Results of the latest Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator for the U.S. banking industry issued this week by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services indicated U.S. banks and credit unions are carrying a much heavier regulatory and risk management burden than they were a year ago.

Officials explained the indicator began with a baseline score of 100 in January of last year when Wolters Kluwer Financial Services surveyed nearly 400 U.S. banks and credit unions. The reading rose to a score of 121 in January of this year when the company surveyed approximately the same number of financial institutions.

Driving the increased score were mounting pressures expressed by banks and credit unions in all seven of the indicator’s compliance and risk management factor categories as well as more than $8 billion in new regulatory fines and settlements at the federal level in the last three months of last year.

To calculate its Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services uses 10 main factors, seven of which revolve around direct input from banks and credit unions on their top compliance and risk management concerns and three of which are based on regulatory data the company compiles.

In particular, financial institutions participating in the indicator demonstrated a significantly heightened concern over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recently finalized Qualified Mortgage, Qualified Residential Mortgage and mortgage servicing requirements and guidelines.

In fact, officials pointed out only a third of respondents said they planned to offer non-QM home loans following the implementation of the CFPB’s new rules.

On the risk management front, banks and credit unions remain most concerned with regulatory risk and fair lending risk more specifically. Other major risk management concerns included asset and liability management, IT risk and fraud.

“The latest Indicator results verify a growing number of U.S. banks and credit unions are more proactively addressing regulatory change and potential risks,” said Timothy Burniston, vice president and senior director of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’ risk and compliance consulting practice.

“Not only are these institutions more concerned about compliance and risk management, but they’re also devoting additional time and resources to addressing these areas to head off potential issues, and facilitate growth and performance objectives,” Burniston continued.

For more information on Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Regulatory and Risk Management Indicator for the U.S. banking industry, visit www.WoltersKluwerFS.com.