Part 1 – The CFPB has no authority to investigate or sue Acima because, under Dodd-Frank and the appropriations Clause of the Constitution, it may only be funded out of combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System and there are only combined losses beginning in September 2022.

In a race to the courthouse, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a Lease-to-own (“LTO”) company sued each other last week, with the CFPB alleging the company engaged in illegal lending designed to evade consumer financial protection laws, and the company alleging that the Bureau pursued an illegal and unconstitutional investigation beyond its authority that seeks to usurp the state regulatory framework which recognizes that LTO transactions are different from credit transactions.… Continue Reading

Banking regulators have issued a joint statement outlining the potential risks that financial institutions face in arrangements with third parties to deliver bank deposit products and services and examples of risk management practices to manage such potential risks.

The joint statement does not establish new expectations for financial institutions, the regulators said.… Continue Reading

As we previously blogged, a Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 655.0323, entitled “Unsafe and unsound practices”) which became effective July 1, 2024 prohibits federal and state depository institutions conducting business in the state from denying services based on religion or political beliefs and activities. Every year, financial institutions must attest to their compliance with the Florida law.… Continue Reading

The CFPB warned on July 24, 2024,  that confidentiality agreements that employees of a company are required to sign likely violate federal law if those agreements imply that employees could face retaliation from their employer or co-workers if they report what they perceive as unlawful behavior or wrongdoing at the company.… Continue Reading

Second in a Two-Part Series on the Utility of BSA Filings

In this post, we will once again consider the issue of the utility of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) filings to the global anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance regime. 

In our first blog post in this series, we invited Don Fort, a former Chief of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation (CI) Division, to answer questions on utility of BSA filings from the perspective of law enforcement. … Continue Reading

The federal banking agencies, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively the “Agencies”), issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“Agencies’ NPRM”) to modernize financial institutions’ anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing (“AML/CFT”) programs.… Continue Reading

First in a Two-Part Series on the Utility of BSA Filings

Today we are very pleased to welcome guest blogger, Don Fort, who is the Director of Investigations at Kostelanetz LLP, and the past Chief of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation (CI) Division. 

As Chief of IRS-CI from 2017 to 2020, Don led the sixth largest U.S.… Continue Reading

Federal banking regulators are asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to lift a Texas court injunction barring implementation of new Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules.

In asking the court to lift the injunction, the FDIC, OCC and Federal Reserve Board contend that U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk erred by finding that only the geographic area around a bank’s physical facilities should be taken into account when assessing the financial institution’s record of meeting community needs under the CRA.… Continue Reading

We previously reported that, on July 18, the Colorado Attorney General and UCCC Administrator appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging Judge Domenico’s order dated June 18 D. (Colo.) granting a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs – trade groups precluding the defendants from enforcing Colorado’s opt-out statute (which became effective on July 1) and usury laws as to out-of-state, state banks making loans outside Colorado to Colorado residents.… Continue Reading

“Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) products emerged relatively recently as a new approach enabling consumers to enjoy the ability to make a purchase and then pay for it over time. Today’s episode, during which we explore the evolution of BNPL products and important recent developments in BNPL regulation, is hosted by Alan Kaplinsky, former practice leader and current Senior Counsel in Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, and features Ballard Spahr Partners Michael Guerrero and Joseph Schuster.… Continue Reading