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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…

The Biden Administration recently announced a slate of new public and private sector initiatives aimed at advancing racial equity by delivering “capital and resources to underserved small businesses and the community lenders who serve them.”  Among these initiatives was a proposed rule change for the Small Business Administration (SBA) that would increase the number of…

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. Hsu frequently has…

The CFPB has announced that it will be reopening the comment period on its November 2021 request for public comments to inform its inquiry into large technology companies that offer payment services.  In October 2021, the CFPB sent orders to six large technology platforms offering payment services that directed them to provide information to the…

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.

In remarks…

The CFPB announced that it has entered into a consent order with Hello Digit, LLC (“Digit”) to settle the CFPB’s claims that Digit engaged in deceptive acts and practices in connection with an automated savings tool it offered to consumers.  The settlement requires Digit to pay a $2.7 million civil money penalty and at least…

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has filed its opposition to Opportunity Financial, LLC’s (OppFi) Demurrer to the DFPI’s cross-complaint.  In the Demurrer, OppFi asks the California trial court to reject the DFPI’s attempt to apply California usury law to loans made through OppFi’s partnership with FinWise Bank (Bank) by alleging…

The CFPB has posted new job openings for technologists to work with its supervision and enforcement teams.  The CFPB is seeking experts in data science, software engineering, product design, product management, and user experience (UX).  The job postings indicate that the CFPB is willing to invest significant resources in building its understanding of and capability…

We discuss key regulatory issues for innovative products such as buy-now-pay later, longer term installment loans, delay pay, and card-based products (such as “virtual cards”).  We look at the different ways these products can be structured and the impact of  these differences on applicable legal requirements, such as disclosures and licensing.  We also look at…

Delivering the keynote address last week at the Consumer Federation of America’s 2022 Consumer Assembly, CFPB Deputy Director Zixta Martinez indicated that the CFPB “is taking a close look” at “‘rent-a-bank’ schemes.”

Deputy Director Martinez commented that “[s]ome lenders attempt to use [relationships with banks] to evade state interest rate caps and licensing laws by…