ICS Insights Blog

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued regulatory compliance guidance regarding currency transaction reporting (CTR) aggregation for businesses with common ownership. Under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), FinCEN already requires financial institutions (banks and credit unions) to aggregate multiple currency transactions when they have knowledge that the transactions are by, or on behalf of, any one person and exceed US $10,000 during any one business day. Although multiple businesses may share a common owner, the presumption is that separately incorporated entities are independent persons. Therefore, the currency transactions of separately incorporated businesses should not automatically be aggregated as being on behalf of any one person simply because those businesses are owned by the same person.

Wal-Mart has been in the news recently over allegations that certain executives in their Mexico operations engaged in bribery of officials to drive rapid growth there. Even worse, there are claims that Wal-Mart top executives in the U.S. had knowledge of the allegations in 2005, but did not take any action to discipline corporate officials allegedly at fault or notify Mexico law-enforcement officials of the alleged wrongdoing. The allegations, if confirmed, could have serious consequences well beyond FCPA violations, which specifically prohibit any company or individual from giving money or anything of significant value to a foreign official to gain an unfair business advantage.

This past week, our compliance and risk management consulting practice was acquired by FIS (NYSE: FIS). With the acquisition, we will continue to operate under the ICS Risk Advisors name, as a division of FIS. All of the ICS Risk Advisors employees supporting the risk management and regulatory compliance practice will be joining FIS, and I will continue to lead this team. You can view the official press release here on the FIS website.

ICS Risk Advisors will continue to provide the highest quality risk management and regulatory compliance consulting services, while benefitting from the backing and support of FIS, the world’s largest global provider of banking and payments technology. In the coming months, the acquisition will result not only in an expansion of ICS Risk Advisors, but also new expert consulting offerings in both our regulatory compliance and enterprise risk management services. These new offerings will help clients mitigate risk so they can increase productivity and maximize growth.

For FIS, the acquisition of ICS Risk Advisors expands their risk management and regulatory compliance offerings, and moves them into a leading position among enterprise governance, risk, and compliance solutions providers in the U.S. Together we will provide a 360-degree enterprise risk management and regulatory compliance offering to our clients and to the market at large, with not only a variety of software solutions but also expert consulting advice and services.

With a long history deeply rooted in the financial services sector, FIS serves more than 14,000 institutions in over 100 countries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FIS employs more than 33,000 people worldwide and holds leadership positions in payment processing and banking solutions, providing software, services and outsourcing of the technology that drives financial institutions. First in financial technology, FIS tops the annual FinTech 100 list, is ranked third on the Barron’s 500, 426 on the Fortune 500 and is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500® Index. For more information about FIS, visit www.fisglobal.com.

Today’s guest blog post is from Dennis Lormel, principal of DML Associates. A former Chief of the FBI’s Financial Crimes Program, Dennis is a recognized subject matter expert in the anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud communities.

Tone often comes from the top and in the case of UDAP (Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices), this tone was recently set by the President. In the State of the Union 2012, President Obama called for what he coined “smart regulations,” and vowed that his administration will not tolerate deceptive practices, saying, “The days of signing people up for products they can’t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices are over!” And when the Commander in Chief lays down a firm stand on consumer regulations, let there be little doubt that regulatory agencies will carry out their marching orders.

The internal audit function has always been considered as the most important element of a company’s internal control. This is particularly true in highly regulated industries like financial institutions.

Board-appointed Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Officers play an important role in depository institutions. First and foremost, CRA Officers are responsible for developing and implementing the institution’s CRA program, which may come in many different forms. Developing a CRA Policy or Program articulating your institution’s approach to CRA is a great place to start. Establishing a CRA Committee comprised of members of the Board and senior management is also worthy of consideration. Regardless of the structure of the institution’s CRA program, all depository institutions bear a responsibility for helping to meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate.

Dodd-Frank has become a synonym for financial reform; however, as financial institutions across the country continue to scramble in preparation for the onslaught of resulting regulations, many are now questioning whether Dodd-Frank is actually the agent of change it set out to be. The actual impact of the legislation has been tempered by the continued delay of many of the implementing regulations, as government agencies tasked with writing the regulations have faced pressure from critics and proponents, alike. Critics argue that reform is going too far; proponents argue that it is not going far enough.
 

Today’s guest blog post is from Dennis Lormel, principal of DML Associates. A former Chief of the FBI’s Financial Crimes Program, Dennis is a recognized subject matter expert in the anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud communities.

In a foreclosure operation, requirements seem to arise from every direction: legal, regulatory, financial, and operational.