In this episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, host Alan Kaplinsky (founder, former chair for 25 years and now Senior Counsel) had the pleasure of speaking with Sam Levine, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), about the agency’s evolving role as one of the most active local consumer protection regulators in the country.… Continue Reading

The Federal Reserve has transferred funds to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pay the expenses of the CFPB for the third quarter of this fiscal year, according to a letter posted on the agency’s website.

The letter from Federal Reserve Chief Financial Officer Rendell Jones to CFPB Chief Financial Officer Janfar Gueye does not disclose the amount of the deposit, but the bureau requested $75.8 million.… Continue Reading

A high-stakes procedural battle is unfolding in the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that could determine the near-term fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”).

In a newly filed response, the National Treasury Employees Union (“NTEU”) and other plaintiffs are pushing back forcefully against efforts by Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought and the government to modify an existing preliminary injunction that has, to date, prevented large-scale layoffs at the agency.… Continue Reading

In Episode 4 of our Debt Sales 101 mini-series, we focus on the current regulatory landscape governing debt sales and how recent developments are shaping the market. We discuss how oversight has become more fragmented, more active, and increasingly driven by state regulators and attorneys general, and how that shift is affecting both buyers and sellers.… Continue Reading

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently entered into a consent order with The Federal Savings Bank in Chicago, Illinois (Bank) to settle allegations of false or misleading statements regarding cash-out mortgage refinance loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The consent order includes typical allegations of improper marketing of VA cash-out loans, although the remedy provisions have drawn the ire of at least one consumer group.… Continue Reading

FinCEN has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) that would formalize and expand its whistleblower program, offering potentially substantial financial payouts to whistleblowers reporting certain financial crimes. According to FinCEN’s announcement, this initiative is designed to incentivize and protect individuals who report violations of major financial crime laws—specifically, the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”), the Trading With the Enemy Act (“TWEA”), and the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the “Kingpin Act”).… Continue Reading

In a move that could bolster efforts to reshape the landscape of subscription-based commerce, New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Samuel A.A. Levine recently unveiled a proposed “Click-to-Cancel” rule that would position New York City at the forefront of consumer protection in this space.… Continue Reading

The latest episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast being released today tackles one of the most consequential developments in bank–fintech litigation in recent years: the Los Angeles Superior Court’s tentative decision in Opportunity Financial, LLC v. Hewlett (read more here). This case squarely addresses the long-debated “true lender” doctrine which has for decades bedeviled banks and Fintechs and “bricks and mortar” non-banks that have entered into joint ventures with one another to engage in interstate lending programs which take advantage of interest rate exportation rights afforded to banks.… Continue Reading

The FDIC and the OCC have adopted a joint final rule that will prohibit the agencies from criticizing or taking adverse action against a financial institution based on reputation risk.  The rule is effective June 6.

The rule will also prohibit the agencies from “requiring, instructing, or encouraging an institution to close customer accounts or take other actions on the basis of a person or entity’s political, social, cultural, or religious views or beliefs, constitutionally protected speech, or solely on the basis of politically disfavored but lawful business activities perceived to present reputation risk,” according to a statement from the agencies.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued its first proposed rule under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, marking a key milestone in federal efforts to regulate payment stablecoins. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) outlines the principles Treasury will use to assess whether a state’s regulatory regime is “substantially similar” to the federal framework, which determines whether certain stablecoin issuers may be supervised by states rather than the OCC or other federal agencies.… Continue Reading