Articles

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.

We’re excited to share insights from Ryan Kingsley’s article in National Mortgage Professional on Manufacturing Fair Lending, about the evolving landscape of redlining and fair lending. The insights from CrossCheck’s strategic partners, Paul Hancock of K&L Gates, Brian Montgomery and Michael Waldron of Gatehouse Compliance, underscore the complexities and regulatory challenges lenders face today. Liza… Read more »

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.

Published in the September/October issue of ABA Bank Compliance, this article discusses managing fair lending risks in all loan products offered, not just mortgage loans reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). While managing fair lending exposure outside the realm of home mortgage lending can be challenging, it is not an impossible mission. Learn more about how to overcome the challenges in this informative article.

In the July/August issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Heidi Wier authored an article entitled, Four Pillars of an Effective HMDA Compliance Program, Keys to Successful Data Integrity and Accurate Fair Lending Performance Analysis. Complete and accurate HMDA data is essential to understanding where and to whom loans are being made. Regulators have signaled that continued and enhanced scrutiny should be expected. Learn more about how establishing a comprehensive HMDA compliance program will ensure the accuracy of your HDMA data, and when analyzed effectively, it will in turn help manage your fair lending risk.

Tracey Levandoski authored this informative article published in the May/June 2021 issues of ABA Bank Compliance. Enforcement actions for UDAAP violations are likely to increase, and UDAAP risk should be on the minds of every bank’s marketing manager. Supervisory highlights from the CFPB include references to misleading advertisements of bonus offers on deposit accounts, misleading representation about the ability to apply for a loan online, and false representations that no credit check will be conducted on loan applicants. When examiners review the bank’s UDAAP risk as part of compliance examinations, you will need to explain to examiners, with supporting documentation, how UDAAP risk has been mitigated. Now is the time to review the bank’s marketing and advertising plans, including policies and procedures, with an eye to potential UDAAP pitfalls.

In the January/February 2021 issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Liza Warner provides insight into how a bank can use the results of the March 2020 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Consumer Response Annual Report as a reference point to analyze its own complaints. In 2019, the period covered by this report, there were over 350,000 complaints received. By comparing the CFPB complaint data with its own data, the bank can start to identify patterns, trends, and findings that warrant reporting to key stakeholders including business line management, risk management, compliance, senior management, and the Board of Directors. Gain insight into the top five complaint areas in this informative article.

If you are looking for more information about implementing a consumer complaint response process, there is a new resource available through the MBA’s education program. Managing Consumer Complaints for Compliance Professionals, is a new course that Heidi Wier worked on with the MBA. This course presents foundational concepts to help companies improve their consumer complaint… Read more »

In the Fall 2020 issue of California Mortgage Finance News, Monika McCarthy authored an article entitled, Combating Current Legal Threats, Tips for Mortgage Lenders and Servicers. She addresses three key threats that have emerged since the pandemic that impact California mortgage lenders and servicers: 1) fair servicing issues, 2) fair lending issues, and 3) the unknown effect of the revamped Department of Business Oversight, now the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

CrossCheck Compliance was honored to have its managing director, Heidi Wier, work with the MBA to develop Mastering HMDA Data for Compliance Professionals. This course is available as a standalone course or as one of the 12 courses in the MBA’s Level II Certified Mortgage Compliance Professional Certificate and Designation (CMCP) curriculum. For more information… Read more »

In the November/December issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Jim Treacy addresses how banks can build an appropriate BSA/AML/OFAC Compliance Program. Jim covers performing an enterprise-wide BSA/AML/OFAC risk assessment, as well as developing a customer risk profile for each individual money service business (MSB). He also describes ongoing monitoring of MSB customers and MSB red flags that raise potential concerns. Although banking MSB customers comes with BSA/AML risks, these risks can be managed through a strong and effective BSA/AML/OFAC Program.

In this article, published in the Utah Banker, Tracey Levandoski discusses the risks to consider and the decisions to be made as banks accelerate their digital strategies through partnerships with fintech lenders. In addition to reviewing the regulatory guidance for managing third-party risk, she addresses the evaluation process in terms of lending experience and expertise as well as regulatory compliance considerations such as the fintech’s CMS. Other topics include evaluation of the fintech’s credit model, the use of alternative data, and considerations for marketing and advertising.

In the September/October issue of ABA Bank Compliance, the authors address the importance of establishing internal monitoring systems for servicing. The article includes a comparison of quality assurance and quality control as well as considerations for reporting results and exceptions, the regulatory change control process for servicing, servicing transfers and loan boarding, and managing consumer complaints. Eliminating the surprise element related to regulatory, legal, financial, and reputational risks benefits the servicer and demonstrates a strong commitment for maintaining an effective internal control system.

In this article, published in the Summer 2020 issue of ACUMA Pipeline, Patti Katzban and Liza Warner discuss the best practices for credit unions in vetting financial technology partners (fintechs) to optimize the overall mortgage experience. There are many risks to consider and decisions to be made. Learn more about the key considerations from these knowledgeable experts.

In the July/August issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Mollie Newsome Sudhoff discusses compliance monitoring in the time of COVID-19. Learn more about the best practices in keeping pace with change, especially in some of the key impact areas.

In the July/August issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Heidi Wier discusses how auditors can partner with compliance, while still maintaining independence, ease the impact of ongoing regulatory changes and emerging issues such as COVID-19, increase audit effectiveness and add additional value to the organization.

In this article published in the May/June 2020 issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Tracey Levandoski, CRCM, describes how banks can help their fintech partners develop an effective path to building a compliance infrastructure. She addresses the various points of the “journey” to the destination of a fully functional compliance management system (CMS) that meets the regulators’s requirements as well as the bank’s expectations under its third-party risk management program.

In this new ABA Bank Compliance article, Fair Lending Audit – Seeing the Forest for the Trees, Liza Warner discusses how a fair lending internal audit helps an institution gain a clear and objective understanding of fair lending compliance risk. As a key area of regulatory scrutiny, and one that garners a lot of public attention, financial institutions must proactively manage fair lending risk exposure. This can be challenging because the requirements and principles touch all aspects of the lending process and require attention, not just to the trees – the technical regulatory details, processes, systems, and data, but to the forest – the attitudes, behaviors, and actions of its employees.

Published in Western Banker, this article addresses how strong compliance programs effectively navigate the challenging environment of fair lending compliance. This informative article describes how the key ingredient to success is establishing a connection between risk assessment and performance analysis.

The cover story of the July-August issue of ABA Bank Compliance magazine, How to Maintain Fair and Responsible Servicing Practices, was co-authored by Liza Warner and Karen Cullen. In this article, the authors address how compliance officers can guide their organizations in successfully navigating an evolving compliance landscape by identifying and mitigating compliance risk in all aspects of account servicing, including fair lending and UDAAP. Weaving regulatory requirements throughout the servicing process will enhance service quality and make sure the organization exceeds customer expectations, differentiates itself in the marketplace and avoids regulatory land mines.

The cover story of the 2019 May-June issue of ABA Bank Compliance was written by Liza Warner. The article is about adapting and advancing in the evolving financial services landscape. She covers the role that compliance officers play in supporting banks’ strategic goals through change management and provides a framework for how compliance professionals can manage change effectively. The article includes an overview of managing change, both for new or changing products and services, and outlines change management success factors.

Published in the April 19, 2019 issue of Compliance Action, this article addresses lessons learned from past fair lending consent orders. Adequate fair lending risk management requires not only awareness of potential fair lending risk, but an understanding of how that risk is affected by the institution’s programs and how those programs are executed. Only then can adequate controls be developed to mitigate the risk and monitoring be developed to gauge the effectiveness of those controls.

Published in the April 2019 issue of Mortgage Compliance Magazine, this article discusses how decreasing volumes and shifts toward new products have led to a new mindset regarding quality control. How do lenders who are successful with quality control adopt strategies that not only keep them compliant with investor, warehouse lender and regulatory requirements, but also lower costs, improve loan quality, and provide for competitive advantage by allowing them to more rapidly add new products?

In the Winter 2019 issue of ACUMA Pipeline, Todd Krell provides insights for credit unions to the question – Is It Time to Review Your Quality  Assurance Program and Your Quality Control Plan?

WBA Compliance Article January 2019 In the January 2019 issue of Wisconsin Banker, Heidi Wier was interviewed by the author of this article which discussed strategies for turning compliance into a competitive advantage. Among the topics that Heidi addressed were the importance of demonstrating to customers that the bank has a culture of compliance, performing… Read more »

Published in the November-December 2018 issue of Western Banker, this article addresses the challenges of doing a fair lending review of commercial lending.

In the winter issue of California Mortgage Finance News, Liza Warner and Monika McCarthy  address the considerations lenders face when reviewing the options for partnering with fintechs. Finding the right fintech solution partner and implementing compliance protocols and best practices to mitigate risks is a win-win for consumers, lenders, technology innovators, investors, and the industry as a whole.

Mergers and acquisitions (“M&As”) continue to increase, and compliance personnel play an important role in the process. In the November-December 2018 issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Heidi Wier addresses what compliance should focus on if you only have two days to perform a due diligence review. A strong roadmap that covers as many high-risk areas as possible is imperative to protect your institution from overpaying, costly regulatory delays, or even fines and penalties after the fact.

In the November issue of Mortgage Compliance Magazine, Heidi Wier discusses how a risk assessment is the basis of an efficient and cost-effective internal audit plan. Learn how to identify inherent risk and consider the adequacy of internal controls to define residual risk and then create the audit plan.

Published in the September/October issue of Western Banker, this article discusses the challenges in operationalizing and controlling UDAAP risk. In part, the challenge stems from the lack of implementing regulations. More so, the real challenge is the broad applicability of UDAAP throughout the organization and across the customer experience including products, pricing, marketing and advertising, customer service, and servicing.

In the Compliance Action newsletter, Mollie Sudhoff discusses The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA”). Frequently referred to as “S2155” by the industry, this law has been hailed by many as “relief” from certain terms of the Dodd Frank Act. In this article, Mollie addresses what compliance officers need to understand about the new law’s appraisal requirements.

In the August 2018 issue of Mortgage Compliance Magazine, Todd Krell and Tim McWay discuss how a fraud prevention program that encompasses the entire loan life cycle can help mortgage lenders mitigate fraud risk. Given that industry data shows that once again, fraud has been increasing, this is a very timely article.

Ensuring the accuracy of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data has always been a challenge. In the July issue of Housing Wire, Heidi Wier, managing director, shares how systemic data integrity reviews can help manage risk.

In a special supplement to Illinois Banker, 2018 Banking Trends: Management and Operations, this article discusses how a lack of focus or dedication of resources toward Regulation E and claims processing could lead to unintended errors, or even ‘over compliance’, which may increase operating losses and leave money on the table.

In the summer issue of California Mortgage Finance News, Monika McCarthy, managing director and general counsel, addresses the ramp up in supervision and enforcement by the state regulators in areas where the CFPB is pulling back.

Published in the June issue of Mortgage Compliance Magazine, this article addresses the key elements that your institution needs to consider in understanding how your HMDA data relates to your business.

In this article, seen in the March-April issue of ABA Bank Compliance, Liza Warner, managing director, discusses how financial institutions of all sizes must continue to evolve their compliance teams to set the culture of compliance throughout the organization, resulting in a more effective Compliance Management System (CMS).

This article was the cover story for the February 2018 issue of Mortgage Compliance Magazine.

This article, originally published as the cover story of the September-October 2017 issue of ABA Bank Compliance, addresses the challenges faced by loan servicers in implementing the 2016 Servicing Rule.

In this article published in Mortgage Banking Magazine, the authors address the need for loan servicers to carefully review the loan-boarding processes to ensure compliance with the CFPB’s mortgage servicing rules.

In this Viewpoints article in the December 2017/January  2018 issue of Housing Wire, Jim Jorgensen, president, CEO and founder of CrossCheck Compliance, discusses how lenders can get in front of major risks through an enterprise risk management framework.

Hot Topics for Regulatory – Compliance Pros This article is the latest in a series dealing with the issues facing the real estate finance industry. Each issue CMBA experts are asked for their thoughts on the issues at hand. In this issue of CMFN, Monika McCarthy, Managing Director and General Counsel, participated in a roundtable… Read more »

CrossCheck Compliance LLC was recently profiled by the California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA). Our CEO, Jim Jorgensen, responded to the “Big 3” questions posed by the association about the state of the market and what to look forward to in the future.

This article discusses the key considerations for independent mortgage companies as they look to outside resources for internal audit support.

This roundtable article reflects on MSAs, challenges facing the mortgage industry and what lenders can do to better protect their data and information.

The authors discuss the three critical components of successfully managing third-party risk of fintechs.

Liza Warner discusses best practices for managing the compliance function in this article published in ABA Bank Compliance.

In Mortgage Compliance Magazine, Todd Krell discusses how you can have a more effective quality assurance program.

Monika McCarthy shares the advice of General Counsel colleagues on the challenges impacting the mortgage industry in this article published in California Mortgage Finance News. Learn more about how to better navigate this year’s risks.

Liza Warner discusses best practices for the consumer complaint management program in this article published in ABA Bank Compliance. Learn more about how banks can more effectively meet their strategic business objectives and manage regulatory risk.

Update: The ABA announced in the September-October 2018 issue that Liza had won the prestigious APEX writing award for this article in the How-to-Writing category. We appreciate the ABA’s submission of this article to APEX.

This article, published in Mortgage Compliance Magazine, discusses preparing for CFPB servicing exams. Learn more about avoiding common mistakes with servicing transfers and private mortgage insurance.

Liza Warner discusses best practices for managing the second and third lines of defense in two articles published in ABA Bank Compliance Journal. Learn how to better protect your organization against risks in the compliance process.

This article, published in the Summer Issue of California Mortgage Finance News, addresses the considerations regarding implementing TRID into your QC process.

Heidi Wier discusses best practices for establishing a cost-effective internal audit function. Learn how to implement internal audit in a mortgage environment.

The authors discuss internal audit for mortgage bankers in Mortgage Compliance Magazine. Learn how internal audit fits in the compliance puzzle.