regulation-1-18-17.pngSignificant regulatory changes continued to affect the banking industry in 2016. The industry generally has moved beyond implementing the requirements of the Dodd-Frank and Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, but regulatory expectations continue to rise, with increased emphasis on each institution’s ability to respond to and withstand adverse economic conditions. Regulatory supervision, often through oversight from multiple agencies, is becoming more focused on supporting compliance efforts with strong corporate cultures within the institution. Managing regulatory compliance risk for a financial institution has never been more complex.

Looking forward to 2017, regulators are expected to continue to ramp up expectations in several areas. Industry stakeholders undoubtedly will be watching closely as the new administration takes control of the White House. However, regulators are expected to continue to increase their emphasis on three areas: cybersecurity risk, consumer compliance and third-party risk management.

1. Cybersecurity Risk
Cybersecurity is likely to remain a key supervisory focal point for regulators in 2017. Regulatory officials have stressed that cybersecurity vulnerabilities are not just a concern at larger financial institutions: small banks also are at risk. As such, financial institutions of all sizes need to improve their ability to more aptly identify, assess and mitigate risks in light of the increasing volume and sophistication of cyberthreats.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) agencies have established a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness website that serves as a central repository where financial services companies of all sizes can access valuable cybersecurity tools and resources. The website also houses an FFIEC cybersecurity self-assessment tool to help banks identify their risks and assess their cybersecurity preparedness. The voluntary assessment provides a repeatable and quantifiable process that measures a bank’s cybersecurity preparedness over time.

2. Consumer Compliance
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)—now a more mature entity—is having a dramatic impact on the supervisory processes around consumer financial products. While the CFPB conducts on-site consumer exams for financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets, it also has begun to work with regulators in consumer supervisory efforts in smaller banks. The CFPB also has issued a significant number of new and revised consumer regulations that apply to institutions of all sizes. Some of the more onerous requirements center on mortgage lending and truth-in-lending integrated disclosures (TRID).

The CFPB also continues to cast a wide net when it comes to gathering consumer complaints about financial products and services through its consumer complaint database. The latest snapshot shows the database contains information on more than one million complaints about mortgages, student loans, deposit accounts and services, other consumer loans, and credit cards.

CFPB examiners often use complaints received through the database as a channel for reviewing practices and identifying possible violations. This continued pressure has forced financial institutions to ensure their compliance management systems are supported by effective policies, procedures and governance. But keep in mind, it’s even more important now to adequately aggregate, analyze and report customer-level data, so your institution can identify and remediate problems before the regulators come after you, and so you don’t get accused of “abusive” practices under the Dodd-Frank Act.

3. Third-Party Risk Management
As a component of safety and soundness examinations, effective third-party risk management is regarded as an important indicator of a financial institution’s ability to manage its business. As a result, regulatory examinations consistently include an element of third-party risk management, and all of the federal bank regulators have issued some form of guidance related to third-party risk. The Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) SR 13-19 applies to all financial services companies under Fed supervision. The Fed guidance focuses on outsourced activities that have a substantial impact on a bank’s financial condition or that are critical to ongoing operations for other reasons, such as sensitive customer information, new products or services, or activities that pose material compliance risk.

Guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on third-party risk (Bulletin 2013-29) generally is more comprehensive than the Fed guidance and requires rigorous oversight and management of third-party relationships that involve critical activities. The OCC bulletin specifically highlights third-party activities outside of traditional vendor relationships.

Outlook
The critical areas discussed here are just a few for which banks need to expect more regulatory scrutiny in 2017. While there are early indicators that some elements of Dodd-Frank and other regulatory requirements could be pared back as the new administration takes control of the White House, the industry will need to closely monitor any changes and adjust compliance efforts accordingly.

WRITTEN BY

Dennis Hild