On December 21, Congress overwhelmingly passed a consolidated bill (H.R. 133) that contains $1.4 trillion in appropriations to keep the federal government funded until October 2021 and $900 billion in coronavirus economic...more
On December 21, 2020, the CFPB issued an advisory opinion that addresses regulatory uncertainty related to certain aspects of special purpose credit programs (“SPCPs”) designed and implemented by for-profit organizations. The...more
Congress passed additional COVID-19 relief legislation (H.R. 133) on Monday evening, December 21, 2020. Today, President Trump is expected to sign the deal, which includes a $900 billion economic stimulus package that will...more
12/23/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Eviction ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Foreclosure ,
Mortgages ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SNAP Program ,
Unemployment Benefits
Lawsuits and demand letters relating to the accessibility of websites continue to be filed at a rapid pace in 2020, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has increased consumer reliance on the internet for purchases of goods...more
The CFPB has taken a significant step towards issuing regulations to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act by releasing an outline of the proposals it is considering in preparation for convening a small business...more
9/21/2020
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Minority-Owned Businesses ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SBREFA ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Women-Owned Businesses
On September 4, 2020, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) issued a final rule revising its 2013 Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) disparate impact standards (“2013 Rule”) to reflect the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015...more
Since early June 2020 when cries for racial justice resulted in a period of social unrest in the U.S., federal and state financial institution regulators have taken meaningful, proactive steps to acknowledge financial...more
8/21/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Opportunity Zones ,
Race Discrimination ,
Request For Information
The CFPB has extended by 60 days the comment period for its Request for Information (RFI) on how best to create a regulatory environment that expands access to credit and ensures that all consumers and communities are...more
8/20/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Discrimination ,
Creditors ,
ECOA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulation B ,
Request For Information
On August 8, 2020, President Trump signed four executive orders that are designed to provide additional COVID-19 relief as talks on Capitol Hill collapsed on August 7 between White House negotiators and Democratic leaders...more
On August 3, 2020, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”) issued a joint statement to provide prudent risk management and consumer protection principles for financial institutions to consider when...more
8/7/2020
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interagency Guidance ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Internal Controls ,
Joint Statements ,
Loan Modifications ,
Loans ,
Risk Management
Recently, the federal banking regulators issued four new sets of examination procedures. The OCC issued two significant examination booklets on sampling methodologies and UDAP/UDAAP, and the federal banking regulators,...more
8/4/2020
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
CARES Act ,
Comptroller ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Examination Procedures ,
Financial Institutions ,
FRB ,
FTC Act ,
UDAAP ,
UDAP
On July 28, 2020, the CFPB issued a request for information (“RFI”) seeking public input on how best to create a regulatory environment that expands access to credit and ensures consumers and communities are protected from...more
7/31/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Public Comment ,
Regulation B ,
Request For Information
When the OCC issued its final Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) rule on May 20, 2020, the agency acted alone without waiting to achieve consensus with the FDIC, the agency with which the OCC had jointly issued its proposed...more
Over the past six weeks, opposition to the OCC’s Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) final rule has hardened on two fronts. The OCC’s decision to hurriedly issue the final rule on May 20, 2020 without achieving consensus with...more
On May 20, 2020, the OCC issued a final rule to “strengthen and modernize” its existing Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) regulations. This is the second in a series of five blog posts about the final rule....more
6/26/2020
/ Banks ,
Community Development ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lending ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCC ,
Performance Standards
On May 20, 2020, the OCC issued a final rule to “strengthen and modernize” its existing Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) regulations. According to the agency’s press release, the final rule is designed to increase...more
The OCC has issued a final rule revising its regulation implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The final rule applies to national banks and federal savings associations....more
On May 6, 2020, the CFPB issued an ECOA/Regulation B “Compliance Aid” containing three FAQs that clarify certain issues related to notification of action taken on Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection...more
On March 26, the CFPB issued three policy statements designed to provide flexibility to banks and financial services companies to allow them to focus on responding to customers in need during the COVID-19 pandemic....more
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that the office of Federal Student Aid is executing on President Trump’s promise to provide student loan relief during the COVID-19 pandemic through several initiatives...more
On March 19, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) issued guidance urging all state-regulated financial institutions during the outbreak of the coronavirus to reduce its adverse impact by working with...more
On March 5, 2020, the OCC issued a revised set of FAQs designed to supplement OCC Bulletin 2013-29 (Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management Guidance) issued on October 30, 2013. ...more
On February 26, 2020, the CFPB held a symposium on Consumer Access to Financial Records and Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. ...more
3/3/2020
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Management ,
Data-Sharing ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Records ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulation E ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Request For Information ,
Right-To-Access ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Symposium