Effective July 18, 2017, the FDIC has adopted amendments to its Guidelines for Appeals of Material Supervisory Determinations.  The FDIC proposed the amendments last August and received only two comment letters, one from a trade association and the other from a financial holding company.

The amendments are intended to provide institutions with broader avenues of redress with respect to material supervisory determinations and enhance consistency with the appeals process of other federal banking agencies. … Continue Reading

Based on a Law360 article reporting on an interview with Thomas Pahl, the Acting Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, it appears that under its new leadership, the FTC will take a less aggressive approach to enforcement than the agency had taken under the Obama Administration.  Mr. Pahl was appointed Acting Director by Maureen Ohlhausen, who President Trump named Acting Chairman of the FTC.… Continue Reading

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, announced last Friday that his office is creating a Consumer Financial Protection Unit “to better protect Pennsylvania consumers from financial scams.”

The announcement indicated that the new Unit “will focus on lenders that prey on seniors, families with students, and military service members, including for-profit colleges and mortgage and student loan servicers.” … Continue Reading

Today is the sixth anniversary of the CFPB. I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the sixth anniversary of our blog which was launched on the same day that the CFPB became operational.  I also want to acknowledge the members in our Consumer Financial Services Group who have contributed to our blog, particularly Barbara Mishkin who manages our blog.… Continue Reading

A federal district court in Kentucky recently ruled against the CFPB in a long-standing case under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) involving a Louisville, Kentucky law firm Borders & Borders, PLC (Borders).  In the case, CFPB v. Borders & Borders, PLC, the court granted the summary judgment motion of Borders, finding that joint ventures related to Borders satisfied the statutory conditions of the RESPA section 8(c)(4) affiliated business arrangement exemption. … Continue Reading

The CFPB’s Spring 2017 rulemaking agenda has been published as part of the Spring 2017 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.  The preamble indicates that the information in the agenda is current as of April 1, 2017.  Accordingly, the agenda does not reflect the issuance of the CFPB’s final arbitration rule on July 10 or other rulemaking actions taken since April 1 such as the proposed changes to the CFPB’s prepaid account rule and various recent mortgage-related developments. … Continue Reading

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika, in remarks on July 19 to the Exchequer Club, confirmed that the OCC is continuing to consider its proposal to allow financial technology (fintech) companies to apply for a special purpose national bank (SPNB) charter.  Since the departure of the SPNB proposal’s architect, former Comptroller Thomas Curry, who Mr.… Continue Reading

According to news reports yesterday, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill has told media sources that he was informed by an unnamed mutual friend that Director Corday plans to enter the 2018 Democratic primary for Ohio governor.

Judge O’Neill indicated that the mutual friend had called him to ask whether the Judge planned to abide by prior statements that he would not enter the race if Director Cordray decided to run. … Continue Reading

The National Council of Higher Education Resources (NCHER), a national trade association representing higher education finance organizations, has written to the Department of Education urging the ED to issue preemption guidance.

In its letter, NCHER urges the ED “to issue regulatory guidance that clearly states that federal student loan servicers and guaranty agencies are governed by the Department’s rules and requirements and those of other federal agencies, and preempt state and local laws and actions that purport to regulate the activities of participants in the federal student loan programs, including federal contractors.” … Continue Reading

House and Senate Republicans announced today that they are sponsoring Congressional Review Act resolutions to override the CFPB’s final arbitration rule, which was published in yesterday’s Federal Register. 

In the House, a press release published on the House Financial Services Committee’s website announced that a joint resolution (H.J. Res. 111), sponsored by Committee member Keith Rothfus and co-sponsored by all other Republican Committee members, has been introduced to disapprove the arbitration rule.… Continue Reading