John Georgievski

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On February 24, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) released a Notice containing modifications to previously proposed regulations addressing the Consumer Financial Protection Law (“CFPL”).  The CFPL, in addition to its consumer focused provisions, contains UDAAP and reporting rules regarding certain commercial financial products and services offered to “covered entities,” which is defined to include small businesses, nonprofits, and family farms whose activities are principally directed or managed from California. … Continue Reading

On January 23, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services released guidance with the stated goal of helping to protect customers of virtual currency businesses in the event of an insolvency or similar proceeding by imposing new custody and disclosure requirements on virtual currency entities that act as custodians.  Specifically, the guidance focuses on four areas for virtual currency entities acting as custodians (or “VCE Custodians”):

  • Segregation of and Separate Accounting for Customer Virtual Currency: A VCE Custodian is expected to (1) separately account for and segregate customer virtual currency from the corporate assets of the VCE Custodian and its affiliated entities, both on-chain and on the VCE Custodian’s internal ledger accounts; (2) avoid comingling customer virtual currency with any of the VCE Custodian’s own virtual currency or with any other non-customer virtual currency; and (3) clearly and prominently disclose the manner in which the VCE Custodian segregates and accounts for customer virtual currency. 
… Continue Reading

On September 9, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) proposed to amend its student loan servicing regulations, which we previously covered  here.  After reviewing public comments, on January 6, 2023, the DFPI released a Notice requesting an additional round of public comments on a modified set of regulations.  … Continue Reading

On December 15, 2022, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) published an Industry Letter detailing the Department’s guidance regarding banking organizations that wish to engage in virtual currency-related activities.  In addition to reminding banks, trust companies, private bankers, savings banks, safe deposit companies, savings and loan associations, credit unions, investment companies, branches, and agencies of foreign banking organizations licensed by the NYDFS (together, “Banking Organizations”) of their preexisting obligation to seek approval from the NYDFS before engaging in new or significantly different virtual currency-related activity in New York or with a New York resident, the guidance describes the process and types of information that the NYDFS considers in connection with its approval process.… Continue Reading

The New York state legislature is currently considering a pair of companion bills which would impose detailed notice and records requirements upon student loan servicers.  New York Senate bill S5136B, which was passed by the New York Senate earlier this year, and New York House bill A6226B, which is currently under consideration with the New York Legislature’s Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee, would require “creditors and debt collectors” to provide certain written disclosures to borrowers or cosigners of private education loans at the time of the first collection communication (or within five days after the first communication). … Continue Reading

On December 12, 2022, the CFPB released a proposed rule that would require certain “covered nonbanks” to register with and submit information to the CFPB when they become subject to certain  orders from local, state, or federal agencies and courts involving violations of certain consumer protection laws.  The CFPB has further proposed to make the registration information publicly available, including by publishing it on the Bureau’s website.… Continue Reading

On December 22, 2021, New York State Senate Bill 2767A was signed into law. The Bill establishes the Private Student Loan Refinancing Task Force (the “Task Force”), which was charged with “study[ing] and analyz[ing] ways lending institutions that offer non-federal student loans to students of New York institutions of higher education can be incentivized and encouraged to create student loan refinance programs.”… Continue Reading

Pointing to a growth in consumer complaints related to crypto-assets, on November 10th, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) released a Complaint Bulletin, which analyzed in excess of 8,300 consumer complaints that the CFPB had received related to crypto-assets.  The CFPB reviewed complaints submitted to it during the period of October 2018 to September 2022, but noted that the majority of the complaints it received were submitted over the last two years, with the greatest number of complaints submitted by consumers in California and Florida.… Continue Reading

On September 29, 2022, the Attorneys General of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against President Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and the U.S. Department of Education (4:22-cv-01040) seeking to halt implementation of the Biden Administration’s student loan relief plan announced on August 24, 2022.… Continue Reading

On September 9, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (the “DFPI”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Action that proposes to adopt regulations implementing the Student Loan Servicing Act (section 28100, et seq.) and the Student Loans: Borrower Rights Law (Civil Code section 1788.100, et seq.). … Continue Reading