Relationship With The Federal Financial And Other Regulatory Agencies 1. Purpose. The purpose of establishing relationships with the federal financial and other regulatory agencies is to facilitate EBSA exchange of information and facilities with these agencies. Such exchanges assist in developing and providing more efficient enforcement activities and strategies in investigating employee benefit plans, financial institutions, and other entities providing services to employee benefit plans. 2. Background. Section 3004(b) of ERISA provides that the Secretary may utilize the facilities or services of any department, agency, or establishment of the United States, with the lawful consent of such department, agency, or establishment to obtain information and facilities, to the extent permitted by law, as the Secretary may require in the performance of his functions under ERISA. 3. Federal Financial Institution Regulatory Agencies. In February 2006, an interagency agreement was signed between DOL and the federal financial institution regulatory agencies(1), i.e., the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTC), whereby those agencies agreed to provide written notification to DOL of possible violations of ERISA of a significant nature which are discovered in the course of their supervision of the fiduciary activities of institutions subject to their respective jurisdictions (Figure 1). The functions of each of the agencies are described in Figure 2.
4. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has established procedures for granting access, on a limited basis, to the SEC's non-public files.
5. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. RO investigators, with the approval of the Regional Director, may contact Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) representatives directly to discuss PBGC referrals. Regional requests for PBGC non-public documents must be submitted by RO memorandum to OE for review and processing to PBGC. Any formal referrals to the PBGC must be done through DFO. 6. State Agencies. On May 14, 1990, the Secretary wrote to each State Insurance Commissioner underscoring the Department's commitment to strengthen efforts to ensure maximum cooperation and coordination of enforcement with the States.
(Figure 1) Interagency Agreement Procedures for Cooperation Between the Federal Financial Institution Regulatory Agencies and the Department of Labor in the Enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Office of Thrift Supervision (the federal financial institution regulatory agencies) as part of their supervision of the institutions regulated by them, conduct examinations and perform other functions which occasionally disclose violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The Department of Labor (DOL) is charged with the administration, interpretation, and enforcement of standards of conduct and responsibility of fiduciaries of employee benefit plans under ERISA. Section 3004(b) of ERISA provides that the Secretary of Labor may utilize the facilities or services of any department, agency, or establishment of the United States, with the lawful consent of such department, agency, or establishment; and each department, agency or establishment of the United States is authorized and directed to cooperate with the Secretary of Labor and, to the extent permitted by law, to provide such information and facilities as the Secretary may request for his assistance in the performance of his functions under ERISA. This agreement is executed pursuant to that authority. 1. To the maximum extent consistent with law and dependent upon the availability of resources, the federal financial institution regulatory agencies shall provide written notification to the DOL of possible violations of ERISA of a significant nature, which are discovered in the course of their supervision of institutions subject to their respective jurisdiction. 2. A possible violation shall be considered significant when, in the view of the appropriate federal financial institution regulatory agency, it falls within the following circumstances:
3. The written notification to the DOL shall include the following:
4. The DOL agrees that any information received from the federal financial institution regulatory agencies pursuant to this agreement shall, to the extent permissible by law, be held in strict confidence and may be used for investigative purposes only; and that no other use of such information shall be made without the express written authorization of the agency that supplied such information, except as required by law.. 5. The written notification shall be sent to the Director of Enforcement, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. 20210.
(Figure 2) The Federal Financial Institutions Regulator
Agencies And Their Supervised Institutions
Implementation of policy decisions is carried out by the FRB and by the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, each of which has operational responsibility within a specific geographical area. Each Reserve Bank has a president and other officers and employs a staff of bank examiners who examine state member banks and inspect bank holding companies located within the Reserve Bank's district. All national banks must be members of the Federal Reserve System. State-chartered banks may apply and be accepted for membership. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
The bank supervision functions of the FDIC are shared with state and other federal authorities. All national banks and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System must be insured by the FDIC. Nonmember state banks may apply for FDIC deposit insurance. The FDIC examines and supervises those banks under its purview, approves or denies applications for structural or corporate changes, and rules on applications for insurance. The FDIC is organized geographically into nine regions, each of which is headed by a regional director. The Office Of Thrift Supervision (OTS) The OTS, pursuant to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), succeeded the FHLBB. The OTS provides for the examination, safe and sound operation, and regulation of Federal savings associations, including Federal savings banks; issues charters; enforces the regulatory authority of the FIRRE Act, section 8 of the FDIC Act, and the regulations prescribed thereunder; and makes such examinations of savings association affiliates as are necessary to disclose fully the relationships between such savings associations and affiliates and the effect of such relations upon the saving association. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) The purpose of the NCUA is to charter, examine, supervise, and insure the nation's nearly 10,000 federal credit unions. In addition, NCUA also provides insurance for member accounts at 4,980 state-chartered credit unions. The major responsibilities of the NCUA are:
The NCUA also has statutory authority to examine and supervise NCUSIF-insured, state-chartered credit unions, which it does in coordination with state agencies. The Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency (OCC) The OCC is the regulator and supervisor of the national banking system. The OCC is the only federal banking agency with authority to charter commercial banks. The OCC has authority to approve or deny applications for new bank charters, the establishment of branches, and mergers of national banks. The principal supervisory tools of the OCC are on-site supervisory activities and detailed off-site analysis of national bank operations. As appropriate, the OCC issues rules and regulations concerning bank lending, bank investment, and other aspects of bank operations. The OCC is organized geographically into six districts, each headed by a Deputy Comptroller.
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