On August 19, the Wyoming Stable Token Commission announced the launch of the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), making Wyoming the first public entity in the United States to issue a state-backed, blockchain-based stablecoin. The...more
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 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 14, the OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC announced the release of a joint statement clarifying how existing laws and regulations apply to crypto-asset safekeeping services offered by banking organizations. The statement...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, 2025, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report urging City and State leaders to modernize consumer financial protections. The report outlines a series of legislative and regulatory recommendations...more
6/19/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
New York ,
NYDFS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Privacy Laws
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 23, the CFPB notified a Kentucky federal court that it now considers its own 2023 open banking rule “unlawful” and plans to set the rule aside. The Bureau announced its intent to seek summary judgement against the...more
On May 9, the NYDFS announced that Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York’s FY2026 Budget into law, enacting two major consumer financial protection measures. The budget establishes a licensing and supervision framework for...more
5/23/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Fees ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Lenders ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight
On May 20, federal merger policy took a sharp turn as the FDIC voted to rescind its 2024 merger guidelines, and the U.S. House passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal the OCC’s 2024 merger rule....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 April 29, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood delivered pre-recorded remarks at the National Fair Housing Alliance’s Responsible AI Symposium. In his speech, Hood reiterated the OCC’s commitment to deploying AI...more
5/9/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Technology
On April 16, the Colorado General Assembly enacted House Bill 25-1201, replacing the state’s prior money transmitter law with the Money Transmission Modernization Act (the “Act”). Modeled on the multistate framework developed...more
On April 18, the FDIC announced a consent order against a Delaware-based bank alleging that the bank engaged in unsafe and unsound banking practices and violated various federal consumer protection laws, including Section 5...more
On April 22, the Fourth Circuit declined to reconsider a panel ruling that found a credit union could not be held liable for a scam in which fraudsters diverted over $560,000 from a metal fabricator through unauthorized ACH...more
5/1/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Credit Unions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Know Your Customers ,
Litigation Strategies ,
NACHA ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulation E ,
Regulatory Requirements
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 April 7, the FCC issued an order staying the effective date of a key provision in its Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules. The provision—originally set to take effect on April 11, 2025—would have required that a...more
On March 21, the U.S. Department of the Treasury submitted a report to the Office of Management and Budget affirming that all 11 programs administered by the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund are...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 20, the OCC announced that it will no longer treat reputation risk as a standalone category in its supervision of national banks and federal savings associations. The decision marks a dramatic shift in the agency’s...more
On March 18, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood reiterated the OCC’s commitment to ensuring fair access to banking services, including for cryptocurrency firms. Speaking at a retail banking industry conference,...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