Bank Regulatory News
December 1999

December 30, 1999 - SAR Software - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently informed us that older versions of software used to report suspicious activity are not Y2K-compliant.

December 29, 1999 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today released a list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in November. One administrative hearing is scheduled for January 2000.

December 27, 1999 -  Annual Report of Trust Assets for 1999
The Annual Report of Trust Assets (ARTA) forms and instructions for 1999 will soon be sent to commercial banks, savings banks and savings associations that have approval to exercise trust powers. Affiliated trust companies must also complete the report. Institutions completing hard- copy forms must submit the report by February 15, 2000. Institutions submitting the annual report via the Internet have until March 15, 2000, to complete and submit the report.

December 27, 1999 - Internet Web Site Privacy Survey Report
In cooperation with other federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) conducted a survey of the Internet privacy policies of insured depository institutions during May and July of 1999. The survey's purpose was to review the data collection practices and on-line privacy disclosures of the financial services industry.

December 23, 1999 - Consumer Confidence in Banking Y2K Preparation Remains High, Gallup Poll Reports
U.S. bank customers remain confident that their banks are ready for the Year 2000 according to a new report issued by the Gallup Organization. Nine out of ten bank customers continue to express confidence in their bank's readiness.

December 23, 1999 - OCC Obtains $200,000 in Fines and $1 Million in Restitution Goes to Bank
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced that it has settled formal enforcement proceedings against Richard O. Wheeler, former chairman of the board of Western American National Bank, Bedford, Texas, and Tom N. Bransford, former president of the bank.

December 23, 1999 - OCC ANNOUNCES 33 NEW ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
WASHINGTON, DC --The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced 33 new enforcement actions taken against national banks and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with national banks.

December 22, 1999 - The FDIC today released preliminary data that showed commercial banks earned $19.4 billion during the three months from July through September. Bank earnings were $1.4 billion higher than the previous quarterly record of $18.0 billion, set in the first quarter of 1999. Profits were up by $4.4 billion (29.1 percent) from a year ago, when weakness in overseas markets held down industry earnings. For the first nine months of 1999, banks earned $54.3 billion, an increase of $7.2 billion (15.3 percent) over the same period in 1998.

December 22, 1999 - Bank Activities and Operations, Investment Securities, Corporate Activities Description: Final Rule The attached final rule was published in the Federal Register on November 4, 1999. The final rule became effective on December 6, 1999.

December 21, 1999 - OCC RELEASES CRA EVALUATIONS FOR 52 NATIONAL BANKS
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public during the period of November 15 through December 14. The list contains only national banks and insured federal branches of foreign banks that have received ratings. The possible ratings are outstanding, satisfactory, needs to improve, and substantial noncompliance.

December 21, 1999 - OCC Adopts Final Changes to Public Welfare Investment Rule
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced the adoption of a final rule amending 12 C.F.R. Part 24, the agency's regulation governing national bank investments designed primarily to promote the public welfare. The new rule, which was published in yesterday's Federal Register, takes effect on January 19, 2000.

December 20, 1999 - FDIC Revises Regulation Governing Deposit Insurance Assessments (Part 327 of FDIC's Rules and Regulations)
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors has adopted the attached revisions to the FDIC's regulation governing deposit insurance assessments. The Board believes the changes will enhance the present system by allowing institutions with improving capital positions to benefit from the improvement more quickly, while requiring those whose capital is falling to pay a higher assessment sooner. The final rule will take effect on April 1, 2000.

December 20, 1999 - OTS Issues New Compliance Self-Assessment Guide
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec.20, 1999 – The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) has mailed to each of the more than 1,100 thrift institutions it regulates an updated guide that is designed to help institutions identify and understand the primary regulatory requirements and evaluate the effectiveness of their compliance programs.

December 20, 1999 - The most recent deposit survey of all insured bank and savings institution offices is now available at http://www2.fdic.gov/sod on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) Web site.

December 17, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced its approval of the application of BB&T Corporation, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to acquire Premier Bancshares, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, and its four wholly owned subsidiary depository institutions.

December 17, 1999 - Depository institutions that use the Federal Reserve Banks’ electronic payment services will benefit from continued price reductions in 2000 under the fee schedules approved today by the Federal Reserve Board. The effective date of all fees have been delayed until April 3, 2000, to minimize change during the period surrounding the rollover to 2000.

December 16, 1999 - The National Credit Union Administration Board today unanimously adopted a stance against predatory mortgage lending practices and dedicated itself to work against such practices in cooperation with state credit union supervisory authorities.

December 16, 1999 - Business lending risks are on the rise, analysts at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported Thursday.  Although low by historical standards, a doubling of domestic commercial and industrial loan losses at banks during the first half of 1999 compared to the same period in 1998 is just one sign that credit quality in commercial and industrial portfolios is deteriorating, the analysts said. Other signs are slower corporate profit growth and rising corporate bond defaults.

December 15, 1999 - New Factors Figure in Failures, but Regulators Addressing Them, Says Seidman
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 15, 1999 –While Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) is a formidible tool with which to control risk among banks and thrifts, recent failures suggest "something else is at work," Director Ellen Seidman of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) told Washington’s Exchequer Club today.

December 15, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced that the exemption threshold for depository institutions that are required to report data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) is increased to $30 million. Under the revision to the Board's staff commentary to Regulation C, depository institutions with assets totaling $30 million or less as of December 31, 1999 are not required to collect HMDA data in 2000.

December 14, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced the execution of a Written Agreement by and between the Arab American Bank, New York, New York, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

December 14, 1999 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors today approved a 2000 budget of $1.187 billion, a 2.0 percent decrease ($29 million) from the $1.216 billion authorized for 1999.

December 14, 1999 - The Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) reported a comprehensive loss (net loss plus unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities) of $113 million for the first nine months of 1999. At September 30, 1999, the fund balance decreased to $29.5 billion, down from $29.6 billion at year-end 1998. The overall year-to-date decrease in the fund balance was primarily attributable to recognizing estimated losses of $917 million for the resolution of current and prior year bank failures. The BIF revenues totaled $1.4 billion for the first nine months of 1999, including $1.3 billion in interest on investments in U.S. Treasury obligations and $25 million in deposit insurance assessments.

December 13, 1999 - The federal banking agencies announced today the termination of the May 21, 1999 Agreement with TransAlliance, L.P., Bellevue, Washington.  The Agreement addressed the Year 2000 readiness of TransAlliance's electronic funds transfer services.

December 13, 1999 - The four federal banking agencies today issued the attached joint statement addressing the agencies' supervisory approach to asset securitization activities. The statement reminds financial institution management and examiners of fundamental risk management practices that should be in place at institutions that engage in securitization activities.

December 13, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced its approval of the proposal of First Security Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah, to merge with Zions Bancorporation, Salt Lake City, Utah ("Zions"), and thereby acquire all of the subsidiary banks and nonbanking subsidiaries of Zions.

December 10, 1999 - The September 30, 1999, Uniform Bank Performance Report (UBPR) is now being distributed to all insured commercial banks and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Insured Savings Banks (FDIC-ISB), and is available for sale to the public. For the most part the formats for the commercial banks and the FDIC-ISB are identical, however, the FDIC-ISB have their own unique UBPR peer groupings.

December 10, 1999 - Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) for Fourth Quarter 1999
The enclosed materials pertain to the Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) for the December 31, 1999, report date. Please complete your fourth quarter Call Report and submit the report electronically as soon as possible. Your completed report must be received by January 30, 2000, in accordance with the filing requirements discussed below. No extensions of time for submitting reports are granted.

December 10, 1999 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has approved the purchase and assumption of all the deposits of Golden City Commercial Bank, New York, New York, by Cathay Bank, Los Angeles, California.

December 10, 1999 - Regulatory changes approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors move the calculation dates to March and September for the capital component of the semiannual risk classification each insured bank and thrift receives from the FDIC.

December 9, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced the reopening and extension of the comment period on proposals to allow electronic delivery of federally mandated disclosures. On September 14, 1999, the Board published revised proposals for public comment under five consumer protection regulations: B (Equal Credit Opportunity), E (Electronic Fund Transfers), M (Consumer Leasing), Z (Truth in Lending), and DD (Truth in Savings).  Comment is requested by March 3, 2000. 

December 8, 1999 - Notional Amount of Derivatives Hits Record $35.7 Trillion In Third Quarter As Derivatives Trading Revenue Remains Relatively Steady
WASHINGTON -- The notional amount of derivatives in banks jumped by $2.7 trillion -- 8.2 percent -- in the third quarter to a record $35.7 trillion, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported today in its quarterly OCC Bank Derivatives Report. That is the biggest quarterly increase in derivatives activity in a year.

December 7, 1999 - Extended Implementation Period for the Uniform Retail Credit Classification and Account Management Policy - The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), on behalf of the Federal banking agencies, has extended the implementation deadline for manual adjustments required in the "Uniform Retail Credit Classification and Account Management Policy" from June 30, 1999, to December 31, 2000.

December 6, 1999 - The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) today released savings associations' Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluation ratings that became available in November 1999.

December 6, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced the termination of the provision that addressed Year 2000 readiness of the Written Agreement by and among First Utah Bancorp, the First Utah Bank, and Premier Data Corporation, all of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

December 6, 1999 - Commercial and residential real estate markets continued to show improvement during the late summer and early fall but at a somewhat slower pace than before, according to the FDIC's latest quarterly Survey of Real Estate Trends. The nationwide poll, which asks about developments in local real estate markets during the prior three months, was conducted in late October.

December 6, 1999 - The FDIC today issued its monthly list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in September 1999.

December 6, 1999 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced the execution of a Written Agreement by and between the Foxdale Bank, South Elgin, Illinois and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

December 3, 1999 - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released its projected schedule of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examinations to be conducted in the first quarter of 2000.

December 3, 1999 - OTS ANNOUNCES CRA EXAMINATION SCHEDULE FOR 1st QUARTER 2000 WASHINGTON, D.C., December 3, 1999 -- The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) today announced the release of a list of savings associations scheduled for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examinations during the first quarter of 2000.

December 2, 1999 - NATION'S THRIFT INDUSTRY EARNS $2.09 BILLION IN THIRD QUARTER WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 2, 1999 - The nation's thrift industry continued to perform at near record levels as it earned $2.09 billion in the third quarter of 1999, Director Ellen Seidman of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) reported today. While earnings and the quality of the majority of thrift assets remain strong, Director Seidman warned that certain developments, particularly increased interest rate sensitivity, will be monitored carefully in the coming months.

December 2, 1999 - OCC ANNOUNCES FIVE NEW ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
WASHINGTON, DC --The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced five new enforcement actions taken against national banks and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with national banks.

December 2, 1999 - Comptroller Discusses Benefits for Consumers in Financial Modernization; Tells Consumer Conference "Privacy Has Become a Key Competitive Factor"
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke said today that banks should begin competing with each other on the basis of the quality of the privacy protections they offer consumers.

December 2, 1999 - The federal financial institution regulatory agencies announced today the termination of the August 26 agreement with Global Payment Systems LLC, Atlanta, Georgia. The agreement addressed the Year 2000 readiness of Global's credit-card issuing services offered through its Westlake, Ohio, facilities. The agreement was terminated because Global Payment Systems has complied with the terms of the agreement.