On April 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order vacating the district court’s effective denial of the motion for a preliminary injunction filed by several trade groups, including the U.S. Chamber...more
On April 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order effectively reversing the district court’s decision to transfer the lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau)...more
4/9/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Unconstitutional Condition ,
Writ of Mandamus
On April 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order staying the district court’s decision to transfer the lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) credit card late fee rule...more
4/4/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Stays
Last week, the lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) credit card late fee rule (Final Rule) was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to the...more
4/1/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Safe Harbors
On February 15, Massachusetts became the latest state to introduce legislation to regulate earned wage access (EWA) products and services. House Bill (HB) 4456 would create a new chapter to the Massachusetts Code explicitly...more
On February 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released an order, dated November 30, 2023, establishing supervisory authority over installment lender World Acceptance Corp. The CFPB found that it...more
Recently, Lead Bank and its loan servicer Hyphen, LLC, an online lending platform operating Helix Financial, filed a motion to dismiss a purported class action alleging violations of the Georgia Installment Loan Act (GILA)...more
2/7/2024
/ Annual Percentage Rate (APR) ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Installment Agreements ,
Loan Agreements ,
Loan Servicer ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Payday Loans ,
RICO ,
Statutory Violations
Recently, Arizona, Kentucky, and Hawaii have jumped on the bandwagon to regulate earned wage access (EWA) products and services. Arizona’s proposed bill makes clear that EWA services are not considered to be loans or money...more
2/2/2024
/ Arizona ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt ,
Debt Collectors ,
Earned Wage Access ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Payday Loans ,
State and Local Government ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging...more
2/1/2024
/ Automotive Loans ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt Collection ,
Digital Assets ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Mortgages ,
Student Loans ,
Tribal Loans ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
On January 9, a group of five bi-partisan South Carolina Senators introduced Bill 910, which would, among other things, require persons (non-bank lenders) providing “consumer installment loans” or “deferred presentment loans”...more
1/29/2024
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Borrowers ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Payday Loans ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulation Z
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to prohibit covered financial institutions from charging nonsufficient funds fees (NSF) for payment...more
1/29/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
Last month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Assembly Bill 2672, which both prohibits sellers from charging a credit card surcharge greater than what they are charged by the credit card company and requires...more
On January 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to amend exemptions to Regulation Z so the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Regulation Z would apply...more
1/19/2024
/ Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fees ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On January 9, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CA DFPI) announced a consent order with Credova Financial, LLC, (Credova) to resolve allegations that, in violation of the California Consumer...more
On January 2, New York Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled her 2024 consumer protection agenda, which includes plans to regulate the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) industry. Specifically, Governor Hochul plans to propose legislation...more
On December 22, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued an opinion on whether Earned Wage Access (EWA) products constitute either “consumer loans” under Montana Code § 32-5-102(2)(a) or “deferred deposit loans” under §...more
Late last month, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie introduced B 25-0609, entitled the Protecting Affordable Loans Amendment Act of 2023, that proposes to opt the District of Columbia out of sections 521-523 of the Depository...more
12/29/2023
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
DIDMCA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Loans ,
Opt-Outs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
True Lender ,
Usury
Washington now joins the list of states that have enacted or proposed legislation adopting so-called anti-evasion provisions, including legislation passed in Minnesota, Connecticut, Nebraska, and proposed in Florida. On...more
12/22/2023
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Membership Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
True Lender ,
Washington
This week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance to banks on managing the risks associated with “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) lending. Specifically, the bulletin addresses BNPL loans that are...more
In March 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) proposed new regulations under the California Financing Law that would update the definition of loan to include what it dubs as...more
12/7/2023
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Employees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
New Regulations ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
A California state court recently denied a preliminary injunction sought by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (the DFPI) in its long-running litigation against Opportunity Financial (OppFi)...more
11/14/2023
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
True Lender ,
Usury
As discussed here, on June 29, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1033, An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Banking Statutes, into law. Among other things, the bill: (1) raised the small loan limit from $15,000...more
On June 29, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1033, An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Banking Statutes, into law. As discussed here, with this bill, Connecticut joins several other states that have set strict...more
7/14/2023
/ Banks ,
Capital Requirements ,
Connecticut ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
Income Share Agreements ,
Military Lending Act ,
New Legislation ,
Refunds ,
Small Loans
On July 7, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed SB 103 into law, which prohibits any person from offering earned wage access (EWA) services without registering with the Division of Finance and paying an annual $1,000 fee. The...more
7/13/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Reports ,
Credit Scores ,
Earned Wage Access ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Legislation ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
On June 15, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed SB 290 into law, which imposes licensing, reporting, examination, and other substantive requirements on providers of earned wage access (EWA) products. Specifically, the...more