On August 7, President Trump signed a landmark executive order, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans.” This sweeping action prohibits financial institutions of any size from denying services to individuals or businesses based on political or religious beliefs, orientation, or lawful industry involvement.

The order is already being called one of the most consequential banking actions in years.… Continue Reading

We recently wrote about the August 15th D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the lawsuit brought by the labor unions representing CFPB employees against Acting Director Russell Vought. The unions sought injunctive relief in response to what they described as an attempted “shutdown” of the Bureau.

In a 2–1 ruling, the Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction issued by the District Court.… Continue Reading

Contending that the Biden Administration’s investigation of Credova Financial LLC was an instance of politically motivated debanking, the CFPB is dropping its probe of the company.

“After reviewing the case, the Bureau has determined that this investigation exemplifies the type of weaponization against disfavored industries and individuals that President Trump and Acting Director Vought are committed to ending,” Mark Paoletta, chief legal officer of the CFPB wrote in a letter to James Giudice, general counsel and chief legal officer at PSQ Holdings, Credova’s parent company.… Continue Reading

Republican senators on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee are asking banking regulators to review their process of using Matters Requiring Attention (MRA) in the bank supervisory process.

“If used effectively, these are valuable supervisory tools that can mitigate broader issues and maintain financial stability,” 11 GOP senators said in a letter to the FDIC, OCC and the Federal Reserve.… Continue Reading

Thirty-two attorneys general representing states, territories and Washington, D.C. are asking Congress to pass legislation to provide financial institutions a safe harbor if they provide services to marijuana-related businesses in states where cannabis is legal.

“Numerous state cannabis regulatory agencies have reported they have been turned away by the financial institutions that regularly service those agencies for other needs when the agencies have sought to bank cannabis licensees’ tax and other payments,” the AGs wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders and chairmen and ranking members of House and Senate committees dealing with banking issues.… Continue Reading

We have previously blogged about the August 15 DC Circuit Court opinion in the lawsuit filed months ago by the labor unions representing CFPB Employees against the Acting Director of the CFPB, Russell Vought, seeking injunctive relief related to the alleged “shut down” of the agency. As reported, the Court of Appeals, by a 2-1 majority, vacated a preliminary injunction granted by the District Court which, among other things, had precluded the CFPB from implementing a reduction-in-force (“RIF”) which would have left the CFPB with only 200 employees to perform its statutorily-mandated functions.… Continue Reading

Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka will not be reinstated to the NCUA board while the District of Columbia Court of Appeals considers whether their firing by the Trump Administration is illegal, a panel of the court has decided.

The two already had been barred from the board through a temporary administrative hold, pending further court order.… Continue Reading

As promised, the CFPB is issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking soliciting comments on the agency’s open banking rule.

In the notice, scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on August 22, 2025, the CFPB lists four areas it wants addressed and then provides a list of questions that commenters might answer.… Continue Reading

The banking plaintiffs in the suit challenging the CFPB’s open banking rule (“Rule”) have asked a federal court to delay the compliance date of the Rule, contending that even though the Trump Administration has said it was rescinding the rule and writing a new one, the compliance dates technically remain in effect.… Continue Reading

Today’s episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast is centered around a novel and thought-provoking article by David Horton, a professor of law at the University of California, Davis. The article, titled “Do Arbitrators Follow the Law? Evidence from Clause Construction, “dives into the intriguing question of whether arbitrators render decisions that align with judicial rulings.… Continue Reading