Kaley Schafer

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Kaley Schafer |schaferk@ballardspahr.com | 202 777.6990 | view full bio

Kaley has a background in regulatory compliance and counsels on BSA/AML requirements, as well as other federal consumer financial regulations.  Prior to her role at Ballard Spahr, Kaley served as Director of Regulatory Compliance at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, where she led the regulatory compliance team in developing new compliance materials and tools for NAFCU members, including as to BSA/AML issues.

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On September 14, 2023, the CFPB released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the Small Business Data Collection Rule (the “Rule”). These FAQs are in addition to the set published in June 2023, which are dated. Some, but not all, of the FAQs are discussed below.

Covered Credit Transactions

A few of the updated FAQs relate to the definition of a “covered credit transaction,” which includes the following topics:

  • Consumer-designated credit: The FAQs reiterate that consumer-designated credit is excluded from the Rule, even if the proceeds are used for business or agricultural purposes, as long as the credit is offered or extended primarily for personal, family or household purposes.
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The CFPB recently released a report regarding higher education tuition payment plans that discusses prevailing practices and highlights certain CFPB concerns regarding consumer impact. The CFPB’s report was based upon (a) a review of hundreds of postsecondary school and college websites that contain publicly available information on tuition plans and related contracts, (b) consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB and Department of Education, and (c) interviews with consumers and meetings with industry participants.… Continue Reading

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has published a Small Entity Compliance Guide (the “Guide”) for beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), as well as updated FAQs regarding CTA compliance.

The Guide contains six chapters and an appendix. It is 56 pages long. It appears to be useful to its apparent target audience, which is small businesses confronting relatively simple issues under the CTA.… Continue Reading

On September 14th, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted the plaintiff’s motion to preliminarily enjoin the CFPB from implementing the Small Business Lending Rule (“Rule”) promulgated under section 1071 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act. As a reminder, the plaintiffs in the Kentucky lawsuit are the Kentucky Bankers Association and several Kentucky banks.… Continue Reading

On September 8, 2023, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an alert regarding a notorious virtual currency scam called “pig butchering,” because, unfortunately, it resembles the “fattening a hog before slaughter.” These scams are primarily perpetrated by criminal organizations in Southeast Asia where these scams are also called “Sha Zhu Pan.”… Continue Reading

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) released two supervision and regulation letters regarding the agency’s program to supervise “novel” banking activities.

The release of these letters follows a January policy statement indicating the FRB’s interest in leveling the playing field in terms of subjecting uninsured and insured banks to the same limitations on activities, including novel banking activities. … Continue Reading

On July 25, 2022, the FDIC issued Financial Institution Letter (FIL)-34-2022 announcing updates to Chapters 1 and 4 of its Formal and Informal Enforcement Actions Manual (Manual). The Manual includes updates to the minimum standards for the FDIC’s termination of cease-and-desist and consent orders. The updates do not change any rights or obligations of the parties to an enforcement action.… Continue Reading

On July 6, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, “the Agencies”) issued a Joint Statement to “remind” banks that they, of course, should apply a risk-based approach to assessing customer relationships and conducting customer due diligence (“CDD”).… Continue Reading