NAFCU Compliance Blog

Research Tips - Saving Blog Posts; NAFCU's Mortgage Rules Webpage

Written by Steve Van Beek

Last Tuesday, we linked to a series of past blog posts which contain links to the new regulatory text as well as other research tips for finding, reading and understanding the new mortgage regulations. Especially helpful is the February 22 blog post on Finding the New Reg Z & Reg X Requirements in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations which contains direct links to the new regulatory text, official staff commentary and the new model forms.

One of the problems is that in today's fast-paced environment, those blog posts tend to get lost in the shuffle and it may be hard to find the information when you need it. However, there is an easy solution that keeps those blog posts (and any others you want to refer back to in the future) at your fingertips.

Below is a step-by-step process to save important blog posts to your desktop.

1. Click on the Title of the blog post to be taken directly to the blog post site.

2. After clicking the Title, you'll be taken to the blog's main webpage - showing the blog post you clicked on. Your screen should look similar to below.

3. From this page, right-click anywhere on the page and choose "save as."

4. Be sure to select your Desktop as the preferred location to save the file. After you've saved the file, you should see a copy of the file (along with a folder containing additional files) on your Desktop.  It should look similar to below.

5. When you want to refer back to the blog post you've saved, double-click on the file and you'll be taken to a copy of the blog post as shown below. And, yes, that is screen shot of my current desktop (the only part of the Appalachian Trail I've done).

6. If you look really closely at the screenshot above you can see that the browser actually references the file on my desktop rather than the actual blog post on the internet. However, all the links on the blog post that you've saved will continue to work and that is the key point.

Hope this helps and you find it useful!

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NAFCU's Mortgage Rules Webpage. Don't forget to visit NAFCU's Mortgage Rules webpage which includes resources on all of the new mortgage regulations. Recently added were the following resources for NAFCU members:

• Q&As from NAFCU's February 13 Webcast on the CFPB's Final Mortgage Regulations

• Q&As from NAFCU's March 6th Webcast on the CFPB's Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Requirements

• New Compliance Monitor article on Mortgage Loan Originator Requirements for Qualification, Screening, Training and Disclosures

• New Compliance Monitor article on New Homeownership Counseling Disclosure Requirement

Be sure to refer back to page on regular basis as we'll continue to add resources throughout 2013.

House Passes H.R. 749 - The Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act

Note: If you are reading this post via the email delivery subscription option - you may have noticed a delay the past couple of days. We're aware of the issue but a solution isn't readily apparent. You can always find the daily blog post directly on the blog's website (just scroll down past the "Welcome Blog Post").

So, if you need your daily fix and haven't seen the email - be sure to check the blog's main website as the post is usually up there by 6 a.m.  Have a great day!

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Written by Steve Van Beek

One of the pieces of NAFCU's five point plan for regulatory relief is Operational Improvements for Credit Unions - including a specific push for elimination of unnecessary privacy notices. Yesterday, the House took an important step toward this goal by passing H.R. 749.

Now, you might be having déjà vu. Didn't the House pass a similar bill back in December?  They sure did - but since this is a new Congress, they needed to introduce and pass the bill again. And, now attention turns back to the Senate - which failed to pass similar legislation in 2012.

Below is a summary from our December 14th blog post that I've updated slightly with the information from yesterday's action.

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The Elimination Privacy Notice Confusion Act & What it Means to Your Credit Union

Summary.  The bill - H.R. 749 - was passed by the House on Tuesday and now awaits action in the Senate.

What will the bill do?  The bill would remove the annual privacy notice requirement for certain financial institutions.  

How do we find out if we would be one of these "certain" financial institutions?  Ah, please join me (again!!) as we wander down the rabbit hole called Regulatory & Legislative Complexity (the middle name is "&" for those keeping score at home).     

The Start.  The annual privacy notice requirement comes from Section 503 of Gramm-Leach-Bliley (15 USC 6803):"

"(a) Disclosure required

At the time of establishing a customer relationship with a consumer and not less than annually during the continuation of such relationship, a financial institution shall provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure to such consumer, in writing or in electronic form or other form permitted by the regulations prescribed under section 6804 of this title, of such financial institution’s policies and practices with respect to..."  (emphasis added)."

The Bill.  The bill would add subsection (f) to Section 503 of Gramm-Leach-Bliley:

‘‘(f) EXCEPTION TO ANNUAL NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—A financial institution that—

‘‘(1) provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b)(2) or (e) of section 502 or regulations prescribed under section 504(b), and

‘(2) has not changed its policies and practices with regard to disclosing nonpublic personal information from the policies and practices that were disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers in accordance with this subsection, shall not be required to provide an annual disclosure under this subsection until such time as the financial institution fails to comply with any criteria described in paragraph (1) or (2)."

Ok - so there are two main prongs to obtaining this potential exception.  We'll take them in reverse order. 

Prong 2 - No Changes Since Your Last Privacy Policy.  This is the easier prong.  If you've changed your privacy policy, you'd need to send the annual notice so that members are aware of your new sharing practices.    

Prong 1 - Shares Information Only in Accordance with Exceptions.  This one is where things get a bit dicey.  I'll spoil the ending by letting you know that if this bill becomes law - the CFPB should be amending Regulation P and will have a great opportunity to provide clarity to everyone (credit unions, banks, consumers, etc).    

In order to satisfy Prong 1, credit unions need to share nonpublic personal information about their members "only in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b)(2) or (e) of section 502 or regulations prescribed under section 504(b)."  But, what does that mean?   

These two provisions discuss the situations where credit unions can share nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliates without having to provide the member an opt-out.  

Section 502(b)(2) - 15 USC 6802(b)(2).  This provision outlines the exception for service providers and joint marketing agreements.  It is implemented in 12 CFR 1016.13 of Regulation P.  

Section 502(e) - 15 USC 6802(e).  This provision contains the general exceptions to the opt-out requirements.  Credit unions can share information with nonaffiliated third parties in these situations - such as to service or process a transaction or at the member's request - without needing to provide the member an opportunity to opt-out.  These exceptions are outlined in 12 CFR 1016.14 & 12 CFR 1016.15 of Regulation P.   

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Confused?  The crux is that in order to satisfy Prong 1 your credit union would need to only share information with nonaffiliates in ways that do not trigger the requirement to provide members the right to opt-out.  Prong 2 is easier in that it will be met if you have had no changes to your privacy policy since your last mailing.  

Your Homework?  Check out whether your credit union's existing privacy policy requires you to provide members the right to opt-out because your credit union shares nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties.  

Outcome 1:  If you aren't currently required to provide the opt-out to members, this bill could provide some real regulatory relief as it could remove the requirement to send your privacy policy on an annual basis.

Outcome 2:  If you currently share with nonaffiliated third parties (outside of the exceptions discussed above) and are required to provide members the opt-out, check how many nonaffiliated third parties you share with.  How valuable are those relationships?  How does that compare with the regulatory cost (and printing costs and mailing costs) of sending the annual privacy notice?  

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Reminder:  Keep in mind that this bill still needs to work its way through the Senate.  Additionally, the CFPB would need to amend Regulation P to implement these changes and provide clarity. And, as we discussed in yesterday's blog post - it isn't always a fast process. 

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."

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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 [email protected] 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!

The NAFCU Compliance Blog Has Moved!

NAFCU's Compliance Blog has moved!  

We still write about credit union compliance issues three days a week, but you can find the new blog location here.

• The blog is still public. 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. 

• You can still subscribe to the blog. Consider registering to have the blog emailed directly to you. Be sure to respond to the verification email. Once you’ve been verified, the compliance blog should hit your inbox starting with the next new post.  

• Use the blog as a research tool. You can search the blog at its new location here. You can search past blogs on this website for the time being using the search function in the upper-left corner. NAFCU members can find additional info here on hot topics like HMDA, MLA, Mortgage Rules and more.

You'll find old blog posts below, but the content did migrate to our new website where you'll also find new posts to help you stay compliant!