Cybersecurity has been a hot topic within the past few years. With the growing number of security breaches, companies are finding the best ways to secure their network through various types of administrative and technical controls. Yet, some organizations tend to overlook the importance of proper security awareness training being provided to their employees, especially specific training provided to the Board of Directors (“Board”).

As you already know, the president declared a National Emergency on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after several months, this remains a unique and challenging situation that continues to cause business disruptions affecting banks, borrowers, and the economy alike. As a recap, here are some of the more major changes impacting the lending environment which are still important as we strive to move forward.

During the current pandemic of COVID-19, professionals around the world are connecting remotely onto their organization’s networks. In the mind of a cybercriminal, now is the perfect opportunity to perform malicious attacks on organizations and their employees. To prepare your institution for the challenges that lie ahead, a few of the most popular cyber-attacks and risks are presented below along with the proper controls and procedures that can be put in place to mitigate such.

On April 6, 2020, the FDIC released FIL 35-2020, introducing changes to the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (“CBLR”) in response to COVID-19. Starting in 2020, the CBLR will determine if a bank is considered well-capitalized by looking at the leverage ratio of the bank. If your bank is considered well-capitalized, it will be subjected to less regulatory reporting requirements in Schedule RC-R of the Call Report.

In today’s technology environment, financial institutions are consistently searching for ways to secure their network. However, many institutions do not take full advantage of monitoring tools that may enhance their security and safeguard their network. For these institutions, a Security Information and Event Management (“SIEM”) system may provide the additional protection needed.

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In August 2015, a colleague of mine wrote an article titled “Planning in a Consolidating Banking Industry.” Now that it is 2019, I took a look at the article to determine whether his predictions, as shown below, are accurate and if there is a decline in banking organizations.

Flood certifications, coverage, insurance, and placement – these are common in any financial institution’s compliance vocabulary nowadays. It’s no secret that all regulatory agencies have had “flood” as a hot topic for the past few review cycles. Financial institutions have been reinforcing their knowledge and awareness of the issue. Yet, even with all of the training that banks and credit unions have paid for and had their employees attend, why are financial institutions still receiving flood violations?