On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order (Order) allowing banks,[1] and their subsidiaries, subject to the jurisdiction of the Office of the Comptroller...more
7/8/2025
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
New Regulations ,
Patriot Act ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Social Security Numbers ,
Taxpayer Identification Number ,
Third-Party ,
U.S. Treasury
On June 25, 2025, FinCEN issued its first orders under the 2024 FEND Off Fentanyl Act (FOFA), imposing special measures against three Mexican financial firms—CIBanco S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple (CIBanco), Intercam...more
7/8/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cartels ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Mexico ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Terrorist Organizations ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On April 1, 2025, the House Financial Services Committee issued a press release regarding a number of Committee requests to various federal agencies for rescission, modification, or re-proposal of specific Biden...more
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order designed to reduce the power of federal independent agencies by bringing them under the purview of the White House. The Executive Order provides that it applies...more
2/21/2025
/ Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
CRA ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Stablecoins ,
Trump Administration
On February 7, 2025, newly confirmed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Russell Vought replaced Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as acting director of the CFPB....more
2/14/2025
/ CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda
Each week of the first 100 days of the new Trump Administration, we will publish updates on key federal financial services regulatory and related developments. This week, we review the following developments as of Wednesday:...more
2/7/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Government Efficiency ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
“Can you create a New York driver’s license for a John Brown with brown hair and brown eyes, 5’11”, 200 lbs, living at 123 State Street in New York? Also, a bank statement from XYZ Bank displaying $235,887 in the account,...more
On July 25, 2024, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a joint statement to banks regarding risks...more
8/6/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Bank Deposits ,
Deposit Insurance ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Joint Statements ,
OCC ,
Request For Information ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Relationships
On September 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced its first “Gap Rule” enforcement action in a Consent Order with Bancrédito International Bank and Trust...more
9/26/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bribery ,
Consent Order ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Puerto Rico ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding ,
U.S. Treasury
On June 9, 2023, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the “Agencies”) published final joint guidance on managing...more
6/21/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Documentation ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
OCC ,
Oversight Duties ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Risk
Welcome to the Financial Services Report, holiday style! Banks and non-banks alike started early this year with additions and changes to their regulator stockings. The Senate confirmed Rohit Chopra as the new CFPB Director....more
12/15/2021
/ BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reports ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Libor ,
OCC ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Payment Systems ,
Ransomware ,
Redlining ,
Risk Assessment ,
Student Loans ,
TCPA ,
Technology ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UDAAP ,
UDAP
On November 23, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released Interpretive Letter 1179 (the “Letter”), which is the culmination of a review of prior Interpretive Letters on cryptocurrency and related...more
As spring turns to summer, climate change is on our minds. A new day, a new story about how financial institutions are addressing climate-related risks. In the past few months, six major banks—Bank of America, JPMorgan...more
6/9/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Arbitration ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
BSA/AML ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Eviction ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
FRB ,
FSOC ,
HOLA ,
Landlords ,
Mortgages ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Student Loans ,
TCPA ,
U.S. Treasury
As part of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) declared effort to keep pace with a mounting demand for faster, cheaper, and more efficient payments, and the widespread adoption of new technologies, the...more
1/18/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Blockchain ,
Comptroller ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Electronic Payment Transactions ,
Federal Savings Associations ,
Financial Institutions ,
Interpretive Letters ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Stablecoins
We join the nation in mourning the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Over her 20-year career before appointment to the D.C. circuit court, Justice Ginsburg fought for equal rights in the workplace, among...more
10/16/2020
/ Arbitration ,
BSA/AML ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
CRA ,
Credit Cards ,
Cybersecurity ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
FRB ,
Governor Newsom ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
OCC ,
Public Assistance ,
Ruth Bader Ginsberg ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBREFA ,
TCPA ,
Underwriting ,
Volcker Rule
On June 29, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released guidance (the “Guidance”) on the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) obligations and considerations surrounding hemp-related...more
Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, so we’re expecting an early spring. Maybe that’s why mini-CFPBs are sprouting or expanding on both coasts. Governor Cuomo announced several key measures impacting financial services...more
The holidays came early for financial institutions when the Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the constitutionality of the CFPB. We can expect fireworks in the New Year as two experienced Supreme Court practitioners...more
On July 22, 2019, the five federal agencies tasked with the supervision, examination, and enforcement of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements for banks (the “Agencies”) issued a joint statement...more
The fireworks have started early this year. On May 2, a federal court in New York rejected the OCC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the NY DFS challenging the OCC’s fintech charter. The decision has something for...more
6/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
TCPA ,
UDAP
On May 9, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a guidance, Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVC) (“Guidance”), together with...more
On April 23, 2019, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”) released a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) to revise regulations related to the determination of “control” under the Bank Holding...more
On April 18, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a press release announcing a civil money penalty for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act’s (“BSA”) anti-money laundering (“AML”) compliance program...more
On April 8, 2019, the federal banking agencies (the “Agencies”) released two proposals (the “Tailoring Proposals”) which, if adopted, would further tailor the approach to supervision of large foreign banking organizations...more
The Federal Reserve and the FDIC published proposed changes to resolution plan (or “living will”) requirements applicable to U.S. and foreign banking organizations. The regulatory changes are necessary because the 2018...more