This is the final article in our three-part series focused on a key question: as bank-fintech partnerships continue to play a vital role in driving financial services, how does the industry make this system safer and better?...more
4/8/2025
/ Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Ethereum ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Tokens ,
Smart Contracts
Last Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the rescission of Financial Institution Letter (FIL-16-2022) and issued new guidance clarifying the process for FDIC-supervised institutions to engage in...more
4/1/2025
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Oversight
On March 20, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it will no longer examine its regulated institutions for reputation risk. According to the OCC’s “Categories of Risk,” reputation risk is the...more
In this episode of The Crypto Exchange, Ethan Ostroff and Alexandra Barrage are joined by Matt Bornfreund to discuss recent activities by federal banking regulators and federal legislative developments impacting the digital...more
On March 17, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it has granted conditional approval for SmartBiz Loans to transform the business model of CenTrust Bank, N.A., located in Northbrook, Illinois....more
On March 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a significant update regarding the involvement of national banks and federal savings associations in cryptocurrency activities. Interpretive Letter 1183...more
3/13/2025
/ Banks ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Interpretive Letters ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
On January 8, Senate Bill No. 1252 (SB 1252) was introduced to the Virginia General Assembly, aiming to amend and reenact sections of the Code of Virginia related to the application of usury rates. Just two weeks ago, the...more
2/28/2025
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
On January 8, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the claims brought by Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc. (BSJI) against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and the Board...more
1/14/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Banks ,
Breach of Contract ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Depository Institutions ,
Due Process ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Financial Institutions ,
FRBNY ,
Judicial Authority ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Statutory Interpretation
In the last two weeks, several amicus briefs were filed in the Tenth Circuit in the ongoing litigation concerning Colorado’s opt-out from the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (DIDMCA). Troutman...more
12/5/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Banks ,
Colorado ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
DIDMCA ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
Opt-Outs ,
Preliminary Injunctions
Over one year ago, on October 3, 2023, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) proposed supervisory guidelines that would establish standards for corporate governance and risk management for all state non-member...more
This is the second of three articles focused on a key question: as bank-fintech partnerships continue to play a vital role in driving financial services, how does the industry make this system safer and better?...more
10/4/2024
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Banks ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Management
On September 17, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (Proposal) aimed at enhancing recordkeeping for bank deposits received from fintech and other third-party, non-bank...more
9/19/2024
/ Banks ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
New Rules ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Third-Party
This is the first of three articles focused on a key question: as bank-fintech partnerships continue to play a vital role in driving financial services, how does the industry make this system safer and better?...more
“Hot money” – as it was later dubbed – was viewed by skeptics as one of the major causes of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s....more
“I would say a lot of these fintechs deposits are actually the opposite of hot money,” said Matthew Bornfreund, a partner at Troutman Pepper. “I think a problem with this proposed rulemaking is, the FDIC asserts that these...more
On July 30, 2024, the FDIC proposed substantive changes to the 2020 Brokered Deposit Rule (2020 Rule) that, if finalized, could meaningfully impact a wide group of bank and nonbank stakeholders who rely on the current rule’s...more
Last week, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint statement highlighting...more
7/29/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Joint Statements ,
OCC ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Third-Party Relationships
On June 24, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced it is requesting comments on proposed amendments to its recovery planning guidelines. A recovery plan’s purpose is to provide a covered bank with a...more
On May 3, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the agencies) released a guidebook aimed at assisting...more
There has been a great deal of press about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) vote to ban employee non-competition provisions and policies. While the FTC describes the rule as a comprehensive ban, it acknowledges that the...more
4/30/2024
/ Banks ,
Credit Unions ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On March 12, at the Institute of International Bankers Annual Washington Conference, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu discussed the importance of operational resilience in the banking sector and hinted that...more