On May 20, the U.S. Senate voted 66-32 to move forward with the Guardrails and Enforcement for Neutral Issuers of United States Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act (the “Act”), pushing the stablecoin bill past a major procedural hurdle....more
5/23/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Agencies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Stablecoins
On May 9, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that President Trump intends to nominate Jonathan McKernan to serve as the Undersecretary of Domestic Finance. McKernan had been awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the...more
On May 12, the CFPB formally withdrew nearly 70 guidance materials—including policy statements, advisory opinions, circulars, and interpretive rules—through a Federal Register notice issued by Acting Director Russell...more
5/16/2025
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Earned Wage Access ,
Federal Register ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On May 9, President Trump signed a Congressional Review Act resolution repealing the CFPB’s final rule restricting overdraft fees at large financial institutions. The rule, originally finalized under the Biden administration,...more
5/16/2025
/ Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
In a May 12, 2025 Keynote Address before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Crypto Task Force’s fourth industry roundtable on digital assets, newly-minted Chair Paul Atkins laid out a sweeping vision for...more
5/16/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins ,
Technology
On May 7, the OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1184, reaffirming that national banks and federal savings associations may provide cryptocurrency custody and execution services, including through sub-custodians. The OCC...more
5/16/2025
/ Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Institutions ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Technology
On April 30, 2025, the FTC filed an amended complaint and final order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against a debt collection company in connection with allegations that the company engaged...more
5/9/2025
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDCPA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GLBA Privacy ,
Penalties ,
Settlement ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On May 1, the CFPB filed a joint motion with two financial trade groups to vacate a Biden-era rule barring most medical debt from appearing on consumer credit reports. The motion comes after lender groups filed a lawsuit in...more
The CFPB recently dropped two more lawsuits it brought under the Chopra administration—one involving a student loan securitization trust and the other regarding a subprime auto finance company. Both lawsuits included...more
On April 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reinstated a district court order blocking the CFPB from conducting a large-scale reduction in force. The decision reversed an earlier partial stay that had...more
On April 16, the Colorado General Assembly enacted House Bill 25-1201, replacing the state’s prior money transmitter law with the Money Transmission Modernization Act (the “Act”). Modeled on the multistate framework developed...more
The Texas House and Senate introduced House Bill 700 and Senate Bill 2677 to regulate commercial sales-based financing transactions. The proposed legislation would impose standardized disclosure requirements, require broker...more
On April 18, the FDIC announced a consent order against a Delaware-based bank alleging that the bank engaged in unsafe and unsound banking practices and violated various federal consumer protection laws, including Section 5...more
On April 15, Judge Mark T. Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered an Order and Final Judgement vacating the CFPB’s 2024 credit card late fee rule (previously discussed here) for...more
On April 30, the CFPB announced it will deprioritize enforcement and supervision of its small business lending data collection rule for institutions not covered by the stay issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth...more
On April 9, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City published a research briefing examining how video game platforms are reshaping the digital payments landscape. As in-game purchases and platform-based transactions grow in...more
4/21/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Technology Sector ,
Video Games
On April 14, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced two separate lawsuits against earned wage access providers—one against a company that issues advances directly to consumers, and another targeting a provider that...more
On April 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement clarifying that reserve-backed U.S. dollar stablecoins are not securities, at least under current law and...more
4/21/2025
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins ,
Technology Sector
On April 11, the CFPB announced that it will not prioritize enforcement or supervision against nonbank financial companies that miss registration deadlines under its Repeat Offender Registry. The Bureau also stated that it is...more
On April 7, in a significant policy shift, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced via the release of a memorandum that it will no longer pursue criminal enforcement actions that effectively impose regulatory...more
On April 4, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) issued proposed regulations under the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). The proposal provides clarification on DFAL’s licensing framework...more
4/14/2025
/ California ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
Government Agencies ,
Licensing Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process
On March 28, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC jointly announced plans to rescind 2023 revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The agencies stated they would return to the previous regulatory framework...more
On March 28, the CFPB announced that it will not prioritize enforcement or supervision of the remaining provisions of its Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Regulation, which were set to take...more
On March 28, the FDIC issued updated guidance clarifying the process for FDIC-supervised institutions to engage in crypto-related activities. The guidance rescinds and replaces prior instructions issued in 2022 and makes...more
Utah and Arkansas have enacted new legislation governing earned wage access (EWA) services, establishing state-level registration obligations and consumer protection standards. Both laws clarify that EWA services are not...more