February 9, 2004 News Archive

Upcoming Bank Director Training
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has designed a director training program to address the critical needs and responsibilities of community bank directors. We intend to sponsor one-day seminars throughout the District over the course of the year to offer sessions focused on today's hot topics, filled with practical advice about key business areas including fraud risk, information technology risk, and The USA Patriot Act as it pertains to the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations. The FDIC and respective State banking departments have been invited to participate as well.

The first two seminars will be held in West Des Moines, Iowa, on April 5th, and Bettendorf, Iowa, on April 6th. Information on dates and locations for upcoming seminars in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan will be forthcoming. Please contact Federal Reserve Representative Timothy J. Palmersheim at (800) 642-6389 for additional details.

Board Warns of Debt Elimination Scams
In SR 04-3, the Board provides details of an Internet scam in which consumers are duped into debt elimination scams that purport to eliminate a consumer's debt through the use of specially prepared documents. The documents used claim that the Federal Reserve and other regulators approve of the methods described in the scams, making the scams particularly harmful to consumers and financial institutions.

FinCEN Warns of Fraudulent Letter Scam
In a press release, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reported that bank customers have received fraudulent anti-terrorist letters. These letter state that transactions will be discontinued until the consumer has paid mandatory fees of approximately $25,000 for the issuance of an anti-terrorist certificate.

January 2004 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey Results Now Available
The Board released the results of the most recent lending survey, which included supplemental questions on longer-term changes in terms on commercial real estate loans, the types of properties used to secure these loans, and commercial real estate loan securitizations.