What's New? Environmental Crimes

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued Notice (FIN-2021-NTC4) to call attention to an upward trend in environmental crimes and associated illicit financial activity. Environmental crimes frequently involve transnational organized crime and corruption and are often associated with a variety of other crimes including money laundering, bribery, theft, forgery, tax evasion, fraud, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. Financial institutions’ SAR fillings, in conjunction with effective implementation of their Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance requirements, are crucial to identifying and stopping environmental crimes and related money laundering. Read more about Environmental Crimes and SAR Reporting in The Gold Book.

Crypto-Assets

Federal bank regulatory agencies recently issued a statement summarizing their interagency “policy sprints” focused on crypto-assets and providing a roadmap of future work related to crypto-assets.

In particular, the statement describes the focus of the preliminary work conducted through the sprints undertaken by the agencies. It summarizes the agencies’ plan to provide greater clarity throughout 2022 on whether certain crypto-related activities conducted by banking organizations are legally permissible, and related expectations for safety and soundness, consumer protection, and compliance with existing law and regulations.

The emerging crypto-asset sector presents potential opportunities and risks to banking organizations, their customers, and the overall financial system. The interagency sprints quickly advanced and built on agencies’ combined knowledge, which helped identify and assess key issues related to potential crypto-asset activities conducted by banking organizations.

What's New? Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a major concern of financial institutions and federal financial regulators. Computer-security incidents can result from destructive malware or malicious software (cyberattacks), as well as nonmalicious failure of hardware and software, personnel errors, and other causes. Cyberattacks targeting the financial services industry have increased in frequency and severity in recent years. These cyberattacks can adversely affect a bank’s networks, data, and systems and, ultimately, its ability to resume normal operations.

Read more in the Digital Banking Chapter of The Gold Book under Cybersecurity.

What's New? NYS 2022 Minimum Wage Increase

The statewide $15 minimum wage was enacted as part of the 2016-17 State Budget. The plan takes the needs of workers and businesses alike into account. As of December 31, 2016, the first in a series of wage increases went into effect. Rates differ based on region and industry because the increases are calibrated to provide businesses ample time to adjust. Read more here in the Human Resources chapter of The Gold Book. 

Excluded Workers Fund (EWF) Prepaid Cards ATM Withdrawals Suspended

The NYS Division Of Labor has made a change to the implementation of the Excluded Workers Fund (EWF) prepaid cards, effective December 28, 2021. The DOL has suspended the option to withdraw cash from ATMs for cardholders with a remaining balance on their cards.

EWF cardholders have been notified that NYS DOL is committed to ensuring that the funds on  prepaid cards remain protected from fraudulent activity. And, out of an abundance of caution, effective December 28, 2021, the option to withdraw cash from an ATM for cardholders with a remaining balance on their prepaid card was suspended. Prepaid card may continue to be used to make purchases in-store and online where Visa debit is accepted. The only change is the ability to withdraw cash from an ATM.

If you have a remaining balance on your prepaid card and would like access to your funds in cash, you will have the option to make a free withdrawal in-person at most banks and credit unions accepting Visa debit. (See list of banks and credit unions: County List | City List)  Please note that you will need to present a photo ID and your Excluded Workers Fund prepaid card at the time of withdrawal to complete the transaction. The name on your identification must match the registered name on your Excluded Workers Fund prepaid card. Withdrawals are limited to one (1) transaction between $20 – $500 per 24-hour period and subject to the bank or credit union’s terms and conditions (which may include a smaller withdrawal limit or other requirements).

While we acknowledge that this is not an ideal situation, our top priority is protecting your funds. If you have any questions, please contact customer service at (833) 458-4262.

What's New? Updated Life Expectancy Tables for IRA Distributions

The IRS has released new life expectancy tables for calculating required minimum distributions (RMDs). The most commonly used tables are the Uniform Lifetime and the Single Life Expectancy Tables.  The Uniform Lifetime Table is used by most IRA owners who need to take 2022 lifetime RMDs. The Single Life Expectancy Table is used by IRA beneficiaries who must take an annual RMD for 2022. 

For details on the new tables and where to find them, see the Pension section on Mandatory Distributions in The Gold Book.

What's New? Update to OSHA Vaccine Mandate

Employers now have until January 10, 2022 to comply with all ETS requirements except for the testing requirements, which become effective February 9, 2022. Details are found here in The Gold Book.

What's New? Mortgage Servicing Technical Assistance Videos

The FDIC has updated the technical assistance videos on the mortgage servicing rules. The information in the five videos is intended as a high-level overview to help FDIC-supervised institutions understand and comply with the mortgage servicing rules. Details may be found here in The Gold Book.

What's New? EFT FAQs

The CFPB has updated its FAQs on the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. Find out more here in The Gold Book and more in the Electronic Funds Transfer Act sub-chapter. 

NYC Job Posting Salary Requirements

The New York City Council passed Intro.1208B-2018, which would require the disclosure by prospective employers of minimum and maximum salaries in job postings for open positions located in New York City. The salary disclosure provisions will take effect 120 days after the bill becomes law, with rules expected to be promulgated by the New York City Commission on Human Rights once enacted. 

What's New? EEOC Covid-19 FAQs

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance in the form of FAQs regarding the circumstances under which COVID-19 may be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Read more under Federal Decisions & Opinions, Covid-19 Relief in The Gold Book.

What's New? The NY HERO Act

The New York State Department of Health has extended, until January 15, 2022, its designation of Covid-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease, thereby continuing the requirement that employers keep their health and safety plans activated pursuant to the NY Hero Act until at least that date. Visit The Gold Book to read more about the NY Hero Act and other NYS Covid-19 Relief topics.

NYS Electronic Notary

The NYBA is urging the Governor to approve a bill which would permanently authorize the use of electronic notarization in New York State.  Electronic notarization was previously authorized by the State on a temporary, emergency basis to help address challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Expressing its strong support for the bill, NYBA noted that throughout the pandemic its member banks had successfully demonstrated the value of electronic notarization as a means to help ensure that vital financial services can be delivered safely and effectively.  The bill must either be signed or vetoed by the Governor no later than December 22, 2021. Read more here in The Gold Book.

What's New? OCC June 2020 CRA Rule Rescinded

On December 14, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a final rule to rescind the June 2020 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rule and replace it with a rule based on the rules adopted jointly by the federal banking agencies in 1995, as amended. The final rule aligns the OCC's CRA rules with the current Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation rules and thereby facilitates the ongoing interagency work to modernize the CRA regulatory framework and create consistency for all insured depository institutions. To read more on this topic, visit the the CRA chapter of The Gold Book or the OCC Bulletin here.

Employer W2 Reporting Under FFCRA

Employers must report the amount of qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages paid in 2021 to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, as amended by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, on either 2021 Forms W-2, box 14, or on a separate statement. This provides employees who are also self-employed with amounts they may need to figure their qualified sick leave equivalent or qualified family leave equivalent credits. See Notice 2021-53 for more information on how to report these amounts. Read more about Reporting Compliance in The Gold Book.

What's New? OSHA ETS on Hold

Following the filing of appeals in various circuit courts, in a statement posted to its website OSHA said that it “has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) pending future developments in the litigation. Read about it in The Gold Book. 

New Retail Lending Handbook

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued version 2.0 of the “Retail Lending” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook. This booklet discusses risks associated with retail lending and provides a framework for examiners’ evaluations of risk management activities. Visit the OCC to view and download the booklet here.

What's New? TIL Exam Procedures and New QM Categories

The Task Force on Consumer Compliance of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has adopted revised interagency examination procedures for the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), implemented by Regulation Z. The revised interagency procedures reflect amendments to Regulation Z to promote consistency in the examination process and communication of supervisory expectations and to reflect the following changes to Regulation Z:

• The new general qualified mortgage (QM) definition.
• A new category of QMs called seasoned QMs.
• A delay in the mandatory compliance date for the new general QM definition until October 1, 2022.

Read more about the Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Rule in The Regulation Z section of The Gold Book.

What's New? Mortgage Servicing Rules / COVID-19 Relief Expires

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and state financial regulators (collectively, the agencies) have issued a statement communicating to mortgage servicers that the temporary supervisory and enforcement flexibility provided in the April 2020 joint statement no longer applies and the agencies will apply their respective authorities to address any noncompliance or violations of the Regulation X mortgage servicing rules that occur after the date of this statement. Read more in The Gold Book.

What's New? OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. The ETS establishes binding requirements to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers (100 or more employees) from the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace. Read more about this and other Workplace Considerations relating to COVID-19 in The Gold Book.