On January 30, 2018 at 10 a.m., the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing, “Examining Opportunities and Challenges in the Financial Technology (“Fintech”) Marketplace.”

The Committee Memorandum states that the hearing “will examine the current regulatory landscape [for fintech], the need to amend or modernize the regulatory landscape or the necessity to amend existing financial laws or develop new legislative proposals that would allow financial services entities to use fintech to deliver new products and services to consumers.”… Continue Reading

On January 25, the White House announced that President Trump had sent the nominations of four individuals to the Senate to serve as FTC commissioners.  Three of the nominations, those of Joseph Simons, Rohit Chopra, and Noah Phillips had been announced last fall, at which time President Trump had indicated that he planned to name Mr.… Continue Reading

On January 26, 2018, the CFPB published a “Request for Information Regarding Bureau Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes” (“Request”) in the Federal Register. In the Request, the CFPB asks industry and attorneys who regularly practice before the Bureau to comment on its processes surrounding Civil Investigative Demands (“CID”) and investigational hearings.… Continue Reading

It is with great pleasure that I share the good news that Law360 has named Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group a Practice Group of the Year.

Law360—which covers legal news and policy developments across the industry and has a circulation of more than a million—selected Practice Groups of the Year to highlight the top U.S.… Continue Reading

On January 25, the CFPB finalized certain changes to the original Final Prepaid Rule (the “Rule”) proposed last summer.  The amended Rule still contains onerous restrictions on credit features and complicated disclosure requirements, but the changes are generally positive for prepaid providers and incorporate feedback from industry representatives.  Importantly, due to concerns about implementation difficulties, the effective date of the Rule, which was originally October 1, 2017 and delayed to April 1, 2018, is now further delayed to April 1, 2019.… Continue Reading

Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s appointee as CFPB Acting Director, plans to make the CFPB’s practices of “pushing the envelope” and “rulemaking by enforcement” things of the past.

In a memorandum to CFPB staff and a Wall Street Journal article, Mr. Mulvaney described his governing philosophy for the CFPB’s exercise of its authority. … Continue Reading

Last week, the OCC released its Semiannual Risk Assessment for Fall 2017 highlighting credit, operational, and compliance risks to the federal banking system.  In addition to easing in commercial credit underwriting processes, the increasing complexity of cybersecurity threats, and ongoing challenges in complying with Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements, the other key risks identified by the OCC were increasing concentration in third-party service providers for critical operations and challenges in consumer compliance risk management for banks due to the increasing complexity in consumer compliance regulations. … Continue Reading

The DOJ has filed a response to the emergency motion filed by Leandra English with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit requesting expedited briefing and oral argument in her appeal from the district court’s denial of her preliminary injunction motion.

In her motion, Ms. English argued that even without the “special circumstances” presented by her case, her appeal is entitled to expedited consideration under federal law (28 U.S.C.… Continue Reading

We are pleased to announce that Ballard Spahr has launched CyberAdviser, a new blog focused on the latest news and developments in privacy and cybersecurity law.  It will offer insights into the latest transactional, governance and compliance matters, investigations, civil and criminal litigation, regulatory and legislative developments, industry trends, emerging technologies, and other cyber issues.… Continue Reading

 

Last week, the OCC released its semiannual risk report highlighting credit, operational, and compliance risks to the federal banking system.  The report focuses on issues that pose threats to those financial institutions regulated by the OCC and is intended to be used as a resource by those financial institutions to address the key concerns identified by the OCC. … Continue Reading