It has been a busy time for us at Explainer Things. Awards season is over, but the fintech regulatory drama is in midseason form. The star of this episode is of course the Supreme Court’s decision on the future of the CFPB....more
6/5/2024
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Payday Loans ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
Spring has sprung here at Explainer Things. The Oscars have come and gone. We've set the clock forward an hour and watched as our NCAA tourney brackets all exploded. Next stop is summer vacation, when our team will be trying...more
Hard to believe 2024 marks 25 years since the Y2K panic. If Y2K means little to you, you're either too young or, like many of us at Explainer Things, you've blocked out the memories of end-of-times fearmongering and...more
Typical legal newsletters might introduce a post-Thanksgiving edition with a line or two about gratitude for readers and clients. We at Explainer Things are certainly thankful for clients and readers alike, but we are far...more
12/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mobile Payments ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
TCPA
Our newsletter’s title is a nod to the semi-scary Netflix series Stranger Things. No surprise we are VERY excited about Halloween. You may notice that our regular pop culture references have gone horror-themed for this...more
11/3/2023
/ Banks ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Management ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Open Banking
Fall is finally in the air as temperatures drop (in some parts of the country, at least) and football season is in full swing. We’ve previously avoided writing about football because our Explainer Things cast can’t agree on...more
10/3/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
TCPA
It’s been the summer of the pop star—with nonstop news of Taylor Swift and Beyonce selling out stadium after stadium. Don’t let it “break your soul” as you’re “shaking off” summer and sending the kids back to school. We hope...more
It's the best of times and the worst of times for our pop-culture loving crew of consumer financial services lawyers. The movies are on a high with record box office receipts and stellar reviews for Barbie and Oppenheimer (or...more
8/2/2023
/ CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
IRS ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
TCPA ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
♫"Summertime and the living is easy"♫ or at least we hope it is for our growing readership. Our Explainer Things team is spicing up your consumer finance news with pop culture – Dua Lipa, The Big Lebowski, The Police, and The...more
Extreme Makeover: Payments Edition?
The CFPB's General Counsel, Seth Frotman, spoke to the Innovative Payments Association at its conference this month highlighting three "areas of concern" the agency has about the rapidly...more
This season of Explainer Things is progressing nicely, don’t you think? We’ve introduced our recurring characters, like cryptocurrency, data privacy, and CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. We’ve established the tone – lighthearted...more
5/5/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Influencers ,
Mobile Apps ,
Payment Systems ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business Loans ,
Social Media ,
State Privacy Laws
On April 3rd, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a new Policy Statement ("Policy") providing an analytical framework to identify "abusive" conduct. This is the second time the CFPB has issued a Policy Statement...more
On December 12th, the CFPB proposed to establish a registration system to catalog regulatory actions involving non-bank providers of consumer financial products and services brought by federal and state regulators. The...more
Earlier this year, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets ("Digital Assets EO"). The Digital Assets EO directed over 20 federal agencies to provide the Administration...more
9/26/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investor Protection ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
On June 28, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule to amend the mortgage servicing rules in Regulation X, which implements the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, to provide additional...more
6/30/2021
/ Borrower Protection Programs ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Delinquent Borrowers ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreclosure ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulation X ,
RESPA
On April 21, 2021, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend certain loan origination flexibilities, including alternative appraisals on purchase and rate-term refinance...more
4/22/2021
/ Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
Housing Market ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Loan Origination Funds ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing
On March 29, 2021, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Dave Uejio and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Slaughter issued a joint statement regarding their agencies’ work to stop...more
4/6/2021
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Failure To Pay ,
FDCPA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Joint Statements ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Rent ,
Rental Property ,
Tenants
On April 1, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rescinded seven policy statements issued between March 26 through June 3, 2020 that provided temporary relief from certain regulatory obligations during the COVID-19...more
4/2/2021
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
ILSA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policy Statement ,
Prepaid Payment Products ,
Regulation J ,
Regulation V ,
Relief Measures
On June 3, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement announcing temporary supervisory and enforcement flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic for credit card issuers regarding electronic...more
On May 14, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced an extension of its eviction and foreclosure moratorium due to the COVID-19 pandemic until June 30, 2020. This is an extension of FHFA's March 18 directive...more
On April 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a policy statement addressing credit reporting issues faced by consumers and credit furnishers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic....more
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both issued guidance addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on borrowers with multifamily property mortgages....more
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued several guidance letters and bulletins to sellers and servicers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
On March 27, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), legislation intended to help Americans and businesses survive the ongoing public health and economic crisis due to...more