InfoSight News
Happy Holidays! The New InfoSight is here!
Our holiday gift to you – hot off the press, a newly redesigned InfoSight!
Our goal with the new website is to create a more interactive and user-friendly experience for our member credit unions. The design is more modern, streamlined, and much easier to navigate.
Featuring:
- Improved usability, modern design and simplified navigation
- Customizable dashboard to get you to the information you need
- More state-specific information that is easier to find
- Checklists, FAQs, Compliance Videos and more!
This is our last issue until January 11, 2019! May everyone have a safe and merry holiday season – see you next year!
Annual threshold updates
At the end of every year, we have dollar amount changes for several thresholds in the BCFP rules, the Federal Reserve Board rules and even IRS rules. These changes will be reflected in InfoSight after the first of the year.
Compliance News
NCUA to launch alternating exam pilot program
On January 1, 2019, the NCUA and six state credit union regulators will launch an alternating examination pilot program for a select group of federally insured, state-chartered credit unions. The NCUA has posted an FAQ about the program.
NCUSIF operating level lowered
The NCUA Board held an open meeting at the agency’s headquarters on December 13, 2018, and unanimously approved three items:
- Lowering the normal operating level of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund to 1.38 percent from 1.39 percent.
- Posting the final report of the agency’s Regulatory Reform Task Force in the Federal Register, following a briefing by the Office of the General Counsel.
- A final rule making technical amendments to agency regulations to correct minor drafting errors and rescind certain unnecessary provisions.
Source: NCUA
NCUA to Return to 3-year Reg. Review
NCUA will return to its former practice of conducting rolling three-year reviews and will post updates to its website every six months, following one recommendation from the task force. Here is more information and related links.
Source: CUNA Removing Barriers Blog
UBS Financial Services to pay $15M for AML failings
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced Monday that it has assessed a $14.5 million civil money penalty on UBS Financial Services, Inc., of which $5 million will be paid to the U.S. Treasury, and the balance will be concurrent with $9.5 million of the $10 million in penalties imposed for similar or related conduct by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
FinCEN said UBSFS failed to develop and implement an appropriate, risk-based anti-money laundering program that adequately addressed the risks associated with accounts that included both traditional brokerage and banking-like services. UBSFS failed to implement appropriate policies and procedures to ensure the detection and reporting of suspicious activity through all accounts—particularly for those accounts that exhibited little to no securities trading. The firm did not adequately structure its AML program to address the use of securities accounts for the purpose of moving funds rather than trading securities.
FinCEN also said that, over several years, UBSFS processed through certain of its brokerage accounts hundreds of transactions that exhibited red flags associated with shell company activity. UBSFS failed to adequately monitor foreign currency-denominated wire transfers—amounting to tens of billions of dollars—that were conducted through its commodities accounts and retail brokerage accounts. UBSFS’s AML monitoring system failed to capture critical information about these foreign currency-denominated wires, including sender and recipient information and the country of origin and destination. As a result, it was unable to identify and investigate potentially suspicious transactions based on the presence of important risk factors, such as jurisdiction and the involvement of politically exposed persons.
Source: FinCEN
Advocacy Highlight
Advocacy Message from CUNA
2018 was a remarkable year for credit union advocacy. In a turbulent political environment, credit unions, Leagues and CUNA led the way. Because of our efforts, regulatory barriers were removed; we advanced the credit union charter at the federal and state level; we held data compromisers accountable; we preserved the tax status; we expanded our grassroots capabilities and we returned a credit union majority to Congress. This is shared victory that we should be very proud of!
But advocacy is a process, not an event. Our work to revolutionize the operating environment for credit unions is not over. We will be right back here in 2019 working with you to advance credit union priorities in Congress, at the regulatory agencies, in courts and in state capitals in coordination with state credit union leagues!
Source: CUNA
Pending Regulatory Comment Calls
CUNA plans to comment on the following pending regulatory proposals for the rest of this year. For comment letters to have the greatest impact, consider whether and how these proposals would affect your credit union and contact the CUNA staff listed for each proposal with your feedback. Also, feel free to contact the CUNA staff listed if you would like more information on how to send your own letter.
CUNA's Advocacy Resources
Compliance Calendar
- December 25th, 2018: Christmas Day - Federal Holiday
- January 1st, 2019: ACH Rules Compliance Audit Requirements (Effective Date)
- January 1st, 2019: Minor Rules Topics (Effective Date)
- January 1st, 2019: New Year's Day - Federal Holiday
- January 21st, 2019: Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday - Federal Holiday
Purely Michigan
Question: I am looking for a good resource to look at in regards to indemnity agreements.
I am researching whether or not we as a credit union need to require an indemnity agreement for placing a stop on cashiers checks, to reissue.
Answer: Technically there isn’t a way to place a stop payment on a cashier’s check under UCC. Since a cashier’s check is guaranteed funds, the member can only claim that it’s lost, stolen, or destroyed, which is why financial institutions usually require that they sign some sort of affidavit to protect themselves in the event that the original cashier’s check is presented for payment after it had been reissued. UCC does say that you can use a “Declaration of Loss” after 90 days, which might be an alternative for you to use. Here is the information from Michigan’s UCC:
(c) "Declaration of loss" means a statement, made in a record under penalty of perjury, to the effect that all of the following apply:
(i) The declarer lost possession of a check.
(ii) The declarer is the drawer or payee of the check in the case of a certified check, or the remitter or payee of the check in the case of a cashier's check or teller's check.
(iii) The loss of possession was not the result of a transfer by the declarer or a lawful seizure.
(iv) The declarer cannot reasonably obtain possession of the check because the check was destroyed, its whereabouts cannot be determined, or it is in the wrongful possession of an unknown person or a person that cannot be found or is not amenable to service of process.
Newsletter Sign Up
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