

The NCUA has announced it issued a consent order of prohibition in November against Daniel Garza, a former teller with Alhambra Credit Union, Phoenix, Arizona, after a finding that he performed numerous unauthorized cash withdrawals from Alhambra Credit Union member accounts, resulting in a lost of $14,900, and stole $7,597 from his teller cash drawer.

The FDIC has posted its CRA Examinations Schedules for the first quarter and second quarter of 2025. The schedules can be sorted by location, bank name, and other criteria.

There are 238 evaluations scheduled for the first quarter, and 210 for the second quarter.

The FDIC has released a list of enforcement orders issued in October 2024.

• The Stockgrowers State Bank, Maple Hill, Kansas, was assessed a $5,250 civil money penalty (CMP) for violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act and National Flood Insurance Act.
• First & Peoples Bank and Trust Company, Russell, Kentucky, paid a $1,500 CMP for engaging in a pattern or practice of committing violations of the National Flood Insurance Act and 12 C.F.R. § 339.7(a), by failing to follow force placement flood insurance procedures for three loans.
• Bank of Frankewing, Frankewing, Tennessee, received a consent order regarding lending-related concerns, management succession, budgeting, capital, and violations noted in a November 2023 Visitation Report.
• John C. Ponte, formerly a loan referral agent for Independence Bank, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, was issued an Order of Prohibition and Order for Restitution of $1 million, for violations of regulations and unsafe and unsound practices in connection with the bank, causing the bank to suffer financial loss and Ponte to receive financial gain.

The Treasury Department has reported that OFAC has sanctioned 21 security and cabinet-level officials aligned with Nicolas Maduro. These individuals are sanctioned under the authority of Executive Order 13692 for being current or former officials of the Government of Venezuela. They have supported and carried out Maduro’s orders to repress civil society in his efforts to fraudulently declare himself the winner of Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, thus ignoring the will of the overwhelming majority of Venezuelan voters who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as their next president.

For the names and identification information of the designated individuals and an unrelated administrative update, see this November 27, 2024, BankersOnline OFAC Update.

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