Sanford Joins FFIEC
Paul Sanford was named the new executive secretary of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council on July 2. He replaces Tamara Wiseman, who returned to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Sanford will be responsible for coordinating interagency staff task forces that have been established by FFIEC and for directing the council’s staff. Sanford comes to the post from serving as a senior instructional designer for Educational Program Development at OCC. Immediately prior to joining OCC, Sanford served with FFIEC as a senior program administrator in the Education Office. He also has served at FDIC as an examiner. Sanford earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters of Science in Finance from Boston College. Read more

FTC to Study Identity Theft
The Federal Trade Commission plans to study the experiences of identity theft victims by conducting a survey of consumers who contacted the agency after they were victimized. The survey would examine the remedies available to victims under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. Among other things, the law gave consumers the right to place fraud alerts on their credit files if they are, or suspect they may become, victims of identity theft; block information on their credit reports that resulted from identity theft; and obtain free copies of their credit reports. The survey would seek information from identity theft victims who contacted FTC between Jan. 1 and May 30, 2008, and would inquire about their experiences when they contacted one or more credit reporting agencies; and when they sought to use their legal rights. The agency plans to use the survey results to guide efforts to enforce the law and educate consumers and the consumer reporting industry about their rights and duties. Read more    

Home Equity Delinquencies Rise
Continued stress in the housing market combined with general weakness in the overall economy contributed to an increase in the delinquency rates for home equity lines of credit and bank cards during the first quarter of 2008, according to statistics released on July 2 by the American Bankers Association. The percentage of home equity lines that were more than 30 days past due rose by 14 basis points to 1.10 percent during the first quarter. This was the highest recorded rate for this category since 1997. In the same period, bank card delinquencies rose by 13 basis points to 4.51 percent. This is slightly above the five-year average delinquency rate of 4.40 percent. ABA Chief Economist James Chessen blamed the rise in delinquencies on the confluence of anemic personal income growth, falling home equity and stock values, job losses, and rising food and energy prices. The composite ratio, which tracks eight closed-end installment loan categories, fell by 3 basis points to 2.62 percent. This was largely due to a decline in indirect auto loan delinquencies, which fell by 4 basis points to 3.09 percent. Read more   

FDIC Hosts Mortgage Forum
Strategies for promoting responsible and sustainable mortgage lending to low- and moderate-income families will be the focus of the FDIC-sponsored forum on July 8th in Arlington, Va. The forum will feature speakers from banking, investment, government, academia and the nonprofit community to discuss market and regulatory incentives for encouraging responsible mortgage lending to these borrowers. Some of the speakers include: Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Dimon. After the forum, FDIC will hold a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion to examine ways to encourage mortgage credit availability to lower-income households. Both events will be available for viewing live via a Web cast on the Internet. Read more