Because it was notably absent from news coverage, many people might not have heard that the Securities and Exchange Commission took its first enforcement action last month under the USA Patriot Act.
More than four years after passage of the Patriot Act and its anti-money laundering provisions, and after dozens of audits, the SEC made its first ruling — against the Los Angeles-based broker dealer Crowell, Weedon and Co.

Members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors are sharing their experiences from Hurricane Katrina.
The organizations have released “Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina: Preparing Your Institution for a Catastrophic Event.”

Look out American Express, Chase and MBNA, here comes Target.
Through its Target National Bank division, the retailer has issued credit cards to more than 16 million customers — going where no retailer has gone before — onto the top 10 list of the nation’s largest credit card issuers.
No wonder Wal-Mart and Home Depot want to enter the banking business. No retailer has ever ranked so high on the credit card list, and no other appears to be close either. The next closest retailer on the list, Nordstrom, ranks 27th.

U.S. Bancorp, the nation’s sixth largest financial institution and the state’s second largest bank, announced last week that it will acquire Vail Banks Inc., a move that will add 24 Colorado branch locations in 19 communities to its operations.
Vail Banks is the parent company for WestStar Banks, small community banks that dot the resort and bedroom communities around some of Colorado’s most popular ski and destination resorts.

Total revenue for Colorado’s commercial banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. jumped 17.5 percent between the first quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006.
Net income for the state’s 160 FDIC-insured commercial banks was $134 million, up from $114 million during the first quarter of 2005.

Don Sall will hang up his hat as Wells Fargo’s regional president for the greater Colorado region when he retires at the end of the year.
Saul, who joined the bank in 1973 and spent the last 13 years in Colorado Springs, made the retirement announcement last week.
As president, Sall manages Wells Fargo’s banking operations in Greater Colorado and oversees more than 1,300 team members at about 70 branches in 30 communities.

An ongoing Internal Revenue Service investigation has uncovered that a large number of tax-exempt credit counseling agencies are not complying with tax-exempt operating laws.
During the last two years, the IRS has been auditing 63 credit counseling agencies that generate more than half the industry’s revenue.

The Colorado House of Representatives approved an identity theft bill this week that has become model legislation for other states.
HB1347 was drafted by the Colorado Bankers Association. As worded, it would supply $600,000 annually for statewide ID theft investigation.

The nation’s banking industry is in particularly good health these days, according to an independent ratings firm.
Bauer Financial, known for its star rating system that assesses banks based on performance, says financial institutions enjoyed one of their best years in 2005.
According to the star rating system, nearly 80 percent of the American banks earned Bauer Financial’s recommended rating of either five stars or four stars in 2005.

Taxpayers used the Internal Revenue Service Web site at record levels on April 17 – and during the days leading up to it.
During the week prior to the income tax filing deadline, there were 3,385,936 visits to IRS.gov. That number trumps last year’s 3,337,300.