The 1978 landmark opinion in Marquette National Bank v. First of Omaha Service Corp held that under the National Bank Act, a national bank has the right to export the interest rate authorized by the state where the bank is...more
In a recent unpublished memorandum opinion in a putative class action, Carpenter et al. v. Opportunity Financial, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld an arbitration clause in an agreement governing...more
The final rule issued in December 2023 by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) amending its regulations at 12 CFR Part 328 (“Final Rule“), which address use of the official FDIC sign and banks’ advertising...more
On January 22, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, and Other Relief (the “Order”) with FloatMe Corp. (“FloatMe”), a fintech that offers...more
2/9/2024
/ Automatic Renewals ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FTC Act ,
Hidden Fees ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
ROSCA ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
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...more
In a lengthy (65-page) order, the California Superior Court in Los Angeles has issued an extremely important decision upholding the legitimacy of bank-model online lending by denying a motion for preliminary injunction filed...more
11/3/2023
/ California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Loans ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
True Lender
Earlier this month, in Fama v. Opportunity Financial LLC, a Magistrate Judge of the federal district court for the Western District of Washington held that the arbitration provision in OppFi’s installment loan agreement is...more
10/27/2023
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Creditors ,
Debtors ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Installment Agreements ,
Loan Agreements ,
Opt-Outs ,
Putative Class Actions ,
RICO ,
True Lender
In January 2023, a federal district court in Texas dismissed Michael v. Opportunity Financial, LLC, a putative class action filed in June 2022 claiming that fintech Opportunity Financial, LLC (OppFi), not its out-of-state,...more
The OCC’s announcement that it will establish an Office of Financial Technology to “bolster the agency’s expertise and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing banking landscape” should come as no surprise to those who have...more
In a letter dated October 11, 2022 to Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu, Patrick McHenry, the ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, and four other Republican representatives,...more
Since the beginning of Michael Hsu’s tenure as Acting Comptroller of the Currency, bank/fintech partnerships have been a focus of OCC concern. Although bank lending partnerships with fintechs continue to receive OCC...more
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System recently issued and invited public comment on proposed guidelines to be used by Federal Reserve Banks to evaluate requests for master accounts and/or access to Federal...more
We recently published a blog about the OCC’s proposed rule “National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders” (the “Proposed Rule”), which would clarify that a bank (or savings association) is properly regarded as...more
10/13/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
Federal Savings Associations ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
True Lender ,
Usury ,
Valid When Made Doctrine
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) recently announced plans to establish a program under which money transmitters licensed in multiple states will undergo a single comprehensive exam that seeks to satisfy all...more
We have previously blogged about the lawsuits filed by the Colorado Attorney General against fintechs Avant and Marlette Funding and their partner banks WebBank and Cross River Bank. These lawsuits challenged on Madden and...more
On July 31, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved the national bank charter application of Varo Bank, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of fintech Varo Money, Inc. The approved application is for a...more
As we reported, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks has previewed the OCC’s plans to introduce another special purpose national bank charter that would give payment companies a nationwide servicing platform and...more
8/5/2020
/ Bank Holding Company Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Money Transmitter ,
National Bank Charters ,
OCC ,
Preemption ,
Special Purpose National Bank Charter
In recent interviews including a podcast with the ABA Banking Journal reported by Forbes, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks previewed the OCC’s plans to introduce another special purpose national bank charter...more