Blogs | Community Bank Counselors

The Independent Community Bankers of America (“ICBA”) reached out to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) asking for guidance regarding whether the DOJ will adopt the standards in the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”). The DOJ stated that although it has not yet adopted the WCAG standards, it is leaning toward adopting the standards. Furthermore, the DOJ stated that in its view, ADA requirements to provide accessible technology is an “already-existing obligation” and compliance is expected unless a business can prove an undue burden.

With Monday’s decision in Shaw v. U.S., the Supreme Court cleared up any ambiguity regarding who is protected by the bank fraud statute (18 U.S.C. §1344) and, along the way, continued to encourage federal prosecutors to rely on the powerful and far-reaching bank fraud statute. In saying that fraud against a customer is fraud against a bank, the decision continues the Court’s strong support of the statute and intolerance for technical, loophole-seeking defenses.

Document retention sounds like a boring topic until you realize that your bank can be subject to huge monetary damages and possible regulatory action if it doesn’t handle document retention correctly. In the old days, banks could simply keep every document forever to be on the safe side. That isn’t a practical alternative in today’s environment. Nowadays, retaining documents after their useful date can actually harm the bank.

Effective July 1, 2015, a Kansas bank can reduce its liability for fraudulent electronic fund transfers on a consumer account by revising its Reg E disclosures.

A California court recently found that delinquent borrowers may bring a claim under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) when a lender does not respond to an application for a loan modification within thirty days. MacDonald v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 14-cv-04970 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 24, 2015).

With the upcoming regulatory changes going into effect on August 1st, it is more important than ever for mortgage lenders and title companies to have an electronic disclosure system to handle the disclosure requirements promulgated by the new regulations.

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA,” implemented by Regulation X) and the Truth-In-Lending Act (“TILA,” implemented by Regulation Z) have long been a bane for mortgage lenders as they attempt to interpret the statutes associated with each law and apply them to real-world lending.

The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit recently held that a creditor holding a perfected security interest in accounts and payment intangibles did not have a perfected security interest in the proceeds of an insurance settlement.

We previously provided an update on developments concerning the right of rescission granted under the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”). The United States Supreme Court recently issued a consumer-friendly decision regarding the rescission process.