Recently, Arizona, Kentucky, and Hawaii have jumped on the bandwagon to regulate earned wage access (EWA) products and services. Arizona’s proposed bill makes clear that EWA services are not considered to be loans or money...more
2/2/2024
/ Arizona ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt ,
Debt Collectors ,
Earned Wage Access ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Payday Loans ,
State and Local Government ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging...more
2/1/2024
/ Automotive Loans ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt Collection ,
Digital Assets ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Mortgages ,
Student Loans ,
Tribal Loans ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
On January 9, a group of five bi-partisan South Carolina Senators introduced Bill 910, which would, among other things, require persons (non-bank lenders) providing “consumer installment loans” or “deferred presentment loans”...more
1/29/2024
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Borrowers ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Payday Loans ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulation Z
Late last month, the Revenue Based Finance Coalition (RBFC), a trade group of sales-based financing providers, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging the Consumer...more
1/18/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1071
On January 10, HB 254, entitled the True Lender Act, was introduced before the Maryland House of Delegates. The Act would amend the Maryland Commercial Law to add an article containing both predominant economic interest and...more
On December 22, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued an opinion on whether Earned Wage Access (EWA) products constitute either “consumer loans” under Montana Code § 32-5-102(2)(a) or “deferred deposit loans” under §...more
Late last month, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie introduced B 25-0609, entitled the Protecting Affordable Loans Amendment Act of 2023, that proposes to opt the District of Columbia out of sections 521-523 of the Depository...more
12/29/2023
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
DIDMCA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Loans ,
Opt-Outs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
True Lender ,
Usury
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its 14th annual report to Congress in fulfillment of its requirements under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act. For the...more
12/21/2023
/ CARD Act ,
Colleges ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Educational Institutions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
New Regulations ,
Students ,
Universities
On December 4, a federal district court for the Central District of California granted summary judgment in favor of the Commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) finding that...more
This week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance to banks on managing the risks associated with “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) lending. Specifically, the bulletin addresses BNPL loans that are...more
In March 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) proposed new regulations under the California Financing Law that would update the definition of loan to include what it dubs as...more
12/7/2023
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Employees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
New Regulations ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
On November 30, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced proposed regulations that would require businesses to clearly disclose the total price of a product at the time it is presented to consumers,...more
12/5/2023
/ Advertising ,
Automatic Renewals ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Contract Renewal ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Goods or Services ,
Marketing ,
Proposed Regulation
On October 9, a Florida state senator introduced SB 146, which would add a new section to the Florida Consumer Finance Act (CFA), attempting to curb evasion of the CFA. SB 146 would treat all payments incident to the loan as...more
On November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) announced increased dollar thresholds used to determine whether certain consumer credit and lease transactions in 2024 are...more
11/14/2023
/ Appraisal Rights ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Price Index ,
Credit ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
FRB ,
Leases ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation M ,
Regulation Z ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On October 13, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 666, which amends the California Financing Law to prohibit a covered entity from charging certain fees in connection with a commercial financing...more
11/10/2023
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Covered Entities ,
Depository Institutions ,
Due Diligence ,
Fees ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Lending ,
New Legislation ,
Payment Processors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Small Business ,
UDAAP
In a major victory for small business lenders, yesterday the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted motions filed by three groups of trade association intervenors to extend the court’s existing...more
10/30/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctions ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
On October 12, in its monthly bulletin the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CA DFPI) announced that final regulations to implement the Student Loan Servicing Act and the Student Loans Borrower...more
On September 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a report on Tuition Payment Plans in Higher Education. Ninety-eight percent of colleges now allow students to pay for their education in...more
Earlier this month, the California Department of Financial Regulation and Innovation (CA DFPI) announced a new rule expanding the definition of unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices (UDAAP) to commercial financing....more
On August 1, Maryland’s Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) issued guidance to “provide clarity on how [the OFR] views Earned Wage Access [EWA] products and to describe the requirements entities offering these products must...more
8/21/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Earned Wage Access ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Maryland ,
OFR ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Payday Loans ,
Third-Party ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
As discussed here, on April 26, the Texas Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association (ABA), and Rio Bank, McAllen, Texas (Rio Bank) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas...more
8/1/2023
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
CFPB v Community Financial Services Association of America ,
Community Financial Services Association ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Federal Funding ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctive Relief ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071
On June 6, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed into law Legislative Bill 92, which, among many other subjects, amends the Nebraska Installment Loan Act (the NILA). Previously, a license was required for a lender seeking to...more
As recently discussed on our podcast here, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect...more
7/26/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business Loans
On June 29, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1033, An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Banking Statutes, into law. As discussed here, with this bill, Connecticut joins several other states that have set strict...more
7/14/2023
/ Banks ,
Capital Requirements ,
Connecticut ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
Income Share Agreements ,
Military Lending Act ,
New Legislation ,
Refunds ,
Small Loans
On July 7, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed SB 103 into law, which prohibits any person from offering earned wage access (EWA) services without registering with the Division of Finance and paying an annual $1,000 fee. The...more
7/13/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Reports ,
Credit Scores ,
Earned Wage Access ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Legislation ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages