The FDIC will shift its focus and priorities under the leadership of its new Acting Chairman, Travis Hill. In a statement released on January 20, 2025, Chairman Hill signaled a potential departure from some of the initiatives...more
On January 14, 2025, the American Fintech Council (AFC) submitted a letter to the Ohio Department of Financial Institutions, urging it to re-examine its recent guidance on responsible bank partnerships and provide more...more
On January 13, 2025, the CFPB announced a proposed rule aimed at prohibiting companies from including in consumer agreements terms that operate to waive consumers’ legal rights, allow companies to unilaterally change key...more
On January 2, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed an interpretive rule under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E to clarify how emerging payment systems, such as those used in...more
On January 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report, consumer advisory, and filed an amicus brief addressing the risks associated with home equity contracts (HECs)—financial products often...more
1/20/2025
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Home Equity ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
During the week of January 6, the CFPB released a “second” Winter 2024 Supervisory Highlights, focused on the agency’s most recent findings in deposits, small dollar lending, buy now, pay later (BNPL), paycheck advance...more
On January 17, 2025, the CFPB issued a consent order against a large consumer reporting agency for failing to properly investigate consumer disputes concerning inaccurate information on consumers’ credit reports. The CFPB...more
On January 7, 2025, the CFPB announced the finalization of a rule amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., to prohibit the inclusion of medical bills on credit...more
On December 27, 2024, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a notice of assessment of a civil money penalty against a Kansas-based bank. The action, originally brought in November, imposed a $20.4 million...more
On January 7, 2025, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a nationwide consumer reporting agency for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The lawsuit claims the company’s investigation of consumer disputes was inadequate,...more
On January 3, 2025, the CFPB announced a reboot of its no-action letter and compliance assistance sandbox policy, aimed at promoting consumer-beneficial innovation in financial services. The new policies are designed to...more
On January 6, 2025, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a non-bank manufactured home financing company for violations of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z. The lawsuit alleges that the mortgage lender engaged in...more
On December 30, the Department of Justice (DOJ), at the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) referral, filed an amended complaint against an online cash advance provider. The complaint now names the company’s CEO as a defendant,...more
1/6/2025
/ Amended Complaints ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Marking ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
FinTech ,
FTC Act ,
Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) ,
Popular
As 2024 concludes, financial markets are witnessing significant shifts, particularly within the world of cryptocurrency. As crypto investors profit, many cash out from more volatile assets, such as Bitcoin, to safer options...more
1/6/2025
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investors ,
Stablecoins ,
Technology ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
On December 19, the U.S. Department of Treasury released a report summarizing key findings from its 2024 Request for Information (RFI) on the uses, opportunities, and risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in financial...more
Until fall 2023, there were few SEC enforcements or litigations involving securities issues with non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”). This has changed dramatically. In rapid succession last fall, the SEC undertook two enforcements...more
1/2/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Virtual Currency
This year, the SEC has ramped up its enforcement efforts against digital asset marketplaces for selling non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) (and other digital assets) the agency alleges are securities. In response, some potential...more
1/2/2025
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Virtual Currency
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken a significant step in its regulatory scrutiny of blockchain gaming projects by issuing a Wells notice to CyberKongz, a prominent NFT gaming platform. This...more
On December 20, 2024, an Illinois federal court, in considering a motion for a preliminary injunction brought by the Illinois Bankers Association, American Bankers Association, and other trade groups, ruled that national...more
On December 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) issued a circular to other law enforcement agencies warning that some credit card companies operating rewards programs may be breaking the law, and...more
On December 16, the CFPB released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights, which detailed findings from the Bureau’s recent examinations of student loan markets. The report identifies a range of violations related to...more
12/24/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
New Guidance ,
Regulation E ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Student Loan Servicers Regulation ,
Student Loans
Yet another “celebrity” token memecoin project seeking to leverage a “cultural movement” has become the subject of a lawsuit alleging that the tokens were unregistered securities. A group of plaintiffs recently sued over the...more
On December 9, the CFPB announced its release of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to gather information in preparation for the release of a proposed rule to address concerns related to information furnished to credit...more
On December 6, the CFPB issued an order establishing supervisory authority over a major tech company. While the company is already subject to CFPB’s enforcement authority, the Bureau has determined that the company meets the...more
On December 9, the CFPB entered into a consent order with a debt collection agency for alleged unlawful student loan debt collection practices against defaulted borrowers. The debt collection agency’s allegedly improper...more