On September 29, 2025, FinCEN issued a Notice and Request for Comment (the “Notice”) on a proposed information gathering exercise – A Survey of the Costs of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Compliance (the “Survey”).  Specifically, the Survey is intended to gather information on direct compliance costs incurred by non-bank financial institutions in AML/CFT compliance and, to the extent those costs overlap with other obligations, the amount directly attributable to AML/CFT compliance.… Continue Reading

President Trump correctly removed Lisa D. Cook from the Federal Reserve Board for improperly claiming on mortgage applications that residences in Michigan and Georgia both were her primary residences, the Trump Administration said in a brief filed with the Supreme Court.

“Following the statute, President Trump duly removed respondent Lisa Cook for ‘deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter’ that renders her unfit to serve on the Nation’s preeminent financial policymaking and regulatory body—a quintessential cause for removal,” Solicitor General D.… Continue Reading

Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Early Warning Services, LLC (EWS), the company that operates the Zelle Network, for allegedly failing to protect its users from fraud. The complaint, much of which was filed under seal, claims that EWS harmed consumers by creating “a payment network that was highly susceptible to fraudulent activity, that lacked the basic network safeguards, and that exposed millions of consumers to widespread fraud.”… Continue Reading

Allowing President Trump to fire Lisa D. Cook from the Fed would “signal to the financial markets that the Federal Reserve no longer enjoys its traditional independence, risking chaos and disruption,” Cook told the Supreme Court, in her opposition for a stay in her case.

“For decades, the Board’s insulation from direct presidential control has allowed the American markets and economy to thrive,” she wrote, adding, “the legislative record is abundantly clear that Congress did not mean for Federal Reserve Board governors to serve at the President’s pleasure.”… Continue Reading

The American College is now inviting nominations of outstanding lawyers who have achieved preeminence in consumer financial services law. Nominees must:

  • Have 10+ years of experience practicing consumer financial services law;
  • Have a U.S. consumer financial services law practice;
  • Have achieved preeminence in the field through repeated and substantial contributions (e.g.,
… Continue Reading

HERE IS A LINK TO OUR SPECIAL PODCAST SHOW ABOUT THIS CASE AND ITS ENORMOUS IMPLICATIONS RELEASED ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1.

On September 22, 2025, a panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a significant opinion in Conti v. Citizens Bank, N.A., holding unanimously that the National Bank Act does not preempt a Rhode Island statute requiring mortgage lenders to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts.… Continue Reading

In a recent published opinion, the Third Circuit affirmed the District Court’s sanctions against JP Ward & Associates, attorney Travis Gordon, and attorney Joshua Ward for engaging in, as the District Court put it, “a campaign of deception.”.

According to the court, the law firm drafted nonsensical hand-written letters to debt collectors in which they intentionally buried the following vague dispute reference “I saw that your company is reporting that I owe you a sum of money, but I just don’t think that is current.”… Continue Reading

The podcast show we are releasing today is a repurposing of part 1 of a webinar we produced on August 13, 2025, which explored the U.S. Supreme Court’s pivotal 6-3 decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc., a ruling that significantly curtails the use of nationwide or “universal” injunctions. A universal injunction is one which confers benefits on non-parties to the lawsuit.… Continue Reading

The CFPB announced in its Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda that it will be finalizing amendments to the Remittance Transfer Rule under Regulation E, which implements the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), to revise disclosure requirements and corresponding model forms to include clarifying information about the types of inquiries that may be most efficient to direct to the CFPB and the State agency that licenses the remittance transfer provider.… Continue Reading

For now, the Supreme Court is allowing President Trump to fire Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, in a case that could upend a 1935 court precedent.

Significantly, in an unsigned order, the Court agreed to hear the case, even though there has been no final decision on the merits by a lower court.… Continue Reading