Compliance Blog

By: Ashley Sharp, VP, State Advocacy and Legislative Counsel In recent weeks, discussion has ensued at the federal level with regard to regulation of interchange fees charged to merchants in connection with card network agreements. In particular, Visa and Mastercard faced harsh criticism at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week regarding increased “swipe ...

By: Shannon Basile, Director of Compliance During the April meeting of the NCUA Board, NCUA staff provided a cybersecurity update.  The topics discussed were current threats, NCUA’s Information Security Examination (ISE) and cybersecurity assessment program, cybersecurity resources, guidance and risk alerts, best practices, and industry outreach.  The ISE program is still in a test phase but it is designed ...

By: Kari Osier, Compliance Specialist On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, a government spending package which includes some important pieces of legislation for federal credit unions and credit unions in general. Credit Union Governance Modernization Act The Credit Union Governance Modernization Act (CUGMA), contained in Division T of the legislation, amends the ...

By: Shannon Basile, Director of Compliance On March 16, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced changes made to its examination procedures on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP).  According to the CFPB, the changes made will “better protect families and communities from illegal discrimination, including in situations where fair lending laws may ...

Illinois Chartered Credit UnionsInstructions for Completing 2021 IRS Form 990​​​ ALL ILLINOIS CHARTERED CREDIT UNIONS MUST FILE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING IRS 990 FORMS BY MAY 15, 2022: • IRS form 990-N, Electronic Notice (e-Postcard), if a credit union’s average gross income is$50,000 or less; • IRS form 990 Return (long-form) if average gross income is greater than ...

By: Kevin Shaw, Senior Regional Director Governance has been defined as: The system by which entities are directed.  It provides structure and processes for decision making, accountability, and behavior at the top of an entity. Governance of our industry has always been its backbone due to a credit union’s purpose and philosophy.  With increasing external factors ...

By: Ashley Sharp, VP, State Advocacy and Legislative Counsel Bank On programs across the country have grown in popularity, with municipalities and state governments partnering with local financial institutions as well as the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition to expand access to consumer-friendly financial products and services. The Illinois Bank on program was established following legislation ...

By: Shannon Basile, Director of Compliance As a continuation of my last blog regarding the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Representative Payment Program, I wanted to discuss another federal benefit payment program, the Veterans Benefits Administration’s VA Fiduciary Program. Like the SSA’s Representative Payment Program, the VA’s Fiduciary Program will appoint a fiduciary to assist those who ...

By: Joni Senkpeil, SVP, Member Solutions In 2016, the NCUA began a comprehensive review of the Call Report to modernize the agency’s data collection efforts and increase efficiencies. As a result of this review, the NCUA published several changes to the March 2022 Call Report (due April 30, 2022).  The new Call Report form includes improvements from ...

By: Joni Senkpeil, SVP, Member Solutions FinCEN recently published an update regarding its Rapid Response Program (RRP) to highlight the results of its efforts to work with U.S. law enforcement (FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service) and foreign partner agencies to recover more than $1.1 billion for U.S. victims ...