The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in a Texas federal district court challenging the validity of the CFPB’s final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act have filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction. (The final rule was published in today’s Federal Register.) Originally filed last month naming the Texas Bankers Association and Rio Bank, McAllen, Texas as plaintiffs, the complaint was amended this month to add the American Bankers Association as a plaintiff. … Continue Reading
SCOTUS’s latest Clean Water Act decision raises more questions about Chevron’s future
In its decision last week in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that severely limits the federal government’s jurisdiction over wetlands and tributaries. Specifically, the Court rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory definition of what constitutes “Waters of the United States” subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA). … Continue Reading
CFPB Targets Specialty Financial Products Used to Pay for Medical Care
Earlier this month, the CFPB published a report on specialty financial products, such as medical credit cards and installment loans, which are sold to patients as a way to address the growing costs of medical care. The report focuses on some of these financial products, which patients once used primarily for elective care but now use to cover everything from emergency room visits to medications to regular checkups, as well as dental and vision visits and treatment.… Continue Reading
Housing Market Industry Group Urges Supreme Court to Preserve CFPB’s Mortgage and Real-Estate Regulations Regardless of Constitutional Question’s Outcome
As the financial services industry continues to monitor the proceedings in Community Financial Services Association of America v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an industry group composed of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has filed a brief as amici curiae cautioning the Supreme Court against a ruling that could call into question all of the CFPB’s regulations.… Continue Reading
Fintech settles allegations that payment of tips and donations was a hidden interest charge
A fintech peer-to-peer lender has entered into separate consent orders with California, Washington D.C., and Connecticut relating to its practice of requesting tips and donations in connection with the loans offered through its platform. The fintech’s platform offers opportunities for members to act as borrowers or lenders and facilitates loans between its members.… Continue Reading
Department of Treasury Issues Strategy on De-Risking
Report Offers Weak Insight on Causation but Lists Steps that Treasury Can and Should Take
The Department of Treasury (“DOT”) recently released its first ever strategy report (the “Strategy”) on the topic of de-risking, taking the form of a 54-page document that combines a summary of the problem of de-risking with an overview of recommended steps to solve it.… Continue Reading
Department of Education releases proposed gainful employment rule for certificate and for-profit programs
On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to increase transparency regarding the costs and financial outcomes of postsecondary programs. The centerpiece of the proposed regulations is a Gainful Employment (“GE”) Rule, which would terminate access to federal financial aid for career training programs that fail to meet federal benchmarks.… Continue Reading
Kansas Passes an Act Requiring Mortgage Companies, Supervised Lender, and Money Transmitters to Create Information Security Standards Consistent with GLBA’s Consumer Information Safeguard Rule
On April 24, the Governor of Kansas signed into law Kansas Senate Bill 44, which enacts the Financial Institutions Information Security Act (the “Act”). The Act requires credit services organizations, mortgage companies, supervised lenders, money transmitters, trust companies, and technology-enabled fiduciary financial institutions to comply with the requirements of the GLBA’s Safeguards Rule, as in effect on July 1, 2023.… Continue Reading
Senator Bennet Proposes Federal Commission to Regulate Artificial Intelligence
Following recent Senate testimony in which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman proposed additional Congressional oversight for the development of artificial intelligence (AI), Colorado Senator Michael Bennet has re-introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act, a bill that would enable the creation of a federal agency to oversee the use of AI by digital platforms. … Continue Reading
CFPB Issues Small Business Lending Rule Compliance Guide
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a Small Entity Compliance Guide (“Guide”) covering the amendments to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B, which implement requirements of Section 1071 of Dodd-Frank. These amendments require that financial institutions compile and report certain data regarding certain business credit applications, as explained in our blog.… Continue Reading