Launching the New Overdraft Services Rules within Your Institution   
A Final Pre-Flight Test
By Lori Moore, Director of Compliance

Last November when the Federal Reserve released their final rule on overdraft services under Regulation E, financial institutions had just under eight months to prepare for the changes associated with the rule. Now, with only two weeks remaining, it is time to take stock of your preparations for the July 1st mandatory compliance date as well as your plans for ongoing adherence to the rule.  As with any compliance change, the final step before launch should be a pre-flight test throughout your institution to ensure that everyone and everything is ready for a smooth take off.





Get the 411 on Audit and Examination Trends

Due to increased scrutiny and recent regulatory compliance guidance changes, there are four areas that require special attention. Attend this webinar and learn more about the following Audit and Examination trends:

• The Risk Assessment – What are the 3 types and which is most preferred?
• Documentation – Often referred to as the “missing link.”
• New Risks and Guidance for Retail Payment Systems – Taking a closer look at ecommerce policies and procedures.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plans – Staying compliant and recoverable in today’s industry.

Speaker: 
Thomas G. Hinkel
Director of Compliance
Safe Systems

6/24/2010 3:00PM ET to 4:00PM ET





Question: How do the recent changes to the information sharing rules under section 314 of the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act (USPA) affect us?

Answer:  
Effective Feb. 10, 2010, the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) had expanded access to the information sharing program established under 314(a) of the USPA. Since its initial implementation eight years ago, only Federal Law enforcement agencies had been permitted to initiate requests for information under the 314(a) program. With this expansion, foreign law enforcement agencies and certain state and local law enforcement agencies can now utilize the 314(a) program to collect information about a person of interest.

In addition, FinCEN itself may now utilize the program to self-initiate requests for specific purposes. Although requests will continue to be sent on the same bi-weekly schedule, the number of subjects on the list will likely expand. FinCEN has estimated the cost of compliance for a manual process to increase by approximately $1,762.00.

Got a question on a tricky regulation? We want to hear from you! Submit your question and an expert will answer it in a future issue.



One PC for Casual Surfing, One for Secure Banking
By Nikhil Deshpande, BankInfoSecurity.com

Is it safe to do your banking on a "regular" PC? According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group's 4Q09 report, malware of various forms is growing, as are phishing attacks, brand hijackings and spear phishing. And banks and businesses are starting to argue about who's responsible - financially! - for fraud losses. What constitutes "reasonable" security?

If banks are truly going to help protect their customers, they need to offer solutions and options that are both safe and easy to use. Expecting customers to watch for the color of the address bar, or to inspect the contents of e-mail links, is a good starting point. But we know that customers won't be successful with those options 100% of the time, and we know that they are often told to ignore warnings.



New Risk Management and Assessment Rule effective June 18, 2010
EastPay

Currently the ACH Rules have limited requirements for ODFIs related to risk management practices. These Rules require ODFIs to establish, review, and monitor exposure limits for their Originators' ACH activity. On May 1, 2009, NACHA’s Voting Membership approved a Risk Management and Assessment Rule which becomes effective on June 18, 2010. This change will explicitly require, within the Rules, that all Participating Depository Financial Institutions (DFIs) implement additional risk management practices within the ACH Network.



Top 5 Reasons to Celebrate Mistakes at Work
By Alexander Kjerulf, PositiveSharing.com

Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh recently tweeted this: 

“$1.6 million mistake on sister site @6pm.com. I guess that means no ice cream for me tonight. Details...”

Apparently an employee had made a mistake while updating the prices on the web site, which meant that for a whole day, no item could cost more than $49.95. Some of their items cost a lot more. Ouch!

Now what do you do? In many organizations, a mistake like this would be the starting point for a witch hunt. Who is responsible? How did they screw up? What would be an appropriate punishment?

But this is not how they do business at Zappos.