On August 7, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal banking regulators to prevent financial institutions and financial service providers from denying or restricting financial services and products based...more
On August 12, a coalition of banking trade associations sent a joint letter to Congress warning that the recently enacted GENIUS Act contains a loophole that could allow the indirect payment of interest or yield on payment...more
8/15/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Stablecoins ,
Technology ,
The GENIUS Act
On July 29, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted the CFPB’s request to stay litigation challenging its open banking rule. The rule (previously discussed here) aimed to establish industry-wide...more
On July 23, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied the Department of Justice’s motion to terminate a consent order requiring a Pennsylvania bank to implement a five-year fair lending...more
On July 10, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Jonathan Gould as Comptroller of the Currency in a 50–45 vote. Gould will serve a five-year term and returns to the OCC, where he previously served as Chief Counsel and Senior...more
On July 1, the CFPB terminated two separate consent orders, one involving a federal credit union and the other involving a national mortgage servicer. Both orders stemmed from 2024 enforcement actions and involved alleged...more
On June 23, the Federal Reserve Board announced that reputational risk will no longer be a component of its bank-examination program. The same day, the Board released a revised edition of its Guidelines for Rating Risk...more
6/27/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
On May 14, the OCC entered into a formal agreement with a New York-based bank after determining that the institution is in “troubled condition.” In its findings, the OCC cited alleged unsafe or unsound practices tied to the...more
6/27/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consent Order ,
Corrective Actions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
New York ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Strategic Planning
On June 9, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood issued a letter rejecting the Conference of State Bank Supervisors’ (CSBS) request that the OCC rescind its 2011 preemption regulations.
The OCC ‘s letter signals...more
6/13/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Agencies ,
OCC ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
On May 16, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law S. 27, a medical debt relief measure that prohibits the inclusion of medical debt on consumer credit reports and establishes a state-funded initiative to abolish...more
5/30/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Medical Debt ,
New Legislation ,
Nonprofits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government
On May 21, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee granted a joint motion by the CFPB and DOJ to terminate a 2021 redlining settlement with a regional bank, vacating the consent order and dismissing the...more
On May 20, the U.S. Senate voted 66-32 to move forward with the Guardrails and Enforcement for Neutral Issuers of United States Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act (the “Act”), pushing the stablecoin bill past a major procedural hurdle....more
5/23/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Agencies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stablecoins
On May 9, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that President Trump intends to nominate Jonathan McKernan to serve as the Undersecretary of Domestic Finance. McKernan had been awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the...more
On May 9, President Trump signed a Congressional Review Act resolution repealing the CFPB’s final rule restricting overdraft fees at large financial institutions. The rule, originally finalized under the Biden administration,...more
5/16/2025
/ Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On May 7, the OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1184, reaffirming that national banks and federal savings associations may provide cryptocurrency custody and execution services, including through sub-custodians. The OCC...more
5/16/2025
/ Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Technology
On May 1, the CFPB filed a joint motion with two financial trade groups to vacate a Biden-era rule barring most medical debt from appearing on consumer credit reports. The motion comes after lender groups filed a lawsuit in...more
On April 15, Judge Mark T. Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered an Order and Final Judgement vacating the CFPB’s 2024 credit card late fee rule (previously discussed here) for...more
On April 9, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City published a research briefing examining how video game platforms are reshaping the digital payments landscape. As in-game purchases and platform-based transactions grow in...more
4/21/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Technology Sector ,
Video Games
On March 28, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC jointly announced plans to rescind 2023 revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The agencies stated they would return to the previous regulatory framework...more
On March 28, the FDIC issued updated guidance clarifying the process for FDIC-supervised institutions to engage in crypto-related activities. The guidance rescinds and replaces prior instructions issued in 2022 and makes...more
On April 3, the CFPB informed a Florida federal district court that it plans to initiate new rulemaking to revise its small business lending data collection rule under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Bureau agreed to...more
On March 24, acting FDIC Chairman Travis Hill informed Congress that the agency is preparing to eliminate the use of “reputation risk” as a basis for supervisory criticism. In a letter to Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), Hill...more
On March 7, the OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1183 and an accompanying statement affirming prior guidance regarding whether national banks and federal savings associations may engage in cryptocurrency-related activities,...more
3/17/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interpretive Letters ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Stablecoins
On March 1, and despite recent policy shifts under the new administration, the CFPB sent a letter to the judge overseeing its lawsuit against a fintech lender in the United States District Court for the Southern District of...more
On March 3, the FDIC announced the withdrawal of its proposed rule on brokered deposits, citing concerns regarding potential disruptions to the financial sector. This move follows significant pushback from industry...more