Compliance & Ethics

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has mandated that Apple Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. pay more than $89 million due to substantial customer service failures and misleading practices affecting hundreds of thousands of Apple Card users. The CFPB's investigation revealed that the two companies mishandled transaction disputes and provided inaccurate information about interest-free payment options for consumers.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an enforcement action today, imposing penalties totaling $6.985 million on four technology companies for what regulators described as materially misleading disclosures regarding cybersecurity incidents.

Truist Bank has reached a settlement agreement with the United States government, agreeing to pay $9,125,000 to resolve allegations of misconduct in the administration of certain trust accounts. The settlement, announced on Monday, October 21, 2024, addresses claims under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA).

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Examinations has released its examination priorities for the 2025 fiscal year. This annual publication aims to inform investors and registrants of potential risk areas that will be a focal point for the Division's oversight and compliance efforts in the coming year.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Limited (Volkswagen Finance) £5.4 million for serious failures in how it treated customers facing financial hardship. The FCA found that Volkswagen Finance repeatedly fell short in fulfilling its obligations to support vulnerable consumers during times of personal financial difficulty.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has unveiled its latest round of enforcement actions for October 2024, cracking down on banks and individuals for a variety of compliance failures. This month’s actions cover a wide spectrum of issues, from severe violations in Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) programs to internal fraud by individual employees.

Raytheon Company, a defense giant and subsidiary of RTX, has agreed to pay over $950 million to settle criminal and civil investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The hefty settlement addresses the company’s involvement in fraudulent pricing schemes, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and breaches of export control regulations under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).