Bank Regulatory News
December 1998

December 31, 1998 - BANK SECRECY ACT COMPLIANCE - Form for Designation of Exempt Person (Form TD F 90-22.53)
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released a new form to be used by
financial institutions to designate entities as exempt from the currency transaction reporting
requirements of 31 CFR 103.22. The form becomes effective January 1, 1999, and will replace
the current method of making a single filing of Form 4789.

December 30, 1998 - TRUST ASSETS - FFIEC Annual Report of Trust Assets for 1998
The Annual Report of Trust Assets (ARTA) forms and instructions for 1998 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 16, 1999. Institutions submitting the annual
report via the Internet have until March 15, 1999, to complete and submit the report.

December 30, 1998 - OCC Listed as One of America's Greatest Places for Lawyers to Work
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has been recognized as one of the best places in America for a lawyer to work.

December 30, 1998 - CUSTOMER AWARENESS AND THE YEAR 2000 - Two New FDIC Publications for Consumers on the Year 2000 Problem
On May 13, 1998, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued
guidance requiring all FDIC-insured financial institutions to establish Year 2000 customer
awareness programs (see FIL-52-98). This guidance requires insured institutions to make an
effort to inform their customers of the Year 2000 issue and the steps they are taking to minimize
the risk that customers may be affected by Year 2000-related computer problems. As part of
the FDIC's efforts to help educate consumers about the Year 2000, the agency in June sent all
insured institutions an FDIC brochure, The Year 2000 Date Change, together with
camera-ready art that institutions may use to reproduce the brochure for their customers (see
FIL-67-98). Now, the FDIC has published two new products that insured institutions may wish
to use in their customer awareness programs:

December 29, 1998 - INTERIM REGULATORY REPORTING AND CAPITAL GUIDANCE ON FAS 133, "ACCOUNTING FOR DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES"
The Reports Task Force of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC),
acting under delegated authority, is announcing its decisions regarding the appropriate regulatory
reporting treatment for derivatives. The Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Reserve
Board have reached similar reporting decisions for the savings associations and bank holding
companies that they supervise.

December 23, 1998 - FDIC MAKES PUBLIC NOVEMBER 1998 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS; TWO ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 1999
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today released a list of orders of
administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in November. Two
administrative hearings are scheduled for January 1999.

December 23, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board is requesting comment on proposed amendments to Regulation CC to temporarily extend one-year merger transition provisions to facilitate banks' efforts for Year 2000 readiness.  Comment, originally requested by January 4, 1999, has been extended to February 1, 1999.  The proposal would provide additional time for banks that merge between July 1998 and May 1999 to implement software changes. The proposal would allow these banks to continue to be treated as separate banks until June 1, 2000. The normal one-year transition period would resume for mergers effected after May of 1999.

December 22, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced the execution of a Written Agreement by and among Adairsville Bancshares, Inc., Adairsville, Georgia; the Bank of Adairsville, Adairsville, Georgia; the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; and the Banking Commissioner of the State of Georgia.  The Written Agreement includes provisions addressing Year 2000 readiness.

December 18, 1998 - CHAIRMAN TANOUE ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENTS OF JADINE NIELSEN AS DEPUTY TO THE CHAIRMAN, JAMES L. SEXTON AS DIRECTOR OF SUPERVISION
FDIC Chairman Donna Tanoue today announced the appointments of Jadine Nielsen as Deputy
to the Chairman and James L. Sexton as Director of Supervision. I am delighted that Jadine
Nielsen and Jim Sexton have agreed to contribute their skills and expertise to the Corporation --
in Jim's case, for the second time, said Chairman Tanoue.

December 18, 1998 - 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 will remain at $29 million.  Under the revision to the Board's staff commentary to Regulation C, depository institutions with assets totaling $29 million or less as of December 31, 1998 are not required to collect HMDA data in 1999.

December 18, 1998 - Derivatives Volume at Banks Rises in 3rd Quarter To Record $32.6 Trillion; Trading Revenues Decline
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- During the third quarter, U.S. commercial banks increased the notional amount of derivatives in their portfolios by $4.5 trillion, or 16 percent, to a record $32.6 trillion, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported today.

December 17, 1998 - OCC ANNOUNCES SIX NEW ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
WASHINGTON, DC --The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced six new enforcement actions taken against national banks. The actions released today include four formal agreements, one amendment to an existing formal agreement, and one cease and desist order.

December 16, 1998 - FDIC REPORTS BANK EARNINGS DECLINED $1.1 BILLION IN THE THIRD QUARTER,FOREIGN OPERATIONS CITED FOR DROP; DOMESTIC EARNINGS REMAIN STRONG
The commercial banking industry earned $15 billion in the third quarter of 1998, following the
record $16.1 billion in profits it earned in the previous quarter, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) announced today. Weakness in overseas markets was largely responsible
for the $1.1 billion decline in earnings, according to the preliminary data. Domestic operations
remained strong. Earnings from domestic operations registered a 3.1 percent improvement,
totaling $14.5 billion in the third quarter, the second best quarter for domestic earnings on
record.

December 16, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced its approval of the application by Sulphur Springs Bancshares, Inc., Sulphur Springs, Texas, and Sulphur Springs Delaware Financial Corporation, Dover, Delaware, to acquire First National Bank, Sulphur Springs, Texas.

December 16, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today requested comment on the benefits and drawbacks of providing settlement finality on the morning of the settlement day for ACH credit
transactions processed by the Federal Reserve.

December 15, 1998 - BANK REPORTS - Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) for Fourth Quarter 1998
The enclosed materials pertain to the Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) for the
December 31, 1998, report date. Please complete your fourth quarter Call Report as soon as
possible and submit the report electronically. Your completed report must be received by
January 30, 1999, in accordance with the filing requirements discussed below. No extensions
of time for submitting reports are granted.

December 14, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today requested comment on the potential benefits and drawbacks of a modification to its Regulation CC, Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks, that would shorten the maximum hold for many nonlocal checks.

December 11, 1998 - Texas Banking Commissioner Catherine A. Ghiglieri has announced the addition of three new members to the Commissioner's Council.  Lowell "Stretch" Smith, Jr., Chairman of the Board of First State Bank, Rio Vista; J. Pat Hickman, President & CEO of First State Bank, Happy; and E. Reginald "Reggie" Brewer, President and CEO of Baytown State Bank.

December 11, 1998 - FDIC JOINS RURAL HOME LOAN PARTNERSHIP
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced it has joined the Rural
Home Loan Partnership (RHLP), a national partnership dedicated to providing eligible lower-
income borrowers in rural areas greater access to private credit.

December 11, 1998 - YEAR 2000 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - Interagency Guidance on FFIEC Year 2000 Contingency Planning Policy
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has issued the attached
statement to supplement the May 1998 interagency statement on Year 2000 readiness
contingency planning. The attached document addresses common questions about the May
1998 interagency statement, "Guidance Concerning Contingency Planning in Connection with
Year 2000 Readiness," focusing on requests for further clarification of that statement.

December 9, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced that it has decided not to make regulatory changes with respect to the remaining legal disparities that exist between Federal Reserve Banks and private-sector banks in the presentment and settlement of checks. The Board
has concluded that the costs associated with further reducing these legal disparities would outweigh any payments system efficiency gains.

December 9, 1998 - FDIC ANALYSTS REVIEW BANK MERGER ACTIVITY IN LATEST EDITION OF REGIONAL OUTLOOK
The record-breaking pace of bank mergers continued during 1998, with the value of this year's
transactions exceeding that of all mergers announced since the end of 1992, according to
analysts at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

John D. Hawke, Jr. was sworn in as the 28th Comptroller of the Currency on December 8, 1998.

December 7, 1998 - "KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER" - FDIC Board Seeks Public Comment on Proposed "Know Your Customer" Rule
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors is seeking public
comment on the attached proposed "Know Your Customer" rule, which is designed to deter and
detect financial crimes such as money laundering and fraud at banks and savings institutions.
Comments on the proposed regulation are due by March 8, 1999. The Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of
Thrift Supervision have also proposed similar "Know Your Customer" regulations.

December 7, 1998 - REPORTING REQUIREMENTS - Required Reports of Indebtedness by
Executive Officers and Principal Shareholders
The attached form FFIEC 004 may be used for complying with the reporting requirements of
Title VIII of the Financial Institutions Regulatory and Interest Rate Control Act of 1978 for
calendar year 1998. The Act requires each bank's executive officers and principal shareholders
to submit an annual report to their board of directors on their indebtedness, and that of their
related interests, to correspondent banks.

December 7, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board, along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision (the
Agencies) have issued a uniform interagency policy statement regarding intercompany tax allocation agreements for banking organizations and savings associations that file an income tax return as members of a consolidated group.

December 7, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today requested comment on a proposed rule that will require the domestic and foreign banking organizations supervised by the Federal Reserve to develop and maintain "Know Your Customer" programs.

December 7, 1998 - FDIC MAKES PUBLIC OCTOBER 1998 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS; TWO ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS HELD IN DECEMBER
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today released a list of orders of administrative
enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in October. Two administrative hearings
have been held in December.

December 3, 1998 - ACTIVITIES OF INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS - Final Rule Governing Activities and Investments of Insured Depository Institutions (Part 362 of FDIC's Rules and Regulations)
The FDIC Board of Directors has voted to revise the agency's regulations governing the
activities and investments of insured state banks and savings associations, and consolidate those
regulations into a single section-Part 362 of the FDIC's rules and regulations. The Board also
approved updating and incorporating into Part 362 portions of the FDIC's regulations governing
the securities activities of subsidiaries and affiliates of insured state nonmember banks. The final
rule, which is attached, takes effect January 1, 1999.

December 2, 1998 - SECTION 19 APPLICATIONS - FDIC Board Approves Statement of Policy on Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
The FDIC Board of Directors has approved the attached statement of policy (SOP) regarding
applications filed pursuant to Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The policy
statement is effective December 1, 1998.

December 2, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today published its annual adjustment of the dollar amount that triggers additional disclosure requirements under Truth in Lending for mortgage loans that bear fees above a certain amount. The Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of
1994 bars credit terms such as balloon payments and requires additional disclosures when total points and fees payable by the consumer exceed $400 (to be adjusted annually) or 8 percent of the total loan amount, whichever is larger.

December 2, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today published proposed revisions to the official staff commentary that applies and interprets the requirements of Regulation Z, Truth in Lending. 
Comment is requested by January 22, 1999.  The proposed revisions address the issuance of unsolicited multifunction credit cards, credit sales involving trade-ins, and payment schedules that include private mortgage insurance.

December 2, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today announced its approval of the application of Poteau State Bank, Poteau, Oklahoma, to merge with Spiro Interim Bank, Spiro, Oklahoma, and establish a branch at the location of Spiro Interim Bank.

December 1, 1998 - The Federal Reserve Board today published proposed revisions to the official staff commentary that applies and interprets the requirements of Regulation M, Consumer
leasing.  Comment is requested by January 22, 1999.  The proposed revisions provide guidance on disclosures for lease advertisements, multiple-item leases, renegotiations and extensions, and estimates of official fees and taxes.

December 1, 1998 - OCC Agreement with Oklahoma Insurance Department will Benefit Consumers - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Oklahoma Insurance Department have agreed to share information about any complaints that may arise relating to sales of insurance products in Oklahoma by national banking companies.

FRB Dallas Listing of Bank and Bank Holding Company Application Bulletins

Federal Reserve Board Public Information Actions, Orders, and Other Documents, all FRB districts

FRB Operating Circulars, maintained by the FRB of Chicago

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