EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Cash control provisions are critical features of any subscription credit facility, safeguarding lenders’ primary repayment sources while also potentially impacting the Fund’s cash management operations....more
On January 13, the CFPB proposed a new rule to ban large banks and consumer finance companies from using certain contractual provisions in agreements with consumers under Regulation AA. The CFPB’s proposal warns against the...more
We conclude our three-part blog series with a look at the affordable housing crisis. It is an omnipresent challenge facing many communities across the United States. From small towns like Kerrville, Texas, to bustling cities...more
In Mancuso v. MDG USA Inc., the Third Circuit Court of Appeals considered defendant MDG’s appeal of an order denying its motion to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s lawsuit alleging violations of state and federal fair...more
Recently, 93 members of Congress (all Democrats) signed a letter in support of the pending Petition for Rulemaking filed by consumer advocacy groups in September that would prohibit pre-dispute consumer arbitration clauses...more
Recently, Professor Sovern replied to our blog post that commented on the letter that he and 160 other law academicians submitted to the CFPB in support of the pending Petition for Rulemaking that would prohibit pre-dispute...more
As we reported, the CFPB just released its Fall 2023 rulemaking agenda as part of the Fall 2023 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions....more
We previously reported and released a podcast episode on comments that we and Professor David Sherwyn of Cornell University submitted in opposition to the Petition for Rulemaking filed by a number of consumer advocacy groups...more
On October 24, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced a settlement with Wisconsin auto dealer group Rhinelander Auto Center, Inc. (Rhinelander), its current and former owners, and...more
Currently, California trial court proceedings are automatically stayed when a party appeals an order denying a motion to compel arbitration. However, on October 10, 2023, Governor Newsom signed California Senate Bill No. 365...more
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications - Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision in Coinbase Inc. v. Bielski requires that district court litigation in any matter remain in the starting gate while any appeal from a denial of a motion to compel arbitration in...more
Professor Jeff Sovern, who recently joined the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law faculty, has recently blogged about a forthcoming Study by academicians at other institutions that will be published in...more
Last week, Professor Jeff Sovern of St. John’s University School of Law published a blog post discussing a new empirical study by Roseanna Sommers, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, dealing...more
Our response to Professor Sovern’s article about arbitration opt-outs and so-called “dark patterns” prompted a reply in which he poses two “challenges”: (1) “prove that opt outs benefit consumers by telling us how many...more
On May 31, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) requested public comment on a petition for rulemaking it received from six national consumer advocate groups regarding “yo-yo sales,” a term the groups use to refer to...more
Make-whole clauses (also known as prepayment premiums, call premiums or call protection) are provisions in financing transactions that require the borrower to make a specified payment to the lender if a loan is prepaid before...more
For the past decade, Professor Jeff Sovern has criticized companies for including opt out provisions in their consumer arbitration clauses, even though such provisions give consumers freedom of choice by allowing them to...more
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, or CorpFin, has released an updated financial reporting manual (FRM). In keeping with prior convention, updates as of Dec. 31, 2022, are marked with a “Last updated: 12/31/2022”...more
The California Court of Appeal recently ruled that California law treats default interest measured against the unpaid principal balance of a loan as an unenforceable penalty. In Honchariw v. FJM Private Mortgage Fund, LLC...more
With the situation surrounding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus rapidly changing, key practical considerations for financial institutions regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and Hong Kong Monetary Authority...more
The European Commission has launched a consultation relating to its evaluation of the Distance Marketing of Financial Services Directive (2002/65/EC) (DMD)....more
Financial Industry Developments - The CFPB Publishes Final Rule for Prepaid Accounts - On October 5, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") finalized comprehensive consumer protections for...more
Editor's Note - Regulation and Innovation, Part IV. In the April 6, June 22 and September 14 editions of the Roundup, we discussed the approaches of various banking regulators generally, and the Office of the...more