A federal court in Washington DC has ruled that a lawsuit against federal bank regulators challenging “Operation Choke Point” may proceed. Operation Choke Point is a program begun by the United States Department of Justice...more
In a June 2014 alert, we discussed Community Financial Services Association vs. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a payday loan industry suit challenging on various grounds certain supervisory and interpretive statements...more
At first blush, one might not expect the digital currency and firearm industries to have much in common – when was the last time you heard someone utter Bitcoin and guns in the same breath? Recently, however, the two...more
CFPB Fines Bank $7.5M for Overdraft Violations, With $49M More in Redress - Why it matters: In its first action targeting overdraft fees, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Regions Bank $7.5...more
With the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that it had settled separate lawsuits against two small banks charged with facilitating consumer fraud through their relationships with third-party payment...more
Director Cordray’s remarks to the Clearing House Thursday should unsettle bankers and payday lenders alike. In his talk, Director Cordray challenged bankers to bow to the inevitable. He suggested that sooner, rather than...more
The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), the national trade association for the payday lending industry, has filed a memorandum in support of its previously filed lawsuit against the agencies it accuses...more
Depending on whom you ask, Operation Choke Point has a promising future ahead of it – or will soon be history. The controversial initiative by the Department of Justice (DOJ) is intended to limit certain lenders and...more
Two House committees have scheduled hearings this week on “Operation Choke Point,” the coordinated federal multiagency enforcement initiative targeting banks serving online payday lenders and other companies that have raised...more
While Director Cordray’s appearance at the House Financial Services Committee’s hearing on the CFPB’s fifth Semi-Annual Report yesterday was accompanied by the usual dose of political theater, his testimony did yield the...more
"Operation Choke Point," the coordinated multiagency federal effort to choke off banking services to alleged fraudsters (according to its defenders) or politically unpopular industries (according to its detractors), has come...more