A class action lawsuit filed in September 2020 against Nike alleging that its policy requiring retail employees to wear Nike-branded, opaque masks discriminated against deaf and hard of hearing consumers under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) deserves attention from retail banks and non-bank financial services companies with brick-and-mortar facilities open to the public. … Continue Reading

In a blog post published on January 28, 2021 sharing a statement sent to CFPB staff, Acting Director David Uejio announced several new priorities for the CFPB’s Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending Division under the Biden Administration.  In addition to prioritizing COVID-19 relief and racial equity, the CFPB will take new aim at Military Lending Act (MLA) compliance.… Continue Reading

Since the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) became effective on January 1, the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has wasted no time in asserting its expanded jurisdiction over consumer financial services providers.  (The DFPI is the new name given to the state’s Department of Business Oversight (DBO) by the CCFPL.)… Continue Reading

A statement sent by Acting CFPB Director Uejio to CFPB staff makes clear that he plans to be more than just a caretaker for Rohit Chopra, President Biden’s nominee for CFPB Director, and instead intends to make significant changes at the Bureau even before Mr. Chopra is confirmed by the Senate and sworn in. … Continue Reading

The OCC announced today that it is pausing publication of its final fair access rule in the Federal Register to “allow the next confirmed Comptroller of the Currency to review the final rule and the public comments the OCC received, as part of an orderly transition.”

The final rule is intended to codify the principle that a bank’s decision not to serve a particular customer should be based on an individual risk management decision about that individual customer, not on the fact that the customer operates in an industry subject to a broad categorical exclusion created by the bank. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its Fall 2020 Semi-Annual Report to Congress covering the period April 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020.

With Director Kraninger having submitted her resignation to President Biden last week, the report represents the CFPB’s fifth and final semi-annual report under Director Kraninger’s leadership.  Somewhat ironically, although the prior four reports did not provide aggregate numbers for consumer relief and civil money penalties obtained by the Bureau, the new report states that in calendar year 2020, “the Bureau filed the second-highest number of actions in the Bureau’s history, secured approximately $875 million dollars in customer relief and penalties, and opened investigations of banks and nonbanks in all of the Bureau’s markets.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued “Supervisory Highlights COVID-19 Prioritized Assessments Special Edition.”

The report indicates that in May 2020, the Bureau rescheduled about half of its planned examinations and instead conducted prioritized assessments (PAs) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Bureau describes PAs as “higher-level inquiries than traditional examinations [that are] designed to obtain real-time information from a broad group of supervised entities that operate in markets posing elevated risk of consumer harm due to pandemic-related issues.” … Continue Reading

In Part II of our two-part podcast, we look at the recommendations in the Taskforce’s report concerning the use of principles-based (rather than prescriptive) regulations and CFPB licensing of non-depository institutions providing lending, money transmission or payment services.  We share our reactions to the recommendations, consider their practical implications for the industry, and discuss how the CFPB under new leadership may react to the Taskforce’s report.… Continue Reading

The fate of the OCC’s Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) final rule, issued on May 20, 2020, hangs in the balance following the inauguration of President Biden on January 20 and the resignation of former Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks, who was a major proponent of the rule, on January 14.

Although the OCC’s CRA final rule technically became effective on October 1, 2020, it provides transition periods for compliance based on a bank’s asset size, type of charter, and business model.… Continue Reading

The CFPB, OCC, FDIC and NCUA have issued substantially similar final rules on the role of supervisory guidance.  The final rules adopt the agencies’ proposals without substantive change.

In September 2018, the agencies issued an “Interagency Statement Clarifying the Role of Supervisory Guidance.”  In response to the Statement, the agencies received a petition requesting a formal rulemaking on the subject. … Continue Reading