For the first time, the Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC) will allow financial technology (fintech) companies to apply for national bank charters. The OCC has invited public comment on the concept with a deadline for...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a proposed consent order with Charter Bank to settle charges that the bank violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) by discriminating on the basis of national origin...more
10/11/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discretionary Functions ,
Discrimination ,
Disparate Treatment ,
ECOA ,
FDIC ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
National Origin ,
National Origin Discrimination
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC)—the interagency body tasked with setting uniform principals and standards for the examination of financial institutions by federal prudential regulators,...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and four U.S. federal banking regulators have issued the "Joint Fact Sheet on Foreign Correspondent Banking" in an effort to clarify enforcement priorities regarding Anti-Money Laundering...more
9/2/2016
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Depository Institutions ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreign Correspondent Banking ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
International Monetary Fund ,
U.S. Treasury
The Pew Charitable Trusts has released an issue brief, “Consumers Want the Right to Resolve Bank Disputes in Court,” in which it urges the CFPB to “expeditiously finalize” its proposed arbitration rule. The CFPB’s proposal...more
8/19/2016
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Pew Foundation
The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, in CashCall, Inc. et al. v. Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation, recently affirmed the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals (MCSA) directing CashCall to...more
7/15/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
CashCall ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Licensing Rules ,
Loan Origination Funds ,
Madden v Midland Funding ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Payday Loans ,
Preemption ,
Usury
New guidance being developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to address risks associated with banks making loans through third parties could significantly impact marketplace lending, private label credit...more
The Federal Reserve Board (Board) is repealing Regulation AA, which includes the Board's credit practices rule, effective March 21, 2016. The Board is also proposing to repeal its Regulation C, which historically implemented...more
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) publication of an article highlighting the risks for banks that partner with marketplace lenders further underscores the focus of federal regulators on marketplace lending....more
An article on consumer arbitration in this week’s Sunday New York Times concludes that “[b]y inserting individual arbitration clauses into a soaring number of consumer and employment contracts, companies… devised a way to...more
11/3/2015
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Institutions ,
New York Times
The CFPB has now taken two more significant steps towards issuing a proposed arbitration rule. On October 20, 2015, the CFPB convened its Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel to review the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in the case of Hawkins v. Community Bank of Raymore, the result of which will determine whether a spousal guarantor is an “applicant” under the Equal Credit Opportunity...more
10/9/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discrimination ,
ECOA ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Loans ,
Regulation B ,
SCOTUS ,
Spousal Guaranty
In a June 2014 alert, we discussed Community Financial Services Association vs. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a payday loan industry suit challenging on various grounds certain supervisory and interpretive statements...more
9/30/2015
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Choke Point ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Payday Loans ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently issued citations to two companies charged with violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) consent requirements for autodialed or prerecorded calls to wireless...more
9/21/2015
/ Apple Pay ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cell Phones ,
Class Action ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FCC ,
Online Banking ,
Opt-Outs ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Right to Privacy ,
Robocalling ,
Smartphones ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing
A new type of Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) class action is now being filed in volume. This trend is highly likely to continue, as the cases are being filed by a consumer class action firm that has filed hundreds of...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can regulate cybersecurity policies and procedures as “unfair” acts or practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled in a very important...more
9/1/2015
/ Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Best Practices ,
COPPA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraudulent Charges ,
FTC Act ,
FTC v Wyndham ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Hackers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
NIST ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Wyndham
New York City’s Responsible Banking Act (RBA) is preempted by federal and state law, a federal court has ruled. Pursuant to the New York City Charter, only financial institutions that are designated “deposit banks” by the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that Pennsylvania’s recording statute does not require the recording of all conveyances. As a result, the Third Circuit reversed the district court’s refusal to enter...more
8/7/2015
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Deeds ,
Financial Institutions ,
Lenders ,
MERS ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Recording Fees
Connecticut’s new “An Act Concerning A Student Loan Bill of Rights” creates a licensing requirement for servicers of student loans made to state residents and imposes other significant new requirements and prohibitions on...more
A new report issued by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) identifies top safety and soundness risks to national banks and federal savings associations, as well as OCC supervisory priorities for the...more
With the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that it had settled separate lawsuits against two small banks charged with facilitating consumer fraud through their relationships with third-party payment...more
In updated examiner guidance and examination procedures issued last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) directs its examiners to assess whether the overdraft protection and other deposit-related consumer...more
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a “Statement on Providing Banking Services” in which it “encourages institutions to take a risk-based approach in assessing individual customer relationships rather...more
A consumer financial services attorney (the petitioner) recently filed a petition in New York state court against the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and its superintendent, Benjamin Lawsky. The lawsuit...more
The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), the national trade association for the payday lending industry, has filed a memorandum in support of its previously filed lawsuit against the agencies it accuses...more