Richard J. Andreano, Jr.

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Promising that the NCUA will not engage in “regulation by enforcement,” NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman has sent a letter to credit unions outlining his supervisory priorities for 2026.

“NCUA is dedicated to supporting credit unions, developing right-sized regulations and policies that safely advance innovation within the credit union system, and protecting member deposits and the Share Insurance Fund through productive, streamlined credit union supervision,” Hauptman wrote in his letter.… Continue Reading

We have previously reported on the tortured history of the disparate impact rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Fair Housing Act, most recently here. HUD now proposes to remove the rule from its regulations. Comments are due by February 13, 2026.

How did we get here?… Continue Reading

As previously reported, in October 2023 the CFPB and DOJ issued a joint statement regarding “the potential civil rights implications of a creditor’s consideration of an individual’s immigration status under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).” We were critical of the joint statement, and observed that:

“By not providing clear guidance on when the consideration of immigration status can cross the line into improper discrimination based on race or national origin, the agencies make it difficult for us to avoid the conclusion that the agencies’ primary goal in issuing the statement is to scare creditors away from using immigration status in credit decisions.”… Continue Reading

On January 3, 2026, the Senate sent the nomination of Stuart Levenbach to be CFPB Director back to the President without acting on it—a move that would allow Russell Vought to remain acting head of the bureau through August 1.

President Trump nominated Levenbach, an Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as CFPB Director in November.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).

Banks, savings associations and credit unions are not subject to the mortgage loan data collection and reporting requirements under HMDA for a calendar year if their assets as of December 31 of the prior calendar year did not exceed an asset threshold.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold for the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) requirement to maintain an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan (HPML).

Regulation Z, which implements the TILA, generally requires creditors to maintain an escrow account for the payment of taxes and insurance on a first lien HPML.… Continue Reading

In a case of first impression, in clarifying her injunction issued in the lawsuit brought by the National Treasury Employees Union and others challenging the planned reductions in force and other efforts to reduce functions at the CFPB, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the DC Federal District Court vigorously rejected the opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice (“OLC”) that the CFPB may not be funded by the Fed because (1) the Dodd-Frank Act provides that the CFPB may only be funded by the Fed out of “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System”, (2) the term “combined earnings” means combined profits and not combined revenues and (3) the Federal Reserve System has incurred losses since September 2022.… Continue Reading

Charging that Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has been attempting to close down the CFPB by any means necessary, Democratic Attorneys Generals (AGs) from 21 states and the District of Columbia have filed suit, asking a federal court to require Vought to seek State AGs file suit to force CFPB to request funding from the Federal Reserve funds from the Federal Reserve to operate the bureau. … Continue Reading

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has granted a request for an en banc rehearing in the National Treasury Employees Union’s (NTEU) and others’ challenge to the firing of more than 1,400 CFPB employees and the taking of certain other actions to curtail the operations of the CFPB. 

The Plaintiffs sued the Administration, contending that its plan to lay off the employees at the CFPB and to take certain other actions is tantamount to an abolishment of the agency.… Continue Reading

Current and former Democratic members of Congress have told a federal court that the Trump Administration’s interpretation of the CFPB’s funding mechanism is at odds with Congress’ plan to provide the bureau with a stable, independent source of funding.

On December 5, Rise Economy, the National Reinvestment Coalition and the Woodstock Institute filed a lawsuit against the CFPB and its Acting Director Russell Vought in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California seeking declaratory and injunctive relief related to Vought’s determination not to seek funding from the Federal Reserve Board because of an opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).… Continue Reading