On October 30, two leading fintech industry trade associations submitted comments (see comment letters here and here) in response to a joint Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the...more
11/4/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Request For Information ,
Rulemaking Process
On August 28, the CFPB issued a Consumer Advisory warning that it believes video game companies are targeting children for monetary gain. With 45.7 million U.S. children engaged in video gameplay, the agency is concerned...more
9/18/2024
/ Business Model ,
Consumer Advisory Board ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cybersecurity ,
eSports ,
FinTech ,
Gaming ,
Online Gaming ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Privacy Laws ,
Technology Sector
On August 28, the CFPB issued a Consumer Advisory warning that it believes video game companies are targeting children for monetary gain. With 45.7 million U.S. children engaged in video gameplay, the agency is concerned...more
9/16/2024
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Privacy Laws ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Video Games
On July 25, federal regulators issued a joint statement to further put banking organizations on notice of the inherent risks of collaborating with fintechs in offering deposit products and services. This guidance aims to...more
On July 22, a Texas-based lease-to-own company filed suit against the CFPB in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that its “illegal and unconstitutional investigation” into the company’s business...more
An Oklahoma-based bank has been hit with a consent order from the FDIC after posting significant losses in its first year of operation. On June 28, the FDIC announced that it took an enforcement action against the bank...more
On June 14, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) released a cease and desist order against an Arkansas-based banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider for compliance and risk management failures. As part of the order, the bank is...more
7/2/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Noncompliance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Management
On May 16, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (“OFR”) announced a settlement with a Missouri-based bank and its fintech partners for engaging in unlicensed lending, credit repair, and debt collection activities....more
On May 21, the Massachusetts Attorney General entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (“AOD”) with a California-based fintech alleging that it was the “true lender” of its consumer installment loans. Under the terms of...more
On May 17, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a California-based fintech that operates a nationwide website and mobile-application based peer-to-peer lending platform through which consumers can obtain small-dollar, short-term...more
On March 28, the FDIC released the spring edition of its consumer compliance supervisory highlights. The FDIC supervises approximately 3,000 state-chartered banks and thrifts that are not members of the Federal Reserve...more
5/13/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
EFTA ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
FTC Act ,
Regulation E ,
Regulation Z ,
Section 5 ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On March 28, the Federal Reserve (Fed) issued a cease-and-desist order to a Wyoming-based bank holding company, citing deficiencies identified in a September 2023 inspection related to its “fintech business strategy, board...more
4/22/2024
/ Bank Holding Company ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Business Strategies ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
In the FDIC’s latest monthly update on enforcement decisions and orders, the agency published recent consent orders it entered against both a New York-based and an Ohio-based bank, the latest in the agency’s series of...more
On March 25, Washington State became the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions to introduce a “true lender” law with the passing of bill SB 6025. The legislation, similar to laws in other states would characterize a...more
On April 4, the CFPB published a new Issue Spotlight, titled “Banking in Video Games and Virtual Worlds” that analyzes the increased commercial activity within online video games and virtual worlds and the apparent risks to...more
4/8/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
FinTech ,
Games ,
In-Game Purchases ,
Online Marketplace ,
Privacy Laws ,
Rulemaking Process
On March 25, a coalition of trade groups filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, challenging a Colorado law which would have opted the state Section 521 of the Depository Institutions...more
On January 30, a Tennessee-based community bank entered into a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. following the agency’s allegations that the Bank engaged in unsafe or unsound banking practices relating to...more
On January 12, South Dakota’s Division of Banking issued a mandate setting March 31, 2024 as the deadline for all South Dakota licensed money lenders and non-residential mortgage brokers to comply with their Bank Secrecy...more
2/19/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
FDIC ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
NCUA ,
Non-Depository Institutions ,
OCC ,
OTS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 29, a Missouri-based bank and its Kansas-based fintech loan servicer filed a joint motion to dismiss a purported class action filed against them alleging violations of the Georgia Installment Loan Act (GILA) and...more
More “true lender” laws are coming, as legislative bodies in Washington, Maryland, and the District of Columbia have introduced bills that would severely impact bank partnership arrangements.
If adopted, the “true...more
On January 23, the FTC entered into a settlement agreement with a cash-advance fintech app for $3 million over violations of the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), and ECOA....more
1/29/2024
/ Bank Service Providers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Disclosure ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FTC Act ,
Refunds ,
ROSCA ,
Settlement Agreements
On December 21, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the FDIC issued its audit memorandum on the FDIC’s Regional Service Provider (RSP) Examination Program. The OIG’s objective was to assess the effectiveness of the...more
On November 30, Washington D.C. introduced District of Columbia Council Bill B 25-0609, which would opt the state out of Section 521 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (“DIDMCA”) with...more
On October 9, Florida introduced SB 146, which amends the Florida Consumer Finance Act (CFA), and joins other states that have passed laws characterizing certain nonbanks as the “true lender” of loans made through a bank...more
On November 21, a Washington-based bank confirmed through a public filing that it entered into a consent order with the FDIC alleging that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound banking practices, primarily related to products...more