Articles

The January/February 2025 issue of ABA Risk and Compliance includes a column by Tracey Levandoski titled “Disclosure of Credit Scores and Risk-Based Pricing”, part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Fundamentals series. Tracey delves into FCRA requirements for financial institutions that use credit scores in mortgage loan evaluations or set consumer credit terms based on consumer reports. Tracey also covers exceptions to risk-based pricing notices, alternative disclosures options, and key compliance considerations to ensure adherence to FCRA requirements.

The November/December 2024 issue of ABA Risk and Compliance includes a column by Jim Treacy titled “Adverse Action Disclosures and the Intersection with ECOA.” Jim highlights Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) requirements for adverse action notices in credit decisions, as both regulations are often applied together. The column also notes CFPB guidance on using AI for credit decisions. Read on to learn practical steps for aligning your adverse action notices with FCRA and ECOA requirements.

This column by John Pace, CRCM in the ABA Risk and Compliance September/October 2024 issue covers the fundamentals of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) focusing on identity theft presenting an escalating threat to both consumers and financial institutions (FIs). The FCRA requires FIs to establish a robust Identity Theft Prevention Program (ITPP) to identify, detect, and respond to red flags, such as unusual account activity or alerts from credit reporting agencies. Proactive measures like placing fraud alerts or credit freezes can help consumers safeguard their credit information and mitigate the risks of identity theft. Read the article to learn more about how to protect your institution and customers.

The July/August 2024 issue of ABA Risk and Compliance features the insightful column titled Obtaining Information and Sharing Among Affiliates by Tracey Levandoski. This column delves into FCRA fundamentals, offering guidance on how financial institutions can navigate complex information-sharing requirements. Tracey breaks down exceptions and compliance strategies, making this a must-read for compliance professionals. Ensure your institution stays ahead of regulatory requirements by exploring this resource for mastering FCRA and Regulation P intersections.

Jim Treacy’s column titled Permissible Purpose and Use of Prescreened Solicitations is published in the May/June 2024 issue of ABA Risk and Compliance. FCRA remains a key focus for bank regulators; in this column, Jim focuses on FCRA rules on permissible purpose for obtaining consumer reports, use of prescreened lists for delivering firm offers of credit/insurance to consumers, and managing consumer responses.

Tracey Levandoski authored an article for the March/April 2024 issue of ABA Risk and Compliance on the topic of Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which outlines the rules a bank must follow for obtaining and using consumer reports and provides tips for effective FCRA compliance management.

In 2023 Issue 4 of Utah Banker, CrossCheck Compliance LLC Manager Keenan Neal authored an article titled Meeting the Credit Needs of the Community Through Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCP). Homeownership is crucial for building wealth and achieving upward mobility; implementing slight adjustments to underwriting criteria or down-payment assistance programs could facilitate increased homeownership, strengthen your institution’s fair lending compliance management program, and meet community credit needs. See this article to learn more on the topic of establishing an impactful SPCP.

In Issue 2 of Utah Banker, CrossCheck Compliance LLC Manager John Pace, CRCM authored an article titled Dodd-Frank Section 1071: Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. This article explores the compliance impacts for financial institutions since the passage of Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which requires small business loan data collection. Learn more about the key considerations to help your institution prepare for a smooth implementation.

A strong compliance culture creates a work environment where employees understand how and why they do what they do. It also helps banks and other organizations maintain the trust of customers and stakeholders and avoid regulatory, legal, and reputational risks. Heidi Wier authored a new article in the July/August issue of ABA Risk and Compliance, Building a Strong Compliance Culture: Strategies for Influencing and Directing Behaviors, that describes the keys to successfully building a strong compliance culture.

In the inaugural issue of ABA Risk and Compliance, formerly known as ABA Bank Compliance, Sara McGinnis authored a new article, Understanding the Complexities of Enterprise Risk Management, A Guide for Compliance Professionals. This article reflects the industry transformation taking place as banks break down the silos between risk management and compliance functions due to increasing complexity in the financial sector and the importance of a holistic approach to risk management.

With the release of regulations implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, compliance officers are gearing up for this monumental change in the small business lending process. This updated article, We Are Change Leaders: Adapting and Advancing in the Evolving Financial Services Landscape, originally published in ABA Bank Compliance, details the compliance officer’s role in managing change. The author, Liza Warner, also addresses change management’s key success factors and provides an example of a compliance evaluation of a business change. We hope you find it helpful!

How prepared is your credit union for a fair lending examination? NCUA’s 2023 Supervisory Priorities make it clear that examiners will review policies and practices for steering or loan pricing discrimination risk factors. Examiners will also assess a credit union’s policies and practices related to residential real estate appraisals. Now is a good time to do a “health check” of your fair lending program. This article, written by Liza Warner, addresses key areas of consideration including marketing and advertising, underwriting, pricing, servicing, third-party partners, complaint management, monitoring and testing, and board/management oversight.

In the March/April issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Jim Jorgensen authored this article entitled Closing the Gap – Advancing the next Generation of Compliance Leaders. This is a topic of discussion in many organizations. How can you prepare the junior staff to be ready to take on the responsibilities expected by the board and senior management to meet regulator expectations? To address this issue we spoke with several compliance officers from community banks to large regional banks to get their insights on how they advance the next generation of compliance executives. The insights in this article will help prepare you for enhancing your own organization’s succession planning.

In the January/February issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Liza Warner authored the article, Buckle Up! Indirect Automotive Fair Lending Risks Ahead. Both bank and non-bank lenders face regulatory scrutiny surrounding the indirect automotive lending sector. In the article, Liza discusses how to spot the red flags or risk indicators in this type of lending and how to stay clear of ‘accidents’. She also discusses credit risk management and data integrity. For safe navigation, follow the ‘rules of the road’.

In the Utah Banker Magazine, Tracey Levandoski authored an article entitled, Risk Management of Third-Party Relationships. Third-party risk management continues to be an increasing regulatory focus as indicated by the proposed Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management. Understanding the details of sound risk management outlined in the proposed guidance and enhancing your third-party risk management program commensurate with the risk level of your third-party service provider relationships will place your organization in a more favorable position for the next regulatory examination.

In the November-December 2022 issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Sara McGinnis addresses the final flood insurance Q&As from the five federal regulatory agencies. Based on banker feedback and the most frequently asked questions from lenders on a wide spectrum of technical flood insurance-related compliance issues, the final Q&As replace those originally published by the agencies in 1997 and updated in 2009 and 2011.

In this article, Jim Treacy explores the eight common TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Errors. These errors can increase the potential for fee tolerance violations so you will want to be sure not to make any or these errors. Loan origination systems can assist in identifying many TRID-related violations, but it is not foolproof. Policies and procedures, training and monitoring can all help decrease the number of exceptions. Learn more in this informative article.

In the May/June 2022 issue of ABA Bank Compliance Magazine, Liza Warner authored an article entitled: How to Conduct An Internal Compliance Investigation. A timely and methodical investigation will provide information that may help limit the institution’s regulatory and legal exposure. In the article, Liza addresses the Compliance Management System and your investigation process, considerations for an internal compliance investigation, and how to conduct a compliance investigation.

In the January/February issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Jim Jorgensen explores the skills that highly successful compliance officers (COs) need to develop. To address this issue, Jim spoke with several COs from community banks to large regional banks. They shared their insights about what skills they feel are most valuable for their roles and how they acquired and developed them.