As 2017 comes to a close, let's take a few minutes to review some of the most popular blog articles of this year. You'll learn about CRA, Community Development, UDAAP, and of course, Fair Lending and Redlining.
With everything that has happened this year and the overwhelming pace of regulatory change, it would have been difficult (if not impossible) to read all the articles you might have bookmarked. You probably had enough HMDA resources flagged to constitute a year's worth of reading material!
As we considered this challenge, we realized that now would be as good a time as any to recap some of the best blogs of 2017.
Here are the top 10 most popular regulatory compliance blog posts of 2017!
Take a few minutes to skim through them, and see what you might have missed, or what you'd like to re-read.
As you review, you may come across topics you'd like for the Ncontracts team to cover in 2018. If so, either comment on the blog post or get in touch so that we can evaluate it for our editorial calendar. We're committed to helping you continue to learn and grow; if we can help you be successful next year by providing an in-depth blog, we will do everything we can to make it happen.
In order of most views, here are the 10 best compliance blog articles of 2017:
1. How Do I Get CRA Community Development Credit?
If you have to comply with CRA, you're probably worried about Community Development credit. Community Development is intended to ensure that financial institutions meet their community’s unique credit needs. In that spirit, it’s an essential part of both your portfolio and your compliance management.
Community Development for CRA compliance is about more than just loans. There are three key types of Community Development activities: Loans, Services, and Qualified Investments.
When the regulators ask about your Community Development activity, how will you answer? You'll learn how to consider and craft a great response in this blog post!
Related: What Is A Compliance Management System And Why Your FI Needs One
2. UDAAP Compliance 101: Defining Unfair, Deceptive and Abusive Acts and Practices
One of the newer areas of regulatory compliance risk is in Unfair, Deceptive and Abusive Acts and Practices. This important area of focus for compliance officers and financial institutions was a key discussion topic at this year's ABA Regulatory Compliance Conference. UDAAP kept surfacing and we thought it might be helpful to do a brief refresher on some UDAAP basics.
In this post, you'll learn what UDAAP is, important definitions, and how to approach some of the key risks.
3. 3 Real-World Examples of Fair Lending Discrimination
Fair Lending regulations are designed to prevent discrimination in any aspect of the lending process. As a compliance professional, your Fair Lending compliance management program is all about ensuring that similarly situated individuals are treated similarly, and the potential for discrimination to occur is limited.
In Fair Lending, discrimination is defined as the act of treating one person or a group of people less favorably than others based on a prohibited basis. Here are five scenarios that illustrate the nuances of different types of discrimination.
4. The CFPB Just Issued Their Largest-Ever HMDA Fine
Just yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is fining Nationstar Mortgage, one of the largest mortgage lenders in the nation, $1.75 million for HMDA alleged reporting violations.
It's the largest-ever fine for this kind of violation.
This comes amidst a collective industry focus on HMDA and Fair Lending compliance.
5. 2017 is Likely to Be A Record-Breaking Year for De Novo Banks
After the financial crisis, regulators intentionally made it difficult to open new banks, because the rate of bank failure for younger banks tended to be almost double that of their older counterparts, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Early signals indicate that 2017 may herald a new wave of start-up banks. In recent months, at least eight groups have filed applications with the FDIC for de novo (new) banks.
6. What is Fair Lending Discrimination?
When news of a settlement, enforcement action, civil money penalty or other regulatory news breaks, it provides a valuable opportunity to learn. In particular, it provides a good chance to see the potential impacts of Fair Lending risks and violations.
Discriminatory policies, procedures and practices can negatively impact financial institutions' Fair Lending compliance. By exploring three recent settlements, enforcement actions and other regulatory news, we can learn more about the challenges of managing those risks, how to avoid them, and even the potential impacts to a financial institution.
7. CFPB Shares Top 3 Compliance Priorities for 2017
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently released the 2017 Fair Lending Report, which included their top Fair Lending priorities for the year.
If you're not regulated by the CFPB, you might wonder why you should be concerned about their priorities. It is because the CFPB is a large and influential organization. And if experience is any guide, the CFPB's priorities tend to either reflect or become the industry's priorities.
In order, here are the CFPB's top priorities for 2017:
- Redlining (Fair Lending)
- Mortgage and Student Loan Servicing
- Small Business Lending
(For reference, last year's priorities were mortgage lending, indirect auto lending, and credit cards.)
In this post, we will talk about how the CFPB will be assessing risk in those key areas. We'll also share some ways you can assess your risk in these areas!
8. A Compliance Officer's Night Before Christmas
""Twas the Friday before Christmas, when all through the bank..." We hope that this compliance-themed holiday poem brings you joy and good cheer this season!
9. The Top 7 Lessons Learned at the ABA Regulatory Compliance Conference
This year's ABA Regulatory Compliance Conference in Orlando presented an incredible opportunity to learn and grow with other compliance officers. This conference also provides new perspectives on top trends in compliance today, such as UDAAP, HMDA Plus, and redlining. Here are the top 7 lessons learned at this year's ABA RCC:
10. DOJ Rings in 2017 with Redlining Actions Against Community Banks
For the past 18 months, Redlining has ranked near the top of the list of regulatory priorities. Based on recent news, Redlining is poised to remain there through 2017.
In fact, the Department of Justice welcomed 2017 with Redlining actions directed toward three banks. In this post, we will briefly discuss those recent actions, and share a few simple tips for analyzing your Redlining risk.
Ncontracts Viewpoint: Every year, we are faced with surprises, challenges, opportunities to learn, and the unique chance to work with financial institutions nationwide on their compliance and growth goals. Looking back on the top posts of 2017 helps us see how far we've come in the last 12 months - and helps us anticipate where we're going in 2018.
As you prepare for another successful year, you might be interested in the Prep for Compliance Success info kit!
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