All in Regulatory Update

On April 10, 2023, the HUD announced a groundbreaking $3 million settlement reached by two of its fair housing enforcement partners, the State of California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and Project Sentinel. The settlement resolves allegations that Vasona Management, Inc., a California property management company, and more than thirty apartment complex owners discriminated against families with children at more than forty-eight apartment complexes throughout the Bay Area by prohibiting any outdoor play activities and requiring parents to supervise children under the age of 14 in all common areas.

On April 10, 2023, the FTC approved a final consent order against The Bountiful Company for abusing a feature of Amazon.com to deceive consumers into thinking that its newly introduced supplements had more product ratings and reviews, higher average ratings, and “#1 Best Seller” and “Amazon’s Choice” badges. The Bountiful Company is a manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of various vitamins and supplements.

On April 3, 2023, the OFAC launched its new website at ofac.treasury.gov. The OFAC’s new website includes new functionalities such as a new streamlined landing page, enhanced Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) search, sanctions program filter, recent actions information embedded in each sanctions page, and a new “mega menu” interface.

On April 3, 2023, the CFPB issued a policy statement that explains the legal prohibition on abusive conduct in consumer financial markets and summarizes over a decade of precedent. The policy statement details post-financial crisis prohibition on illegal abusive conduct. It aims to assist consumer financial protection enforcers in identifying wrongdoing, and will help firms avoid committing abusive acts or practices.

On April 5, 2023, the FDIC issued the March 2023 edition of the Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights. The purpose of this publication is to enhance transparency regarding the FDIC’s consumer compliance supervisory activities and to provide a high-level overview of consumer compliance issues identified in 2022 through the FDIC’s supervision of state non-member banks and thrifts.

On March 30, 2023, the Federal Reserve Board announced that it has fined Wells Fargo & Company $67.8 million for the firm's unsafe or unsound practices relating to historical inadequate oversight of sanctions compliance risks at its subsidiary bank, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Wells Fargo & Co.'s deficient oversight enabled the bank to violate U.S. sanctions regulations by providing a trade finance platform to a foreign bank that used the platform to process prohibited transactions.

On March 24, 2023, FinCEN published its first set of guidance materials to aid the public, and in particular the small business community, in understanding upcoming beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements taking effect on January 1, 2024. The new regulations require many corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to report information about their beneficial owners to FinCEN.