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Banking Financial District

Puerto Rico Bankers Assoc., FDIC to offer joint seminar

Scott D. Strockoz, compliance deputy regional director of the New York Region for the FDIC.

Scott D. Strockoz, compliance deputy regional director of the New York Region for the FDIC.

The Puerto Rico Bankers Association and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will present the 7th edition of the Minority Depository Institution Training Seminar on Nov. 7-8.

Representatives from the FDIC will discuss the latest developments in the federal regulatory framework and their impact on the operations and services provided by local financial institutions.

The seminar’s educational program includes conferences about the current regulatory examination focus as a result of the changes applicable to mortgage transactions processes, compliance with Community Reinvestment Act regulations, and other regulatory key aspects that impact local banking and financial institutions.

The seminar is aimed at compliance officers, banks’ legal counselors, internal and external auditors, compliance service providers, and quality and internal control officers.

Bankers Association President Carmen M. Pagán said “in this year’s seminar, the FDIC personnel will discuss enforcement trends and key supervisory developments, including regulatory reform and the impact on regulatory risk management. They will also present an overview of last year’s challenges within the regulatory compliance environment.”

Pagán, who is senior vice president and director of the Compliance Department at FirstBank, added that in this edition of the seminar there will be a special participation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Stephen Kaplan, regional director of the CFPB’s New York Region, will discuss the agency’s most recent Responsible Business Conduct bulletin, which provides some guidance with regards the different factors it will consider in the exercise of its enforcement discretion.

In July 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Act created the CFPB, which consolidates most federal consumer financial protection authority in one place.

Pagán also said the FDIC’s compliance seminar will contribute to provide local financial institutions guidelines on how to effectively manage and implement recent regulatory changes in key areas such as banking products and services, mortgage transactions, and other industry practices.

“This particular forum provides the FDIC with an excellent vehicle to educate and provide technical support to the executives of the local financial institutions regarding the latest developments in the regulatory framework in a precise and effective manner,” said Scott D. Strockoz, compliance deputy regional director of the New York Region for the FDIC.

“Through this type of scenario we can present examples of concrete cases that will enable them to have a more accurate knowledge about the reach of the different regulations and the new developments applicable to each, which will help them significantly to raise the bar in terms of the quality of their processes and services provided to consumers, while preventing possible compliance violations,” he said.

It is very important for financial institutions to ensure that the adapted practices and policies are effectively communicated and properly understood by their personnel, he added.

“That they are completely adopted and regularly supervised in order to be able to proactively manage possible risks for consumers in terms of products and services or for the markets,” Strockoz noted.

The subjects to be discussed in the seminar are chosen by the Banker’s Association’s compliance committee members to strengthen their knowledge about the new dispositions of the current federal regulatory framework. The seminar’s workshops will be conducted by FDIC personnel, and will benefit members of the PRBA and non-affiliated financial institutions, the financial trade group said.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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