Welcome
Dear Subscribers:
Welcome to the first edition of Consumer Compliance Outlook, a Federal Reserve System publication that focuses on consumer compliance issues. We hope that you find the newsletter helpful and informative and that you make it a part of your regular reading on consumer compliance, CRA, and other consumer regulatory matters.
Outlook holds a rather curious status for a new publication. Although this is the inaugural issue, Outlook isn’t entirely a new concept. It is the successor to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Compliance Corner, which was distributed as an insert in a larger publication called Insights. Compliance Corner has a long tradition of providing valuable information on consumer compliance regulatory issues. Outlook follows in that tradition.
Why the change? Last year, the Federal Reserve System observed the banking scene and realized that although Compliance Corner was helpful to Insights readers, banking had become more national in nature and — as we have learned from the recent subprime crisis — more global in scope. This dynamic environment calls for a separate national publication to expand both the range and reach of information on consumer matters.
Therefore, in a collaborative effort, the 12 Federal Reserve Banks voluntarily joined forces to survey the national scene and comment on current and emerging issues that affect banks throughout the country. This edition combines the talents of consumer compliance field examiners from three Federal Reserve Districts, each with different perspectives and different issues, but all dedicated to providing information to a national audience. We will continue to follow that model in future editions.
Once again, welcome to Consumer Compliance Outlook. We hope that you will share your views on this publication with us.
Sincerely,
Michael E. Collins, Senior Vice President
Supervision, Regulation and Credit
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia