Regulatory Compliance
Banking is one of the most heavily regulated industries today. Financial
institutions are not only regulated by the Federal Government but by many states as well.
Federal regulations direct banks on how to take applications, what information can and
cannot be obtained from an applicant, what disclosures are provided when, how to disburse
funds, just to list a few of these requirements.
Eastern Bank has established a number of policies and procedures for you to follow to help us in complying with the federal laws and regulations that govern our business. By taking loan applications through
The Independent Advantage® Loan Program, you become an extension of Eastern Bank and are subject to the same regulations Eastern Bank has to follow. However, Eastern Bank has designed its policies and procedures to meet the these regulatory requirements.To help you understand why a certain procedure or guideline has been establish,Eastern Bank believes you need to understand a little more about the "why" something has to be done in a particular manner. First, let’s learn a little more about the background of Compliance.
Congress over the years has passed a number of laws or acts which require government agencies to implement these laws. The four primary banking agencies include the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, (FDIC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Thus, these agencies have establish regulations which implement the laws as they were passed by Congress. The regulations are alphabetically numbered. Thus we have Regulation A, Regulation B, Regulation C, etc... To date, the list goes up to Regulation EE.
Luckily for us, not all of these regulations apply to consumer loans. However, Eastern Bank must comply with some additional laws that are not implemented through a regulation. Below is a list of the consumer laws or acts, the corresponding regulation, and the jargon used by Eastern Bank when referring to a regulation.
Law or Act |
Regulation |
Bank Jargon |
| Equal Credit Opportunity Act | B |
ECOA or Reg B |
| Fair Housing Act | - |
FHA |
| Home Mortgage Disclosure Act | C |
HMDA |
| Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act | X |
RESPA |
| Flood Disaster Protection Act | H |
Flood |
| Truth In Lending Act | Z |
TILA or Reg Z |
| Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices | AA |
Reg AA |
| Bank Secrecy Act | - |
BSA |
| Fair Credit Reporting Act | - |
FCRA |