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The CFPB this morning announced it is has finalized a rule to supervise the largest nonbank companies offering digital funds transfer and payment wallet apps. The rule will help the CFPB to ensure that these companies – specifically those handling more than 50 million transactions per year – follow federal law just like large banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions already supervised by the CFPB. The CFPB estimates that the most widely used apps covered by the rule collectively process over 13 billion consumer payment transactions annually.

The final rule will enable to the CFPB to supervise companies in key areas including:

• Privacy and Surveillance: Large technology companies are collecting vast quantities of data about an individual’s transactions. Federal law allows consumers to opt-out of certain data collection and sharing practices, and also prohibits misrepresentations about data protection practices.
• Errors and Fraud: Under longstanding federal law, consumers have the right to dispute transactions that are incorrect or fraudulent, and financial institutions must take steps to look into them. The CFPB is particularly concerned about how digital payment apps can be used to defraud older adults and active duty servicemembers. Some popular payment apps appear to design their systems to shift disputes to banks, credit unions, and credit card companies, rather than managing them on their own.
• Debanking: Given the volume of payments consumers make through many popular payment apps, consumers can face serious harms when they lose access to their app without notice or when their ability to make or receive payments is disrupted. Consumers have reported concerns to the CFPB about disruptions to their lives due to closures or freezes.

While the CFPB has always had enforcement authority over these companies, today's rule gives the CFPB the authority to conduct proactive examinations to ensure companies are complying with the law in these and other areas.

In the final rule, the CFPB made several significant changes from its initial proposal. The transaction threshold determining which companies require supervision is now substantially higher, at 50 million annual transactions. Given the evolving market for digital currencies, the CFPB also limited the rule's scope to count only transactions conducted in U.S. dollars. The rule, which amends 12 C.F.R. part 1090, will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The FDIC has made its November 2024 updates to its Risk Management Manual of Examination Policies (RMS Manual). The Manual provides FDIC examiners information relating to examination activities and supervisory practices. The FDIC conducts examinations at financial institutions to ensure public confidence in the banking system and to protect the Deposit Insurance Fund. The Manual promotes consistency in examination activities, which center on evaluating an institution’s capital, assets, management, earnings, liquidity, sensitivity to market risk, and adherence to laws and regulations.

This month's updates are found in Section 22.1 — Examination Documentation Modules. The FDIC has added 25 Reference ED Modules to this section.

OFAC has issued a Penalty Notice imposing a $1,104,408 penalty on a natural U.S. person for 75 violations of OFAC sanctions on Iran valued at approximately $561,802.

Between 2019 and 2022, the individual executed a plan to purchase, renovate, and operate a hotel in Iran. In furtherance of this scheme, this individual used foreign money services businesses in Iran and Canada to evade U.S. sanctions, while aware at all times of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The penalty amount reflects OFAC’s determination that the violations were egregious and were not voluntarily self-disclosed.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC sanctioned a network of nine Mexican nationals involved in fentanyl, heroin, and other deadly drug trafficking and money laundering. Individuals designated in this network also engage in human smuggling in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities. Additionally, as members of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), some of the individuals sanctioned today played a prominent role in the early stages of the U.S. opioid crisis, a leading factor driving the United States’ modern fentanyl crisis. CJNG is a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization responsible for a significant proportion of fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States.

Treasury also reported that OFAC designated six senior Hamas officials, including the terrorist group’s representatives abroad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, as well as individuals involved in supporting the terrorist group’s fundraising efforts and weapons smuggling into Gaza.

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

The Federal Reserve Board has published in the today's Federal Register amendments to Regulations A (Extensions of Credit by Federal Reserve Banks) and D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) following its votes of last week to reduce interest rates by one-quarter of one percent (25 basis points). Each of these amendments is effective on publication, with applicability as of November 8, 2024.

The Board also published amendments to Regulation D this morning to reflect the annual indexing of the reserve requirement exemption amount and the low reserve tranche for 2025. The annual indexation of these amounts is required notwithstanding the Board’s action in March 2020 of setting all reserve requirement ratios to zero. The Board is amending Regulation D to set the reserve requirement exemption amount at $37.8 million (increased from $36.1 million in 2024) and the amount of the low reserve tranche at $645.8 million (increased from $644.0 million in 2024). These changes become effective on January 1, 2025.

Each of the amendments has been posted to the BankersOnline Regulations pages.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced it will allow greater rental housing support from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) by raising the multifamily loan purchase cap for each Enterprise to $73 billion, representing $146 billion in total 2025 multifamily market support and a more than 4 percent increase from 2024.

The FHFA establishes the caps every year, and they are later included in Appendix A of the Enterprises’ Conservatorship Scorecard, a set of annual priorities that they are expected to meet. Just as in 2024, when the cap for each Enterprise was $70 billion, multifamily loans that finance workforce housing will be excluded from the 2025 limits.

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, who is a member of the FDIC's Board of Directors, issued a statement yesterday asserting that "big businesses putting their money in big banks enjoy free deposit insurance, and small businesses putting their money in small banks don’t." Chopra said this is fundamentally unfair, and "gives an unfair competitive advantage to the largest banks in the country."

Copra said, "It is time for Congress to remove — or at least dramatically increase — limits on federal deposit insurance for payroll and other non-interest bearing operating accounts."

The FDIC has issued FIL-81-2024 and a press release to announce an extension of the comment period for the proposed rule on Custodial Deposit Accounts with Transactional Features and Prompt Payment of Deposit Insurance to Depositors from December 2, 2024, to January 16, 2025.

Publication update: Published at 89 FR 91586 on 11/20/2024.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC was sanctioning Amana the Settlement Movement of Gush Emunim Central Cooperative Association Ltd (Amana), a settlement development organization that is involved with U.S.-sanctioned individuals and outposts that perpetrate violence in the West Bank, and its subsidiary Binyanei Bar Amana Ltd. Concurrently, the Department of State was designating three individuals and one entity.

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

The Federal Reserve Board has released its November 2024 Supervision and Regulation Report, which summarizes banking conditions and the Federal Reserve's supervisory and regulatory activities in conjunction with semiannual testimony before Congress by the Vice Chair for Supervision.

The CFPB on Friday released the annual report [summary | full report] of the CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman, highlighting the severe difficulties reported by student borrowers due to persistent loan servicing failures and program disruptions. The report details how millions of student borrowers have received relief through new income-driven repayment plans, cancellation programs, and various adjustments and program automation processes. However, borrowers tell the CFPB how servicing breakdowns, including inaccurate information provided by servicers, improperly processed payments, and delayed income driven payment applications have stymied their return to repayment.

The report focuses on the 2023-2024 Award Year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) and analyzes more than 18,000 student borrower complaints—the highest complaint volume the CFPB has received since it began collecting student borrower complaints in March 2012. Many of the servicer failures detailed in these complaints are persistent problems that have been well-documented by the CFPB, including errors with billing and auto pay, servicers providing incorrect information about accounts and repayment options, and months-long delays in the processing of income-driven repayment applications.

The CFPB has published its Personal Financial Data Rights Rule at 89 FR 90838 in this morning's Federal Register.

Subject to the outcome of pending litigation against the rule, it will become final on January 17, 2025, with compliance dates for data providers beginning April 1, 2026; April 1, 2027; April 1, 2028; April 1, 2029; or April 1, 2030, based on the criteria set forth in § 1033.121(c).

The Federal Trade Commission has announced it has filed a complaint against Seek Capital and its founder and CEO, Roy Ferman, for operating a bogus business finance scheme that cost small business owners more than $37 million.

According to the complaint, the company has targeted new and aspiring small business owners looking for loans or lines of credit to open or grow their businesses. While the company’s advertising implies that business owners would have access to cash, instead Seek charges clients thousands of dollars simply to open credit cards in the owners’ names.

FinCEN has updated two FAQs related to access to Beneficial Ownership Information. The topics covered are in Section O (Access FAQs), and include FAQ O1 (Access to BOI for authorized recipients) and FAQ O2 (Access to BOI for Federal agencies).

FAQ O1 indicates that access is being offered in five phases. The first four phases will extend the opportunity to request access to Federal and State, local, and Tribal law enforcement partners. The fifth phase, expected to begin in the spring of 2025, will extend the opportunity to request access to financial institutions subject to due diligence requirements under applicable law and their supervisors.

The FDIC has issued FIL-80-2024, Guidance to Help Financial Institutions and Facilitate Recovery in Areas for Montana Affected by a Severe Storm and Straight-line Winds on August 6, 2024. The affected area in the Crow Indian Reservation.

OFAC has announced a $178,421 settlement with American Life Insurance Company (ALICO), a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. ALICO agreed to settle its potential civil liability for 2,331 apparent violations of OFAC sanctions on Iran. The apparent violations related to insurance policies provided to entities in the United Arab Emirates that were owned or controlled by the Government of Iran. The settlement amount reflects OFAC's determination that the apparent violations were voluntarily self-disclosed and were not egregious.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced it has taken action against Global Tel Link Corporation (GTL) for illegally taking millions of dollars from more than a half million accounts and blocking money transfers to consumers who are incarcerated, which the consumers relied on for goods such as food, medicine, and clothing. The CFPB is ordering GTL and its subsidiaries to stop their illegal practices, pay at least $2 million in redress to victims, and pay a $1 million penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

GTL is a Virginia-based corporation doing business as ViaPath Technologies. Its wholly owned subsidiaries include limited liability companies Telmate, LLC, based in California, and TouchPay Holdings, LLC, based in Texas. The companies contract with correctional facilities across the United States to provide various products and services, including money transfer services, to incarcerated people and their family and friends. Friends and family use the services to deposit money into an incarcerated person’s account, and these funds may then be used to pay for items in the correctional facility’s commissary. GTL and Telmate also provide accounts to pay for telephone services, online messaging, and video visitation.

The CFPB found that Global Tel Link and its subsidiaries violated federal law by:

• Blocking consumer accounts and preventing money transfers
• Taking funds from inactive accounts unlawfully
• Hiding fees from consumers

FRBServices has announced the expansion of FedDetect Duplicate Notification for Check Services to include commercial checks, alongside its existing Treasury check notification service. Financial institutions can now see deposit information and images of potential duplicate items for commercial checks, supplementing their existing check fraud mitigation tools.

“Commercial checks remain a critically important form of payment, but they’re also vulnerable to fraud,” said Shonda Clay, FRFS executive vice president and chief of product and relationship management. “With the expansion of our FedDetect service, we are providing financial institutions of all sizes another powerful tool in their risk mitigation toolkit. Even better, we are now offering this service at no cost as part of our commitment to supporting depository institutions in the collective, industry-wide mission to combat fraud.”

The FedDetect service helps financial institutions mitigate loss of funds due to fraud or deposit capture errors by sending notices of potential duplicate Treasury or commercial checks across multiple payment channels and financial institutions.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC has sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the Al-Qatirji Company, a Syrian conglomerate responsible for generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Houthis through the sale of Iranian oil to Syria and the People’s Republic of China.

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

FinCEN has issued FIN-2024-Alert004 to help financial institutions identify fraud schemes associated with the use of deepfake media created with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. The alert explains typologies associated with these schemes, provides red flag indicators to assist with identifying and reporting related suspicious activity, and reminds financial institutions of their reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). This alert is also part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s broader effort to provide financial institutions with information on the opportunities and challenges that may arise from the use of AI.

The Federal Reserve Board is inviting comment on a report, as required by law, that discusses the impact of a proposed international capital standard for large, internationally active insurance groups on U.S. consumers and markets. The joint report was completed with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Federal Insurance Office.

Comments on the report are due by January 12, 2025.

• Federal Register notice: Study and Report to Congress on the Impact on Consumers and Markets in the United States of a Final International Insurance Capital Standard

The CFPB has released a study revealing significant disparities in how lenders treat Black and white small business owners seeking loans. The research found that Black entrepreneurs received less encouragement to apply for a loan and were more frequently steered toward alternative loan products compared to white shoppers with similar or weaker business credit profiles. The Bureau said that, while focused on specific testing sites, this research provides insights into potential lending disparities that warrant further exploration.

The CFPB conducted matched-pair testing using trained individuals who posed as small business owners seeking credit. Testers visited 25 unique bank branches in Fairfax County, Virginia and 25 branches in Nassau County, New York, resulting in a total of 100 in-person test visits. Each visit was audio recorded and participants completed a survey after the bank interaction that documented their experience. Black participants were assigned slightly more favorable financial profiles compared to their white counterparts. In many tests, the Black and white participant each met with the same bank representative.

The study revealed statistically significant disparities in two key areas:

• Black participants received less encouragement to apply for a loan.
• Lenders were more likely to suggest credit cards and home equity loans to Black business owners.

The CFPB noted it finalized its Small Business Lending Collection and Reporting ("Section 1071") Rule in March. The largest lenders will be required to collection and report data on their lending decisions beginning in July 2025, and the CFPB will review their lending data starting in July 2026.

• Matched-Pair Testing in Small Business Lending Markets

The Financial Stability Board, an international organization that coordinates the work of national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies and develops and promotes the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory, and other financial sector policies in the interest of financial stability, has issued a report, "The Financial Stability Implications of Artificial Intelligence," which outlines recent developments in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in finance and their potential implications for financial stability.

The FSB stated that widespread adoption and more diverse use cases of AI have prompted the FSB to revisit its 2017 report on AI and machine learning in financial services. Financial firms currently use AI mainly to enhance internal operations and improve regulatory compliance, but generative AI (GenAI) and large language models have given rise to new use cases, such as document summation, information retrieval, and code generation. While many financial institutions appear to be taking a cautious approach to using GenAI, interest remains high and the technology’s accessibility could facilitate more rapid integration in financial services.

The report notes that—

• The rapid adoption of AI offers several benefits but may also amplify certain financial sector vulnerabilities, such as third-party dependencies, market correlations, cyber risk and model risk, potentially increasing systemic risk.
• While existing financial policy frameworks address many of the vulnerabilities associated with use of AI by financial institutions, more work may be needed to ensure that these frameworks are sufficiently comprehensive.
• Financial authorities should enhance monitoring of AI developments, assess whether financial policy frameworks are adequate, and enhance their regulatory and supervisory capabilities including by using AI-powered tools.

The Treasury Department yesterday announced that OFAC has sanctioned Abdel Rahman Joma’a Barakallah for his leadership role in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a primary party responsible for the ongoing violence against civilians in Sudan since April 2023.

For identification information on Barakallah and a notice on amendments to OFAC's Sudan Sanctions Regulations, see yesterday's BankersOnline OFAC Update.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced a proposed settlement with H&R Block Inc. and affiliates that will require the company to make a number of changes for the 2025 tax filing season in addition to longer-term changes. The settlement would also require the company to pay $7 million to the FTC to be used to redress consumers harmed by the company’s unlawful practices.

The proposed settlement would stop H&R Block from unfairly requiring consumers seeking to downgrade to a cheaper H&R Block product to contact customer service, from unfairly deleting users' previously entered data and from making deceptive claims about “free” tax filing.

• FTC's record of filings in this matter

The CFPB has released a report, "State Consumer Privacy Laws and the Monetization of Consumer Financial Data," summarizing state laws that give consumers more control over their data, how these rights complement the protections under federal law, and the gaps in protection that result from state law exemptions for financial institutions subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The CFPB suggests that state policymakers should assess gaps in their state data privacy laws, and consider the importance of ensuring that their citizens are protected in instances where federal law currently has gaps or may be ineffective.

The FDIC's Board of Directors met in a closed session yesterday and approved a memorandum and resolution on investigations by the FDIC's Office of Professional Conduct. No link to that document was provided, although statements by FDIC Vice Chairman Travis Hill and Director Jonathan McKernan expressed dissatisfaction with "five months of debate, delays and false starts" over how to investigate allegations of misconduct by FDIC executives.

The FDIC's newly established Office of Professional Conduct will retain and oversee law firms that will investigate such allegations. Director McKernan's statement indicates he hopes completed investigations can be expected in the spring of 2025, with disciplinary decisions not long after that.

The Federal Reserve Board reports it has prohibited Anthony R. Gressak III from future participation in the banking industry and fined him $75,000.

Gressak is a former director and former interim chief executive officer of Nano Financial Holdings, Inc. and Nano Banc. In his former role, Gressak violated a prior written agreement between the firm and the Federal Reserve. Gressak also fraudulently obtained loans and grants administered under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and violated other laws and banking regulations.

The Board also announced that it had prohibited James T. Chung, also a former director of Nano Financial Holdings, Inc. and Nano Banc, from future participation in the banking industry for fraudulently obtaining loans and grants administered under the CARES Act.

The FDIC reports that nearly 96 percent of all U.S. households were banked in 2023, according to just-released national FDIC survey data. The 2023 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households found that 4.2 percent of U.S. households (representing 5.6 million households) lacked a bank or credit union account.

While the nation’s overall unbanked rate remains at its lowest level since the FDIC survey began in 2009, lower-income, less-educated, Black, Hispanic, disabled, and single-parent households continue to be significantly more likely to be unbanked. In addition, the FDIC survey found 66.2 percent of unbanked households relied entirely on cash while 33.8 percent of unbanked households relied upon a combination of prepaid cards or nonbank online payment services such as PayPal, Venmo or Cash App to conduct transactions.

Today, FinCEN published [89 FR 89700] a 61-day notice in the Federal Register concerning the form that select real estate professionals will use to report information about certain residential real estate transfers under the Residential Real Estate Rule. This notice gives the public an opportunity to comment on the reporting form, and on FinCEN’s estimate of the burden involved in the reporting process. Comments will be accepted through January 13, 2025.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday reported that it had charged Invesco Advisers, Inc. for making misleading statements about the percentage of company-wide assets under management that integrated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions. The Atlanta-based registered investment adviser agreed to pay a $17.5 million civil penalty to settle the SEC’s charges.

According to the SEC’s order, from 2020 to 2022, Invesco told clients and stated in marketing materials that between 70 and 94 percent of its parent company’s assets under management were “ESG integrated.” However, in reality, these percentages included a substantial amount of assets that were held in passive ETFs that did not consider ESG factors in investment decisions. Furthermore, the SEC’s order found that Invesco lacked any written policy defining ESG integration.

Without admitting or denying the order’s findings, Invesco also agreed to cease and desist from violations of the charged provisions and be censured.

OFAC is asking for user opinions of their website. They are asking site users to take about ten minutes to complete a survey to help them improve their services, enhance users' experience, and create new features.

The survey can be found HERE.

FinCEN has reported its September 2024 outreach efforts on its Beneficial Ownership Reporting Rule requirements.

The report also included a list of upcoming events at which FinCEN representatives are scheduled to further disseminate BOI reporting information through the end of the year.

The Federal Reserve Board has published [89 FR 88877] a final rule that applies an inflation adjustment to the threshold for total consolidated assets in Regulation I (12 C.F.R. Part 209). Federal Reserve Bank (Reserve Bank) stockholders that have total consolidated assets above the threshold receive a different dividend rate on their Reserve Bank stock than stockholders with total consolidated assets at or below the threshold (which is being increased to $12,841,000,000).

The amendments, which are effective today but will apply beginning on January 1, 2025, have been noted in affected sections of Regulation I in the BankersOnline Regulations webpages.

The NCUA on Friday reported that Florida's Office of Financial Regulation placed Alliance Credit Union of Florida into conservatorship, and appointed the NCUA as conservator.

According to the Credit Union Times, at the end of 2023, the credit union reported a loss of $184,231, and losses continued to pile up in each quarter of 2024.

The Federal Reserve Board has released the Statement of the Federal Open Market Committee following its meeting on November 6 and 7. The committee said that recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated.

The Committee "decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 percent. In considering additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. The Committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage‑backed securities. The Committee is strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2 percent objective."

The implementation note released with the Minutes indicates that the Board of Governors voted unanimously to lower the interest rate paid on reserve balances to 4.65 percent, effective November 8, 2024, and to approve a 1/4 percentage point decrease in the primary credit rate to 4.75 percent, effective November 8, 2024.

The CFPB has announced a consent order filed in an Administrative Proceeding against Navy Federal Credit Union for charging "illegal overdraft fees." The Bureau said that, from 2017 to 2022, Navy Federal charged customers surprise overdraft fees on certain ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases, even when their accounts showed sufficient funds at the time of the transactions. The CFPB is ordering Navy Federal to refund more than $80 million to consumers, stop charging illegal overdraft fees, and pay a $15 million civil penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

The CFPB said Navy Federal illegally charged it members' accounts in two ways.

1. Charging OD fees on "approved positive, settled negative" or APSN debit card transactions, collecting an average of $44 million a year, in spite of warnings about such fees by federal regulators, including the CFPB and the Federal Reserve Board, as early as 2015.
2. Charging member accounts that received money via Zelle, PayPal, and similar peer-to-peer payment services when Navy Federal's systems showed those funds as immediately available, but the credit union failed to disclose that payments received after 10:00 a.m. Eastern (later 8:00 p.m.) would not actually post to the accounts until the next business day. Some members tried using those funds and were charged OD fees.

In addition to the order's requirement to pay the $15 million civil money penalty and $80 million in refunds to Navy Federal members, there is a provision in the order banning Navy Federal from charging OD fees for APSN transactions or resulting from delayed posting of funds received from peer-to-peer payment networks.

• NCUA Chairman Todd M. Harper's Statement on the CFPB's settlement with Navy Federal Credit Union.

Our monthly review of the Federal Reserve Board's archive of Community Reinvestment Act evaluations found that the Reserve Banks released ten evaluations of state-chartered member banks in the month of October, all with Satisfactory ratings.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department reported that OFAC has designated one individual and one entity who support a corrupt patronage network in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that is attempting to evade U.S. sanctions.

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

The FTC has reported it has charged Sitejabber, a company offering an AI-enabled consumer review platform, deceived consumers by misrepresenting that ratings and reviews it published came from customers who experienced the reviewed product or service, artificially inflating average ratings and review counts.

Under a proposed order settling the agency’s complaint, Sitejabber will be prohibited from making such misrepresentations in the future and from making other misrepresentations about consumer ratings or reviews.

According to the FTC’s complaint, GGL Projects, Inc., which does business as Sitejabber, collected ratings and reviews for its online business clients from consumers at the time of purchase, before they received or had the chance to experience the products or services they bought. For example, after online customers checked out, they were asked to “rate your overall shopping experience so far” on a 5-star scale and then to “type a quick message about your shopping experience so far.” Sitejabber allegedly used these point-of-sale ratings and reviews to deceptively inflate the average ratings and review counts of its clients on the company’s review platform, claiming that the ratings “indicat[e] that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases.”

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced two partnerships involving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) to boost awareness and liquidity for programs that expand housing access for tribal communities.

In one partnership, the FHLBank of Des Moines will promote a Freddie Mac mortgage product intended to improve credit access for federally recognized Native American tribes. In the other, Fannie Mae will purchase loans originated through the FHLBank Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) program — administered by the FHLBank of Chicago — to increase mortgage liquidity for tribal communities.

• Fannie Mae and FHLBank of Chicago press release
• Freddie Mac and FHLBank of Des Moines press release

The OCC has announced its designation of Dewayne Lott, Ron Pasch, and Tanya Smith as Senior National Bank Examiners.

The Senior National Bank Examiner designation recognizes examiners who have distinguished themselves through high-quality performance and service as field examiners, subject matter experts, and advisors on highly complex and technical bank supervision issues. This is the highest honor bestowed on national bank examiners.

The FDIC has issued Financial Institution Letters with guidance to help financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas affected by severe weather.

• FIL-78-2024 for financial institutions in areas of South Dakota affected by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe severe storm, straight-line winds, and flooding on July 13 and 14, 2024
• FIL-79-2024 for financial institutions in areas of New Mexico affected by a severe storm and flooding on October 19 and 20, 2024

The FDIC has announced it will introduce a new online tool to help financial institutions, investors, and other interested groups to identify neighborhoods that could benefit from banking services. The FDIC’s new Minority Banking Opportunity Explorer will be presented at a meeting of the agency’s Minority Depository Institutions (MDI) Subcommittee to the Advisory Committee on Community Banking today.

This new tool supports FDIC’s statutory mission to promote and encourage the creation of new minority depository institutions by assisting financial institution organizing groups with exploring potential business opportunities in areas that may meet the "community served" part of an MDI designation. The tool can also support existing MDIs’ growth by identifying new branch locations or advertising opportunities.

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced it has filed a complaint against Dave, Inc., a Delaware corporation behind the "Dave" online cash advance app, for allegedly using misleading marketing to deceive consumers about the amount of its cash advances, charging consumers undisclosed fees, and charging so-called “tips” to consumers without their consent.

Dave describes the consumers it targets as being “financially vulnerable” or “financially coping,” including those whose spending exceeds their income, who have minimal savings, and who overdraft their bank accounts frequently. Dave’s advertising is dominated by claims that consumers can receive “up to $500” by using Dave, and that they can do so “instantly.” According to the FTC’s complaint, though, Dave’s service failed to live up to its promises. Despite promising “instant” or “on the spot” access to advances, Dave requires users to pay an “Express Fee” to get instant access to that money that is not disclosed until after the sign-up process is complete and the user has given Dave access to their bank account, according to the complaint. This fee ranges from $3 to $25, and consumers who do not pay the fee have to wait two to three business days to receive their advance.

Dave’s undisclosed charges go beyond this Express Fee, though, according to the complaint. Consumers who take advances from Dave are often charged a surprise fee of 15% of their advance that’s described by Dave as a “tip.” Many consumers are either unaware that Dave is charging them or unaware that there is any way to avoid being charged. Dave’s interface leads consumers to believe that, for every percentage of tip they are giving, Dave is donating an actual healthy meal to a needy child. But, according to the complaint, Dave donates just 10 cents for each percentage in “tip” the consumer clicks on and keeps the rest of the “tip” amount. Dave’s donation does not pay for the food required to actually provide a meal. Dave has reported receiving more than $149 million in revenue for these "tips" alone from 2022 through the first half of 2024. Dave also charges a poorly disclosed $1 monthly "membership fee" charged directly to members' bank accounts, and makes it difficult for consumers to cancel their membership.

The FTC's complaint seeks a permanent injunction, a monetary judgment, and other relief.

The FDIC has released a list of 51 banks examined for Community Reinvestment Act compliance whose evaluations were recently made public. Forty-seven of the banks on the list received ratings of Satisfactory. Three banks received Needs to Improve ratings.

We congratulate NorthEast Community Bank, White Plains, New York, on its receipt of a rating of Outstanding.

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced it has taken action against Global Circulation, Inc. (GCI), a Georgia-based debt collector that tricked consumers into paying more than $7.6 million in bogus debt by threatening them with jail time, harassing their family members, and other unlawful actions. In response to a federal court complaint filed against GCI and its owner, Kenneth Redon III, the court agreed to temporarily halt the company’s operation and ordered it to turn its assets over to a court-appointed receiver.

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that GCI and Redon contacted consumers under a number of fictitious company names, including Total Mediation Solutions, Total Consumer Solutions, and Consumer Impact Recovery. The company’s collectors call consumers out of the blue and threaten them with arrest, wage garnishment, and lawsuits if they don’t pay a supposed debt. However, the debts GCI is attempting to collect either don’t exist at all or are not debts GCI can legally collect. The company’s calls to consumers can be incessant, with some receiving calls multiple times a day, leaving voicemails saying to call about an urgent legal matter. When consumers answer, they’re told that, unless they pay the bogus debts on that phone call using a credit or debit card, they’ll face legal peril.

The complaint alleges that GCI’s deceptive statements and the urgency behind them have helped convince thousands of consumers to pay at least $7.6 million in bogus debts to the company.

FinCEN recently announced that certain victims of Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Beryl, and Hurricane Francine will receive an additional six months to submit beneficial ownership information reports, including updates and corrections to prior reports.

FinCEN has issued the five Notices below extending the filing deadlines for reporting companies that 1) have an original reporting deadline beginning one day before the date the specified disaster began and ending 90 days after that date, and 2) are located in an area that is designated both by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as qualifying for individual or public assistance and by the Internal Revenue Service as eligible for tax filing relief.

Notice regarding—

• Hurricane Milton
• Hurricane Helene
• Hurricane Debby
• Hurricane Beryl
• Hurricane Francine

The FBI, the Treasury Department, and the Israel National Cyber Directorate have issued a Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to warn network defenders of new cyber tradecraft of the Iranian cyber group Emennet Pasargad, which has been operating under the company name Aria Sepehr Ayandehsazan (ASA) and is known by the private sector terms Cotton Sandstorm, Marnanbridge, and Haywire Kitten.

The group exhibited new tradecraft in its efforts to conduct cyberenabled information operations into mid-2024 using a myriad of cover personas, including multiple cyber operations that occurred during and targeting the 2024 Summer Olympics – including the compromise of a French commercial dynamic display provider. ASA has also undertaken a project to harvest content from IP cameras and used online resources related to Artificial Intelligence. Since 2023, the group has exhibited new tradecraft including the use of fictitious hosting resellers to provision operational server infrastructure to its own actors as well as to an actor in Lebanon involved in website hosting. Recently released reporting from Microsoft indicates this group has demonstrated interest in election-related websites and media outlets, suggesting preparations for future influence operations.

The CSA provides the threat group’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), including its leveraging of online resources related to Artificial Intelligence, and indicators of compromise (IOCs). The CSA also highlights similar activity from a previous FBI advisory that was published on 20 October 2022. This new advisory’s information and guidance are derived from FBI investigative activity and technical analysis of this group’s intrusion activity against U.S. and foreign organizations and engagements with numerous entities impacted by this malicious activity.

The authoring agencies recommend all organizations follow guidance provided in the Mitigations section to defend against the Iranian cyber group’s activities.

The Internal Revenue Service on Friday announced that the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans in 2025 has increased to $23,500, up from $23,000 for 2024. The IRS also issued technical guidance regarding all cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2025 in Notice 2024-80.

The limit on annual contributions to an IRA remains $7,000. The IRA catch‑up contribution limit for individuals aged 50 and over was amended under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) to include an annual cost‑of‑living adjustment but remains $1,000 for 2025.