Fintech

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In May 2019, a New York federal district court denied the OCC’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) seeking to block the OCC’s issuance of special purpose national bank (SPNB) charters to fintech companies.  In doing so, the court found that the term “business of banking” as used in the National Bank Act (NBA) “unambiguously requires receiving deposits as an aspect of the business.” … Continue Reading

Paul Watkins, Director of the CFPB’s Office of Innovation, joined Ballard Spahr partners Alan Kaplinsky and James Kim yesterday for a discussion of the CFPB’s final innovation policies.  Alan leads the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Group and James is a co-leader of the firm’s inter-disciplinary Fintech Team.

Last month, the CFPB finalized its proposed revisions to its trial disclosures and no-action letter (NAL) policies and also finalized its proposal to create a new FinTech sandbox policy. … Continue Reading

Two recent Circuit Court opinions have significantly undermined the FTC’s powers under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA).  These pivotal decisions may ultimately require the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify Section 13(b)’s boundaries.

First, in FTC v. Shire Viropharma, Inc., the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that in order to file a suit under Section 13(b), the agency must include specific allegations that a defendant “is violating or about to violate” a law enforced by the FTC. … Continue Reading

The D.C. federal district court has granted the OCC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) to block the OCC from issuing special purpose national bank (SPNB) charters to fintech companies.

The CSBS lawsuit was the second lawsuit filed by CSBS attempting to block the OCC from issuing SPNB charters. … Continue Reading

On August 21, 2019 the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) launched three new online tools designed to help non-bank financial services companies navigate state regulations and protect against cyber security risks: a State Regulatory Guidance Portal, a State Survey Map of Money Transmission Laws, and Cybersecurity 101: A Resource Guide for Financial Sector Executives.… Continue Reading

The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a press release yesterday to announce that it is leading a multistate investigation into the payroll advance industry.  A payroll advance allows an employee to access wages that he or she has earned before the payroll date on which such wages are to be paid by the employer. … Continue Reading

Linda Lacewell, the recently confirmed Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, detailed in a recent interview that she will prioritize fintech and consumer protection. True to her word, NYDFS announced the creation of a new Research and Innovation Division led by Matthew Homer, who was most recently Head of Policy and Research at Quovo.… Continue Reading

On July 15, the Democratic majority of the House Financial Services Committee introduced draft legislation, titled “Keep Big Tech Out Of Finance Act,” targeting Libra, Facebook’s contemplated new digital currency. As a follow up, during her July 17 opening statement before testimony from a Facebook executive, Chairwoman Maxine Waters expressed serious concerns about Libra and asked Facebook to put it on hold.… Continue Reading

As readers of our blog know, our consumer financial services group has been at the forefront of legal developments involving new technologies.  To align with the work that we’ve been doing in the financial technology space and to even better serve our clients in meeting the legal challenges in this rapidly developing landscape, Ballard Spahr has created a cross-disciplinary Fintech team that brings together the firm’s consumer financial services attorneys with lawyers focused on privacy and data security, intellectual property, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and emerging companies and their investors.  … Continue Reading

This week, Congress will be holding a hearing focused on fintech and two hearings at which artificial intelligence (AI) will be the focus.

Fintech:

Tomorrow, June 25, the House Financial Services Committee’s Task Force on Financial Technology will hold a hearing titled, “Overseeing the Fintech Revolution: Domestic and International Perspectives on Fintech Regulation.”… Continue Reading