NAFCU Compliance Blog

Plain Writing Act of 2010; NAFCU Blog Search

Written by Steve Van Beek

Usually, the laws we discuss on the blog are ones that cause additional headaches and issues for credit union compliance officers.  Today we wanted to focus on a law that is intended to ease the confusion surrounding the laws, regulations and guidance impacting credit unions.  I'm not sure of a great mechanism to enforce this law but at least it is a step in the right direction.

Plain Writing Act of 2010.  On October 13, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Plain Writing Act.  In short, the law requires federal agencies to use clear, concise information when communicating with the public to ease understanding of the numerous regulations pumped out from Washington on a daily basis.  Stop laughing.

One of the requirements of the law is that federal agencies - including NCUA and the CFPB - need to maintain Plain Writing Act webpages on their websites as well as file annual reports with Congress (the first annual report was due April 13, 2012).    

• The CFPB's Plain Writing Act webpage is here and their April 13, 2012 report is here.
• NCUA's Plain Writing Act webpage is here and their April 13, 2012 report is not available yet (at least it hasn't been posted on their website as of this morning).    

Not so Fast.  Now, you may be very excited to find out that the federal agencies now have a legal requirement to make their regulations clear and straightforward.  Unfortunately, this is the real word so there are exceptions.  The agencies need to use Plain Writing for "covered documents."  The definition of "covered documents" specifically excludes regulations.  

While this exception might make sense for very, very technical regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, it shouldn't give the NCUA and the CFPB free rein to continue to blast out pages and pages of completely indecipherable regulatory requirements without making their best efforts to ensure the information is readable.  

Soap Box  Credit unions need to make these efforts in their communications with their members.  Why shouldn't the federal agencies have to at least take efforts to do the same?  The more clear and straightforward the requirements the higher the compliance rates and the greater the consumer/member protection.  

Hopefully the CFPB and NCUA start to grasp this concept.  It just isn't possible for credit unions - of any size - to read and translate every piece of information from the regulatory agencies (including the regulations themselves) from *regulator speak* to plain English.

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Blog Search Bar.  On Friday, we announced the new Blog Search Bar.  The post includes the process for conducting a search and sorting your results - by either "best match" or "most recent."  

To use the search bar, go to the main NAFCU Compliance Blog page and look to the upper left-hand side.  We accidently put the right-hand side in the initial blog last Friday and, well, you can tell our readers are compliance officers as we were quickly informed of our mistake.  

If you didn't try the search bar on Friday, give it a try today (more detailed instructions here).  We hope it cuts down on some of the frustration of tracking down an old blog post or other information.     

Updated Search Bar on the NAFCU Compliance Blog

Written by Steve Van Beek

Given the fast paced-nature of the regulatory changes, we thought it would be a good idea to slow down on Friday and introduce a revamped tool to help find those past blog posts or regulatory changes that you need to now implement.  

Updated Search Function.  We've made a slight change to the NAFCU Compliance Blog webpage that allows for much greater search capabilities.  The search bar now provides a more robust way to find past blog posts on the "Equal Housing Lender" poster or "adverse action notices."    

How to Use.  Below is a quick tutorial on using the search function.

• Go to the blog's main page - www.nafcucomplianceblog.com - and look to the left-hand side for the new search bar.      
• Type in your search (using quotation marks provides more specific results - such as "fair lending").
• View your results directly in the NAFCU Compliance Blog.
• The search results default to showing the Best Match.  If you want to sort by date, click the link for "Most Recent" just below the main heading.  

If you have a few minutes, try out a couple of sample searches to learn how it works.  If you have other tips, be sure to share as well.  For additional tips on using the NAFCU Compliance Blog as a resource tool, check out this blog post.  

Have a great weekend!

Use the Blog as a Resource Tool; Speed Trap

Written by Steve Van Beek

We know a majority of the daily blog readers receive the daily blog postings via email delivery.  However, don't forget about using the blog as a resource tool as well.  We all remember we saw a certain blog post - but can we find it when we need to share with a colleague?  

Here are three quick ways to find past blog postings on particular topics.

• Use the Blog's Search Function.  On the blog's main page, there is a search box in the upper-left corner which allows you to search for specific terms in past blog postings.  One of the drawbacks is the search results are by relevance rather than being listed chronologically.  So, if you are looking for the latest on Richard Cordray at the CFPB you might want to follow one of the other options below.

• View the Blogs Archives.  Each blog post that we do is archived.  The blog archives allow you to pinpoint a particular blog post - if you know the date of the post.  Perhaps you printed out the January 30, 2012 blog post on the Network Exclusivity Requirements from the Durbin Amendment but you want to find the original so that you can access the hyperlinks.  Using the Archives allows you to find blog posts by date which will allow you to find all the January 2012 blog posts.  Also very useful if you were out of the office for a period of time and want to play catch-up.

• Browse Blog Postings by Category.  Each day we attach "tags" or "categories" to our blog posts.  These tags allow you to view blog postings by topic.  You can find our various categories on the right-hand side of the blog's main page (just below the legal disclaimer).  If you are looking for the latest blog posts on the ADA or Remittances, browsing by category is a great starting point.    

For example, today's blog post includes tags of "Research," "Weblogs,""Meta - Blog," and "Married Life."

***

It has been over 100 days of marriage for me and my beautiful wife.  We've kept pretty busy but it has been a fun time with new experiences - like "joint" expenses.  I use the term "joint" for reasons described below.

A couple of weeks after the holidays we received an envelope in the mail from:  Metropolitan Police Department, District of Columbia.  The dreaded speeding ticket from DC's "Automated Speed Enforcement."  

There was just one issue: we didn't know who was driving!

While there is some discrepancy as to who is the better driver - my wife, somehow, has a perfect driving record.  I do not.  So I'm sure you could imagine the twinkle in my eye when I thought for a brief second that this was her time.

Unfortunately, it was my time....again.  The timestamp on the photo clearly pinned me as the driver.  My wife's response was immediate:  "And you're paying the ticket too!"  So much for joint expenses.... 

Have a great weekend!

A Couple of Blog Housekeeping Issues

Written by Steve Van Beek

If you like the blog, please consider sharing the blog with your colleagues if you think they would enjoy the blog as well.  They can register by going here and inputting their email address.

Verfication Process.  For those who do subscribe, be sure to look for a verification email.  The daily blog postings will not be delivered until the verification email has been confirmed.  When the verification email is confirmed, the blog postings will begin to be delivered on the next business day.  

Caution:  It seems the verification email gets grabbed in quite a few SPAM filters, so be sure to check your Junk folder or contact your IT team if you don't receive the verification email within an hour of subscribing to the blog postings.  

Unverified.  If you have tried to sign-up for the blog postings and you haven't received the postings each day, I'd encourage you to attempt the subscription process again and be sure to verify the confirmation email.  Similarly, if you have a colleague that has indicated they tried to sign-up and isn't receiving the daily blog postings - please considering forwarding this post on to them so they can subscribe again.   

Open to Everyone.  The blog is open to everyone so you can be assured that we are not screening who receives the blog postings each day.  Anyone can subscribe and we are very thankful to have a diverse group of dedicated blog readers.  

Questions or Concerns.  If you have any questions, please let us know.  You can email us at compliance@nafcu.org and we'll do our best to help you out.  Unfortunately, we cannot add you to the email subscription list.  The email subscription is a voluntary opt-in process (no E-SIGN consent required - sorry, I couldn't resist the lame compliance joke).       

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Legal Disclaimer.  I also wanted to take a minute to reiterate the blog's legal disclaimer.  The disclaimer is located on the main blog page itself but since a lot of readers receive the blog posts directly via email, here is the disclaimer:

This website is intended to provide general compliance information in regard to the subject(s) covered. It is provided with the intent and understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the act of rendering legal, accounting or any other professional advice. The information provided in this website is not intended nor should be used as a substitute for legal advice or other expert opinions and services in specific situations. NAFCU is not responsible for the content of comments and reserves the right to delete or block comments that it finds inappropriate.

We'll be back with normal blogging tomorrow, have a great Monday!

Welcome to the NAFCU Compliance Blog

Welcome to NAFCU's Compliance Blog!  We write about credit union compliance issues five days a week.  Below are a couple of ways you can take advantage of the blog: 

• Daily Blog Emails.  Consider registering to have the blog emailed to you each morning.  Be sure to respond to the verification email.  Once verified, you'll receive the blog posts beginning on the next business day.  Note: Be sure to check your SPAM filter for the verification email if you don't see it right away.  

• Use the Blog as a Resource Tool.  The blog has a search function in the upper-left corner.  You can also browse blog postings by date using the Archives.  Additionally, when we write a post, we add it to one or more categories - which are located on the right-hand side of the blog.  For example, here are all our past blog posts on the CFPB.

• All Are Welcome.  If you've found the blog useful, consider sharing the blog with your friends and colleagues.  It is free, and we make it available to everyone.  

Below, you'll find our blog posts, starting with our most recent postings.  Best of luck, and by all means, stay compliant.