Latest News Jun 26, 2008 Treasury Secretary Urges Action on Regulatory Structure Jun 17, 2008 The Subprime Lending Crisis: Causes and Effects of the Mortgage Meltdown Jun 16, 2008 Guidance Issued on Third-Party Relationship Risks Jun 11, 2008 Bank of America Acquisition of Countrywide Approved Jun 5, 2008 Money Laundering Requires More than Hiding Currency May 7, 2008 Proposal Would Address Credit Card, Overdraft Practices   Archive Contact CCH Focus CCH Focus CCHFocusEditor@cch.com   CCH Customer Support Phone: 800.449.6435 Subscriber Invitation Visitors to CCH Focus are invited to submit articles for future issues. Analyses, viewpoints, letters to the editor, manuscripts, legal memoranda and other original materials that could be adapted for publication are welcome. Submissions or queries may be sent to   Serena Lynn, Editor 2700 Lake Cook Road, Riverwoods, Illinois 60015 Phone: 847.267.7087 Fax 847.267.7776 CCHFocusEditor@cch.com

Sign up via Treasury Secretary Urges Action on Regulatory Structure Reprinted from the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter. The takeover of troubled investment bank Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase, combined with recent market turmoil, points out the need for rapid action to update the current financial regulatory structure, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. said in a June 19, 2008, speech to the Women in Housing and Finance. "We must dramatically expand our attention to the fundamental needs of our system, and move much more quickly to update our regulatory structure," Paulson said. According to Paulson, recent market events have highlighted three clear lessons: Quick consideration is needed on how to most appropriately give the Fed the authority to access necessary information from complex financial institutions and act to mitigate systemic risk in advance of a crisis. Several critical steps must be taken to make sure that market... Read full article The Subprime Lending Crisis: Causes and Effects of the Mortgage Meltdown By Katalina M. Bianco, J.D., CCH Writer Analyst, CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter, CCH Mortgage Compliance Guide and Bank Digest View Printable Version of this White Paper INTRODUCTION The subprime mortgage crisis, popularly known as the “mortgage mess” or “mortgage meltdown,” came to the public’s attention when a steep rise in home foreclosures in 2006 spiraled seemingly out of control in 2007, triggering a national financial crisis that went global within the year. Consumer spending is down, the housing market... Read full article Guidance Issued on Third-Party Relationship Risks By Richard Roth, J.D., Editor, the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has published new guidance addressing how banks should manage the risks posed by significant third-party relationships. The guidance begins by noting that a bank must identify and manage the risks from third-party relationships to the same extent as would be required if the activity were carried out in-house. Indemnity agreements will not relieve a bank from this duty, the FDIC says. The guidance is aimed specifically at what are termed "significant" third-party relationships, which are relationships: that are new or that implement a new banking activity; that have a material effect on the bank's revenues or expenses; in which the third party performs critical functions; in which the third party deals with sensitive customer information; in which the third party... Read full article Bank of America Acquisition of Countrywide Approved Reprinted from the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter. The Federal Reserve Board has approved the application of Bank of America Corporation to acquire Countrywide Financial Corporation, Countrywide's subsidiary thrift and a number of other nonbanking subsidiaries. According to the Fed's order, Bank of America already is the largest depository organization in the country when measured by total deposits. Adding the deposits controlled by Countrywide's thrift will give the organization more than $770 billion in deposits, representing nearly 11 percent of the total deposits in U.S. insured depository institutions. The Fed was required by the Bank Holding Company Act and Reg. Y --Bank Holding Companies and Change in Bank Control (12 CFR 225) to consider a number of factors in determining whether to approve the acquisition. The public interest in the proposal led the Fed to supplement the normal process of soliciting written... Read full article Money Laundering Requires More than Hiding Currency Reprinted from the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter. A person who concealed nearly $81,000 with the apparent intent of smuggling it into Mexico was not proven to have engaged in money laundering, the U.S. Supreme Court has determined. In reversing the conviction, the Court said that the money laundering statute required more than simply transporting concealed funds --it required that the transportation of the funds be with the intent to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of those funds. As outlined in the Court's unanimous opinion, the person was stopped for driving erratically after having passed Eldorado, Texas, heading in the direction of the border with Mexico. His suspicious behavior eventually led officers to gain his consent to search his Volkswagen Beetle with the assistance of a drug detection dog. The search revealed the currency --wrapped in plastic bags and duct tape --in a hidden compartment... Read full article Proposal Would Address Credit Card, Overdraft Practices Reprinted from the CCH Federal Banking Law Reporter. The Federal Reserve Board, Office of Thrift Supervision and National Credit Union Administration have announced that they will be proposing rules to prohibit unfair practices regarding credit cards and overdraft services that would, among other provisions, protect consumers from unexpected increases in the rate charged on pre-existing credit card balances. The rules, proposed for public comment under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), also would forbid banks from imposing interest charges using the "two-cycle" billing method, require that consumers receive a reasonable amount of time to make their credit card payments and prohibit the use of payment allocation methods that unfairly maximize interest charges. Protections for consumers that use overdraft services offered by their banks also are included. "The proposed rules are intended to establish... Read full article