Join us for a timely and insightful conversation on the evolving landscape of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance in consumer financial services. In this episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, Alan Kaplinsky, founder and senior counsel of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, hosts Terence Grugan, co-chair of Ballard Spahr’s AML team and a recognized authority in financial crimes compliance.… Continue Reading

On January 12, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its national bank chartering regulation, 12 C.F.R. § 5.20, to clarify a point the agency views as well settled: national banks chartered as trust companies may engage in certain non-fiduciary activities in addition to fiduciary activities.… Continue Reading

We have previously reported on the tortured history of the disparate impact rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Fair Housing Act, most recently here. HUD now proposes to remove the rule from its regulations. Comments are due by February 13, 2026.

How did we get here?… Continue Reading

On January 9, 2026, President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social that he supports a temporary 10% cap on credit card interest rates (a concept raised during his 2024 presidential campaign), beginning on January 20, 2026. He described the proposal as an effort to address high credit card APRs and improve affordability for consumers.… Continue Reading

As part of his campaign for election, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vowed to make New York City more affordable. To that end and as part of his affordability initiative, he has issued Executive Orders 9 and 10 intended to crack down on “junk fees” and “subscription tricks and traps.” 

City officials said that by signing the “junk fees” Executive Order 9, Mamdani was signaling that his administration will crack down on “companies who mislead New Yorkers into paying more for services, saving New Yorkers money amidst our cost-of-living crisis.” … Continue Reading

On January 9, CFPB Acting Director Vought notified Judge Amy Berman Jackson that, in response to her December 30, 2025 opinion in National Treasury Employees Union v. CFPB (DDC), he had just requested $145 Million from the Federal Reserve Board to operate the CFPB from January through March of this year.… Continue Reading

As previously reported, in October 2023 the CFPB and DOJ issued a joint statement regarding “the potential civil rights implications of a creditor’s consideration of an individual’s immigration status under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).” We were critical of the joint statement, and observed that:

“By not providing clear guidance on when the consideration of immigration status can cross the line into improper discrimination based on race or national origin, the agencies make it difficult for us to avoid the conclusion that the agencies’ primary goal in issuing the statement is to scare creditors away from using immigration status in credit decisions.”… Continue Reading

On January 3, 2026, the Senate sent the nomination of Stuart Levenbach to be CFPB Director back to the President without acting on it—a move that would allow Russell Vought to remain acting head of the bureau through August 1.

President Trump nominated Levenbach, an Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as CFPB Director in November.… Continue Reading

This week on the award-winning Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, host Alan Kaplinsky is joined by Senior Counsel Mark Levin and special guest Professor Mohsen Manesh for a powerful roundtable on one of today’s most consequential topics: the SEC’s new position on mandatory arbitration in corporate governance documents and how state law and market realities are shaping the future for consumer financial services companies, investors, and legal counsel.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently issued a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).

Banks, savings associations and credit unions are not subject to the mortgage loan data collection and reporting requirements under HMDA for a calendar year if their assets as of December 31 of the prior calendar year did not exceed an asset threshold.… Continue Reading