On July 28, 2020, the CFPB issued a request for information (“RFI”) seeking public input on how best to create a regulatory environment that expands access to credit and ensures consumers and communities are protected from discrimination in all aspects of credit transactions. The Bureau issued the RFI in lieu of a symposium it had planned to host this fall on Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) issues.… Continue Reading

Recent amendments to NYC’s debt collection rules impose new requirements relating to consumers’ language proficiency.  Following an overview, we take a close look at the specific requirements and their applicability to first- and third-party collections, discuss the DCA’s authority, availability of federal preemption, and compliance challenges, and offer thoughts on best compliance practices.… Continue Reading

The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has filed its opening brief with the Second Circuit in the OCC’s appeal from the district court’s final judgment in DFS’s lawsuit challenging the OCC’s issuance of special purpose national bank (SPNB) charters to non-depository fintech companies.

 

In May 2019, the district court denied the OCC’s motion to dismiss and found that the term “business of banking” as used in the National Bank Act  (NBA) “unambiguously requires receiving deposits as an aspect of the business.” … Continue Reading

The CFPB and the two trade groups challenging the CFPB’s 2017 final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule (2017 Rule) have filed a joint motion asking the Texas federal district court hearing the trade groups’ lawsuit to lift the stay of the lawsuit, originally entered in June 2018 on the heels of the trade group’s motion for a preliminary injunction and before the CFPB’s response to the motion or answer to the complaint in the case.… Continue Reading

The OCC issued a letter last week stating that  “a national bank [and a federal savings association] may provide . . . cryptocurrency custody services on behalf of customers, including by holding the unique cryptographic keys associated with cryptocurrency.”  The letter also reaffirms the OCC’s position that “national banks [and federal savings associations] may provide permissible banking services to any lawful business they chose, including cryptocurrency business, so long as they effectively manage the risks and comply with applicable law.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB has announced that it plans to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) later this year on consumer-authorized access to financial records.  The announcement was made concurrently with the Bureau’s release of a report summarizing its February 2020 symposium on this topic.

Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires that “[s]ubject to rules prescribed by the Bureau, a covered person shall 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

The CFPB has issued its Spring 2020 Semi-Annual Report to Congress covering the period September 30, 2019 through March 31, 2020.

The report represents the CFPB’s fourth semi-annual report under Director Kraninger’s leadership and continues the practice of the prior three reports of not providing aggregate numbers for how much consumers obtained in consumer relief and how much was assessed in civil money penalties in supervisory and enforcement actions during the period covered by the report.… Continue Reading

On July 29, 2020, the Senate Banking Committee will meet remotely to conduct a hearing entitled “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress.”  CFPB Director Kraninger is the only scheduled witness.

The next day, July 30, the House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing entitled, “Protecting Consumers During the Pandemic? … Continue Reading

A group of 22 state attorneys general joined by the District of Columbia AG filed a lawsuit in a California federal district court against Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) seeking to invalidate the ED’s final “Institutional Accountability Regulations” issued in 2019 (“2019 Rule”) which replaced the Obama administration’s “Borrower Defense” rule issued in 2016 (“2016 Rule”).  … Continue Reading

After reviewing the legal foundation for federal preemption of state law limits on interest, we discuss the final OCC/FDIC “Madden fix” rules, the “true lender” issue, potential Congressional or litigation challenges to OCC/FDIC “Madden fix” and “true lender” rules, and recent developments in litigation involving Madden or “true lender” challenges to bank/nonbank partnerships and securitizations.… Continue Reading