Nearly two months after it was issued on February 1, the CFPB’s proposal to make significant changes to the Regulation Z rules for credit card late fees was published in today’s Federal Register. The changes include a substantial reduction in the safe harbor amounts and the elimination of the annual inflation adjustments. … Continue Reading
Ronald K. Vaske
SCOTUS asks for Solicitor General’s views on federal preemption of state laws requiring payment of interest on mortgage escrow accounts
The U.S. Supreme Court has invited the Solicitor General to file briefs expressing the views of the United States in two cases involving the question whether state laws requiring the payment of interest on mortgage escrow accounts are preempted for national banks and federal savings associations. The Supreme Court is considering whether to grant the petitions for certiorari filed in the two cases.… Continue Reading
CFPB proposes significant changes to credit card late fee rules, including reduction in late fee safe harbor amounts and elimination of annual inflation adjustments
We suspected something was afoot when December 2022 came and went without the CFPB announcing its annual inflation adjustments to the credit card late fee safe harbor amounts set forth in Regulation Z (which implements the Truth in Lending Act). With the CFPB’s issuance yesterday of a proposal to substantially reduce the safe harbor amounts, eliminate the annual inflation adjustments, and make other significant changes to the Regulation Z rules for credit card late fees, we now know the reason for the CFPB’s inaction on the adjustments.… Continue Reading
Texas federal court enforces arbitration agreement and dismisses class action lawsuit filed against fintech company for evading Texas usury limit; company continues to face “true lender” challenge from California DFPI
A Texas federal court has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Opportunity Financial, LLC (“OppFi”) alleging OppFi violated Texas usury law by charging interest on loans it made through a partnership with a state-chartered bank at rates above the maximum rate permitted by Texas law. The plaintiff alleges that the partnership was a “rent-a-bank” scheme to evade state law and that OppFi, rather than its bank partner, was the “true lender” on the loans.… Continue Reading
Treasury report on bank/fintech relationships includes recommendations for CFPB supervision of non-bank installment lenders and data aggregators
The Treasury Department has released a report entitled “Assessing the Impact of New Entrant Non-bank Firms on Competition in Consumer Finance Markets.” The report was issued in response to President Biden’s July 2021 Executive Order on promoting competition. That Order directed the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a report assessing how the entry of large technology firms and other non-banks into consumer finance markets has affected competition.… Continue Reading
OCC’s New Office of Financial Technology Portends Increased Supervisory Activity
The OCC’s announcement that it will establish an Office of Financial Technology to “bolster the agency’s expertise and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing banking landscape” should come as no surprise to those who have been following recent pronouncements of Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu.
Over the past few months, Mr.… Continue Reading
CFPB issues Section 1033 SBREFA outline
The CFPB has taken a significant step towards issuing regulations to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act by releasing an outline of the proposals it is considering in preparation for convening a small business review panel (Panel). Section 1033 authorizes the CFPB to issue rules requiring “a covered person [to] make available to a consumer, upon request, information in the control or possession of such person concerning the consumer financial product or service that the consumer obtained from such covered person, including information related to any transaction, or series of transactions, to the account including costs, charges, and usage data.”… Continue Reading
California court rejects OppFi’s attempt to block DFPI’s “true lender” challenge to loans made through bank partnership
A California state court has overruled the demurrer filed by Opportunity Financial, LLC (OppFi) to the cross-complaint filed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) in which OppFi asked the court to reject the DFPI’s “true lender” challenge. In its cross-complaint, the DFPI alleges that California usury law applies to loans made through OppFi’s partnership with FinWise Bank (Bank) because OppFi, and not the Bank, was the “true lender.”… Continue Reading
OCC keeps focus on bank/fintech partnerships
Since the beginning of Michael Hsu’s tenure as Acting Comptroller of the Currency, bank/fintech partnerships have been a focus of OCC concern. Although bank lending partnerships with fintechs continue to receive OCC attention, recent remarks by OCC officials indicate that OCC scrutiny is now also directed at partnerships outside of the lending arena.… Continue Reading
Fed narrows timetable for FedNow launch
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors narrowed the timetable for the launch of its instant payments platform—FedNow—to mid-year 2023, specifically targeting a production rollout of the service in a May to July 2023 timeframe. The Fed had previously communicated a 2023 launch. In September 2022, the FedNow Pilot Program will begin technical testing for the service.… Continue Reading