Money Talk: St. Louis Fed announces appointments for Little Rock office

Editor’s note: Each Monday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Money Talk,” a wrap-up of banking and financial news.

ST. LOUIS FED ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENTS FOR LITTLE ROCK OFFICE: The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has announced the following changes to its Little Rock Branch board of directors, effective Jan. 1:

• Robert Martinez, owner of Rancho La Esperanza in De Queen has been reappointed to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
• Charles “Chuck” Morgan Jr., president and CEO of Relyance Bank in Pine Bluff, has been appointed to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
• Chairman of the Little Rock Branch board of directors for 2016 will be Ray C. Dillon, president and CEO of Deltic Timber Corp. in El Dorado.

Also serving on the board are: Michael Cook, senior vice president and assistant treasurer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville; Keith Glover, president and CEO of Producers Rice Mill Inc. in Stuttgart; Karama Neal, COO of Southern Bancorp Community Partners in Little Rock; and Mark White, president and CEO of Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield in Little Rock.

2016 STANDARD MILEAGE RATES LOWERED AS FUEL COSTS FALL: Falling gasoline costs will push the 2016 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 54 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 57.5 cents for 2015; 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 23 cents for 2015; and 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs. Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

LIFELOCK TO PAY $100 MILLION TO CONSUMERS TO SETTLE FTC CHARGES IT VIOLATED 2010 ORDER: LifeLock will pay $100 million to settle Federal Trade Commission contempt charges that it violated the terms of a 2010 federal court order that requires the company to secure consumers’ personal information and prohibits the company from deceptive advertising. This is the largest monetary award obtained by the Commission in an order enforcement action.

Under the terms of the settlement, LifeLock must deposit $100 million into the registry of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Of that $100 million, $68 million may be used to redress fees paid to LifeLock by class action consumers who were allegedly injured by the same behavior alleged by the FTC. These funds, however, must be paid directly to and received by consumers, and may not be used for any administrative or legal costs associated with the class action.

FEDERAL BANKING AGENCIES SEEK COMMENT ON INTERAGENCY EFFORT TO REDUCE REGULATORY BURDEN: The federal banking agencies approved a notice requesting comment on the fourth and final set of regulatory categories as part of their review to identify outdated or unnecessary regulations applied to insured depository institutions. The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 requires the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Federal Reserve Board to review their regulations at least every 10 years. The agencies also are required to categorize and publish the regulations for comment, and submit a report to Congress that summarizes any significant issues raised by the comments and the relative merits of such issues.