John Crews has been sworn in as a member of the NCUA board and has been designated by President Trump as its Chairman.

Crews, who has worked for Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill, currently is the sole member of the three-member NCUA board. Crews replaces Kyle Hauptman

“I appreciate the trust and support that the President has placed in me, and the U.S.… Continue Reading

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has taken the next step in its challenge to a bank-fintech lending program by appealing the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s decision in Opportunity Financial, LLC v. Hewlett. According to the Superior Court docket, a Notice of Appeal was filed on July 21, 2026, ensuring that the closely watched dispute over the “true lender” doctrine will now move to the California Second Appellate District Court of Appeal. … Continue Reading

A federal judge, at the request of the FTC, recently ordered Cliq Inc., a payment processing company, and its operators to pay $6.5 million for violating a 2015 federal court order intended to prevent the company from assisting in consumer fraud.

U.S. District Court in Nevada entered the order finding Cliq Inc, formerly known as Cardflex Inc.,… Continue Reading

The federal regulation of open banking in the United States has been in an extraordinary state of limbo. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rules implementing Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the product of a long rulemaking journey that began in 2016, remain codified in the Code of Federal Regulations but are effectively unenforceable.… Continue Reading

The Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program has announced a significant new initiative designed to address what many now view as one of the most pressing consumer protection challenges facing the United States: the explosion of fraud and scams targeting American consumers.

The newly launched Scam Prevention Initiative builds upon the work of the Aspen Institute’s National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention and reflects an increasingly broad consensus that scams can no longer be viewed solely as an issue for consumers or financial institutions to solve on their own.… Continue Reading

Based on reports published around the IPO and the first day of trading, the SpaceX offering appears to have set or approached a remarkable number of records. Some are clear-cut “firsts,” while others are more accurately described as unprecedented milestones. In my view, the three most extraordinary records are:

  1. Largest IPO ever ($75 billion raised);
  2. Largest valuation ever for a newly public company ($1.77 trillion at pricing); and
  3. Creation of the world’s first trillionaire as a direct result of an IPO.
… Continue Reading

In a significant victory for bank-fintech partnership models, the Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 19, 2026 has now issued its final Statement of Decision granting summary judgment in favor of Opportunity Financial, LLC (“OppFi”) in its long-running litigation with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”). The final opinion follows the court’s February 24, 2026 tentative ruling, which we previously discussed on this blog.… Continue Reading

President Donald Trump has nominated John Crews to serve on the NCUA board. If confirmed, Crews would replace Kyle Hauptman as the sole board member of the agency.

Hauptman’s term expired in August 2025, but he has stayed on the board as permitted by section 102(c) of the Federal Credit Union Act, which allows any board member to continue to serve after the expiration of their term until a successor has qualified.… Continue Reading

In a significant win for parties seeking to enforce arbitration agreements, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday issued a unanimous decision in Jules v. Andre Balazs Properties holding that when a federal court stays a case pending arbitration under Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), the federal court retains jurisdiction to later confirm or vacate the resulting arbitration award, even if the post-arbitration motion would not independently satisfy federal subject matter jurisdiction requirements.… Continue Reading

The FDIC has issued FIL-14-2026 rescinding its guidance governing the re-presentment of the same transaction after raising questions about the Biden Administration’s prior guidance.

“Based on a review and assessment of the guidance in FIL-32-2023, the FDIC concludes that the guidance is overly broad in scope and has raised uncertainty regarding when, for instance, disclosures regarding re-presentments may result in ‘unfairness’ concerns under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act,” the FDIC said in announcing the rescission.… Continue Reading