Introduction On August 21, 2020, the California legislature enacted the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL), which is to take effect on January 1, 2021.[1] The law renames the “Department of Business Oversight” (DBO) the “California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI)” and, among other things, empowers the department to regulate the offering and … Continue Reading
On October 27, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a final rule that determines when a national bank or Federal savings association (collectively, “banks”) makes a loan and therefore is the “true lender” in the context of a partnership between a bank and a third party. The rule provides that … Continue Reading
On October 23, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend the Bank Secrecy Act’s Recordkeeping Rule and Travel Rule regulations. Comments will be accepted for 30 days after Federal Register publication of the proposed rule on October 27, 2020. The … Continue Reading
On June 23, 2020, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, NCUA, and state financial regulators (“the agencies”) issued guidance outlining the supervisory principles for assessing the safety and soundness of institutions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance highlights that while examiners will consider the unique stresses caused by COVID-19 on financial institutions, the agencies will continue … Continue Reading
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) launched a series of virtual currency initiatives last week meant to expand access to and clarify rules regarding the use of virtual currencies in the state. First, DFS has proposed a conditional licensing framework for virtual currency providers. In connection with this framework, DFS has signed … Continue Reading
On April 28, 19 Democratic senators sent a letter to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“Bureau”) protesting both its decision to temporarily suspend quarterly mortgage lending reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to permanently reduce the number of entities that must provide certain types of reporting … Continue Reading
On April 10, 2020 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( the “CFTC” or the “Commission”) extended certain currently-open comment periods for several pending proposed rules in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission completed voting to adopt the relatively short extensions on Thursday, April 9. The measure passed by a final tally of 3-2, with … Continue Reading
On March 18, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued a Customer Advisory cautioning the public to be on alert for increased fraudulent activity amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency’s alert followed a series of similar warnings published by other agencies. The CFTC advised that fraudsters may be attempting to profit by taking advantage of … Continue Reading
On March 18, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) warned that amidst the fear and confusion surrounding COVID-19, there has been increased fraudulent activity by imposters pretending to be FDIC representatives in order to access personal account information. The scams may involve a range of communication channels including emails, phone calls, letters, text messages, faxes, … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2020, a settlement agreement was filed in California Reinvestment Coalition et al. v. Kraninger et al., a lawsuit initiated by the California Reinvestment Coalition regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (the “Bureau”) failure to issue small-business data collection regulations under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank … Continue Reading
On January 13, 2020, the House of Representatives in a vote of 384 to 7 passed a bill titled the 8-K Trading Gap Act. The bill would require companies to promulgate policies and procedures that prohibit corporate executives from trading company stock during the time period between the occurrence of a major corporate event and … Continue Reading
On December 3, 2019, the Federal Reserve Board, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and National Credit Union Administration (collectively, “the agencies”), released a joint statement on the use of alternative data in underwriting by banks, credit unions, and non-bank financial firms. The agencies defined alternative data … Continue Reading