On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the district court’s Order granting a motion for judgment on the pleadings and holding that a charged-off loan made by a lender licensed under the Consumer Discount Company Act (“CDCA”) that is subsequently sold to a third-party debt collector is no longer subject to the CDCA and collecting on the debt without holding a CDCA license is not in and of itself a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).… Continue Reading

The South Dakota Division of Banking issued a Memorandum notifying all licensed money lenders and non-residential mortgage lenders of their Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) obligations under a 2020 Final Rule published by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). The final rule became effective in 2020, and the Memorandum requires licensees to comply by March 31, 2024.… Continue Reading

Maryland has joined the ranks of states considering legislation that would codify elements of “true lender” theory in an effort to impose federally preempted state licensing requirements and rate caps on loans to Maryland residents.

House Bill 254 (HB 254), introduced on January 10, 2024 in the Maryland House of Delegates, would add Subtitle 15 – the “True Lender Act” – to Title 12 (Credit Regulations) of the Maryland Commercial Law.… Continue Reading

In November 2023, S.B. 668 was introduced in the Wisconsin Senate. S.B. 668 would make sweeping changes to the state laws governing financial service providers. The bill creates a pathway for the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) to expand use of the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) across license types, modernizes money transmission laws, and revises the regulation of consumer lenders, collection agencies, check sellers, payday lenders, community currencies exchanges, sales finance companies, adjustment service companies, and insurance premium companies.… Continue Reading

House Bill 1874 (H.B. 1874), denominated the “predatory loan prevention act”, was pre-filed for introduction in the Washington state legislature December 5, 2023, and referred to the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Business on January 8, 2024. H.B. 1874 is scheduled for public hearing on January 10, 2024 in the Washington House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business at 1:30 p.m.… Continue Reading

On December 22, 2023, the Attorney General of Montana released an opinion (the “Opinion”) concluding that certain earned wage access (EWA) products are not “consumer loans” or “deferred deposit loans” under Montana law and do not, therefore, require licensure by the Montana Division of Banking and Financial Institutions. The Opinion only applies to EWA products that are:

  1. fully non-recourse, meaning providers do not: have any legal or contractual right to repayment from consumers, engage in any debt collection activities, sell or assign any balances, or report any non-payment to a consumer reporting agency;
  2. not conditioned on payment of any mandatory interest, fee, or other compensation; and
  3. limited in amount to the consumer’s accrued income.
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Florida SB 146, a bill that would add a “Predatory loan prevention” section to the Florida Consumer Finance Act has been introduced in the Florida Senate, seeking to curb bank-model lending programs and codify a “true lender” analysis with language similar to legislation enacted in Minnesota and other states within the past three years.… Continue Reading

The Connecticut Department of Banking (the “Department”) issued a guidance letter on September 11, 2023 (the “Guidance”) providing its position regarding the amendments to Connecticut’s Small Loan Lending and Related Activities Act (the “Act”) that become effective on October 1, 2023. We previously blogged about these amendments here.

The Department issued this guidance “to assist industry participants in evaluating the need for licensure and the effect of the various requirements under [the amended law].”… Continue Reading

To understand the regulatory requirements for cryptocurrency, one must first ask the question what is money.  This question is of paramount importance because the federal law definition of “money transmitting” depends in large part on state law definitions and regulator interpretations, and there is no uniform legislation that defines cryptocurrency as money for the purposes of state licensing requirements. … Continue Reading

Last year, Kentucky enacted the Student Education Loan Servicing, Licensing, and Protection Act of 2022 (the “Act”), which requires student loan services to be licensed in Kentucky.  The Act took effect on July 13, 2023 (the “Effective Date”). 

On the Effective Date, the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions (“DFI”) released its new application checklist and made a license application available through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (“NMLS”). … Continue Reading