Pub. 7 2017 Issue 3

6 www.azbankers.org S OLDIERS FROM THE CIVIL WAR UNDER GRANT TO CURRENTLY DEPLOYED TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN HAVE RESTED UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION PROTECTING THEIR FINANCIAL WELFARE WHILE SERVING, THOUGH I CAN’T IMAGINE THAT IS ANY SEMBLANCE OF CONSIDERATION FOR the sacrifices they make. In 1948 the Supreme Court added texture to the legislative predecessor of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA): “The Act should be read with an eye friendly to those who dropped their affairs to answer their country's call.” LeMaistre v. Leffers, 333 U.S. 1, 6 (1948). Seven decades, incalculable wars, and scores of unrefined lawmakers later, the umbrella is once again in the spotlight. In October of this year the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a nation-wide snapshot focused exclusively on servicemember complaints. Statistics in the report reflect a consistently upward trend in servicemem - ber complaints filed with the CFPB, with two categories of complaints pulling in the largest number: debt collection and mortgages. The previous month the Federal Trade Commis - sion (FTC) launched a dedicated website for its newly-creat - ed Military Task Force, which followed two summits earlier this year hosted by the commission and dedicated entirely to discussing and addressing servicemember financial challeng - es. A current senior official at the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) emphasized in a speech to military bank - ers last August that banks should expect to be held account - able for violations. When the regulations are violated, both banks and service - members suffer the consequences; when the regulations are followed, landmines become goldmines for both the bank and the servicemember. To effect that conversion, banks must accomplish three objectives: 1. Understand the various regulations; 2. Evaluate bank compliance; and 3. Implement missing compliance policies and procedures. Regulatory Perimeter The primary components of military lending regulation are the SCRA; Military Lending Act (MLA); Dodd-Frank prohibitions on unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices (UDAAP); and state laws. Agencies including the CFPB and DOJ have filed suits against financial institutions for violations of these rules and secured consent agreements or court verdicts penaliz - ing the institutions with civil fines up to $30 million. MILITARY LENDING: Landmine or Goldmin e BY Kimberly R. Graves, Associate General Counsel Military Lending w Continued on page 8