Case Examples:
A large national insurer signed an agreement with the Department of Justice to conduct a three-year audit program on all of its representatives because of allegations of racial discrimination. Other insurers began to implement aggressive monitoring programs to avoid similar problems and to ensure that agents adhered to company policies and guidelines. One insurer acquired 13 smaller companies and immediately implemented a compliance audit including surveys that tested that all the companies and their agents met company requirements. We designed and implemented the audit program and helped with monthly reports to senior management that indicated how smoothly the changeover was and where more attention was needed to achieve complete compliance. The insurance company was able to rapidly convert the new companies, avoid problems, and maintain a constant flow of business during this time.
Federal regulatory agencies require all banks to inform customers of risk in investments when the customer chooses to seek higher returns than would be available from an insured demand or time deposit. Specifically, banks are required to tell customers that other investments are not insured by the government, that the investment is risky, and it may lose money. To determine whether banks were complying with this requirement, the FDIC had a national sample of bank branches selected. Each branch was visited by a pair of compliance shoppers to determine if the bank was in compliance with regulatory requirements in what they told shoppers, in the printed materials they handed out, and in the advertising materials in the bank. We determined the proportion of banks in compliance, in partial compliance, or completely out of compliance and testified before the U. S. House of Representatives Banking Committee on the results.