Statewide Highlights

ALERTS, WARNINGS & OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• Warning to Financial Institutions and to the Public - A warning to Cease and Desist from doing business in the State of California without a license from the Commissioner of Financial Institutions was issued on March 3, 2010 to FOX BANK.

DFI PRESS RELEASES

• State Closes First Regional Bank - FDIC Information
• California Department of Financial Institutions Allows State Banks Affected By Winter Storms to Close
• California Department of Financial Institutions Orders Closure and Liquidation of Kern Central Credit Union

CONSUMER RESOURCES

• National Consumer Protection Week 2010 March 7-13
  National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) is a coordinated consumer education campaign that encourages individuals across the country to take full advantage of their consumer rights. NCPW 2010 is March 7-13. This year’s theme — Dollars & Sense: Rated “A” for All Ages — highlights the importance of using good consumer sense at every stage of life – from grade school to retirement. 
• Consumers Warned to Avoid Forensic Loan Analysis
  Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., California Department of Real Estate (DRE) and State Bar of California are warning Californians to avoid forensic loan audits, the loan-modification industry's latest "phony foreclosure-relief service," in which homeowners pay up-front fees for a forensic review of their lender's practices, but are provided no actual foreclosure relief.
• Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry - Consumer Access - Verify a mortgage company or individual. A free service for consumers to confirm that the mortgage company or mortgage professional with whom they wish to conduct business is licensed in their state.
• Mortgage Modification ProgramThe U.S. Department of the Treasury and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) kicked off a nationwide campaign to help borrowers who are currently in the trial phase of their modified mortgages under the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) convert to permanent modifications. The modification program, which has helped over 650,000 borrowers, is part of the Administration’s broader commitment to stabilize housing markets and to provide relief to struggling homeowners and is a primary focus of financial stability efforts moving forward. Roughly 375,000 of the borrowers who have begun trial modifications since the start of the program are scheduled to convert to permanent modifications by the end of the year. Through the efforts being announced today, Treasury and HUD will implement new outreach tools and borrower resources to help convert as many trial modifications as possible to permanent ones.
• Consumers Reminded To Read Fine Print on Gift Cards While a popular and convenient way to give, gift cards can have expiration dates, fees, and other terms that can reduce their value. Other terms may limit where cards can be used or explain the process of handling complaints and lost or stolen cards.
• No Safer Place for Your Money: Why the FDIC's Resources are Strong and Insured Deposits are "Absolutely Safe"Other Topics in the Latest FDIC Consumer News Include the Basics of Debit, Credit and Prepaid Cards, Plus What to Know About Using Safe Deposit Boxes and Home Safes.
  As bank failures are in the news, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is helping consumers understand why, as Chairman Sheila C. Bair has said, "there's no safer place in the world for their checking, savings or retirement money." The Fall 2009 issue of FDIC Consumer News gives facts and figures explaining the agency's financial resources run deep and that insured deposits are fully protected.
• Foreclosure Prevention Toolkit - FDIC and other bank regulators are offereing a free tool kit of information that will help borrowers, community stakeholders and the banking industry avoid unnecessary foreclosures and stop foreclosure "rescue" scams that promise false hope to consumers at risk of losing their homes. The tool kit includes critical information to help borrowers know who to contact and what documents they need to have available to apply for a loan modification that could save their home from foreclosure. This tool kit also describes the warning signs of potential foreclosure "rescue" scams and how consumers, community stakeholders, and bankers can report scammers and prevent fraud.
• California Foreclosure Prevention Act - The California Foreclosure Prevention Act modifies the foreclosure process to provide additional time for borrowers to work out loan modifications while providing an exemption for mortgage loan servicers that have implemented a comprehensive loan modification program.
• DFI Consumer Brochures now available in English, Spanish, Chinese/Cantonese/Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese - Read and learn about: Who regulates my financial institution? How do I file a complaint? Tips for financial transactions and information on sending money to other countries.
• DFI Consumer Outreach Calendar - DFI brings information directly to consumers through outreach efforts such as presentations to community and consumer groups and distributing consumer information at community events.
• Financial Tips for Women - Educate yourself, set financial goals, get out of debt.
• 8 Tips for Financial Success - A solid grounding in fiscal responsibility is basic self-defense. Taking the time to learn and practice saving and budgeting, managing credit — controlling our personal finances rather than vice versa — will pay off in the long term. The following tips are reminders of how we can control our finances and improve our financial success. (CCEE, Dept. of Corporations, Dept. of Financial Institutions)
• Bank on California Program - Helping More Californians Open Bank Accounts

LICENSEE RESOURCES

• DFI Partners with Go Direct®, So Can You Financial Literacy Month is only weeks away! This April – Financial Literacy Month – make a commitment to help your community members be smart with their money. Encourage the people you serve to say goodbye to their federal benefit checks and switch to safer, easier electronic payments. In doing so, you will help them protect their money and improve their financial health.
• March 2010
• Call to Action 2010 - KEYNOTE Speaker: PHILIP MARSHALL, Grandson of Brooke Astor Elder Financial Protection Network - Call to Action 2010 - March 25, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway, San Francisco. Keynote speaker: Phillip Marshall, Grandson of Brooke Astor. Call to Action brings together hundreds of professionals representing financial institutions, law enforcement, social services, elder justice advocates and the legal community to share best practices and express our collective determination to prevent elder financial abuse. For more information and to register to attend, visit http://bewiseonline.org/emailS/2010/C2A-SFOEmail021610.html
• Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS)NMLS, developed through the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR), will allow companies to conveniently manage their mortgage license(s) in an electronic format through a secure website. 
• Census 2010 Business Resource GuideHelp California Achieve an Accurate Count! You can help California by communicating to your employees and customers to fill out and return their Census form by April 1st. Links to slogans, messages, PSAs, newsletter articles, FAQs and more...
• Countdown to Census Day: April 1, 2010 - Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year. Become a partner.
  2010 Census Materials to help your business, organization, faith-based organization, school, etc. share information on the Census. Learn more! California Complete Count Regional Convenings - Schedule and Locations.
• "The Economy: Crisis & Response"The Federal Reserve announced a new online resource, which has answers to some questions you might be asking:: What caused the financial crisis? What has the Fed done in response? What does the road ahead look like? Whether you're looking for a general overview of the mortgage meltdown or want to delve deeper into economic research, we encourage you can visit the FRB at http://www.frbsf.org/econanswers/.
• FDIC Finalizes 75th Anniversary Observation by Announcing Recipients of the Chairman's Award for Financial Education
• New FDIC Study Shows One in Four U.S. Households Currently Unbanked or Underbanked - Low-income and Minority Households Disproportionately RepresentedFDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households - The survey, conducted on behalf of the FDIC by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, was a supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey during January 2009. The study, which is the most comprehensive survey to date of the unbanked and underbanked, reveals that more than one quarter (25.6 percent) of all households in the United States are unbanked or underbanked and that those households are disproportionately low-income and/or minority.
• DFI 100th Anniversary Web Page - The Department of Financial Institutions is commemorating its 100-year anniversary, July 1, 1909 - July 1, 2009, with a special Web page. You are invited to send us photos, stories, graphics, etc. for our special Web page.