California enacted its own version of New York’s “BitLicense” law, the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL), becoming one of the first US states to implement a virtual currency-specific regulatory regime. ...more
The sale of adult-use cannabis has been legalized in 24 states in the United States. But this does not mean there are no other legal impediments to the cannabis industry in those jurisdictions. For example, cannabis...more
3/6/2024
/ ATMs ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Cole Memorandum ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Credit Cards ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispensaries ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Market Participants ,
MasterCard ,
Money Transmitter ,
Payment Processors ,
Payment Systems ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Visa Inc
With more fintech’s looking to expand their businesses internationally, it can be daunting to navigate varying regulations across borders. This article focuses on regulations in the United States. For those also focused on...more
5/1/2023
/ Banks ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements
Federal Reserve Issues Policy Statement on Section 9(13) of the Federal Reserve Act -
On January 27, the Federal Reserve issued a policy statement interpreting section 9(13) of the Federal Reserve Act, which authorizes...more
2/13/2023
/ Asset-Backed Securities ,
Banking Sector ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Form CRS ,
Late Fees ,
NPRM ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation Z ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securitization Vehicles ,
UDAAP
Regulatory Developments -
FinCEN Issues NPRM Regarding Access to Beneficial Ownership Information and Related Safeguards -
On December 15, FinCEN issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would implement...more
1/18/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Interest Rates ,
Libor ,
New Guidance ,
Nonbank Firms ,
NPRM ,
Regulation O ,
Regulation Z ,
Relief Measures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Banks ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Time Extensions
Regulatory Developments -
FinCEN Finalizes Rule Implementing Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Under the Corporate Transparency Act -
On September 29, FinCEN issued a final rule under the CTA requiring each...more
10/17/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Data Preservation ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulation BI ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
U.S. Treasury
Regulatory Developments -
OCC Solicits Research on Implications of Financial Technology for Banking -
On July 25, the OCC is seeking academic and policy-focused research on the impact that fintech and non-bank...more
7/29/2022
/ Accounting Standards ,
Banking Sector ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Debt Collection ,
FASB ,
FDIC ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Guidance Update ,
Insider Trading ,
NPRM ,
OCC ,
Public Comment ,
Request For Information ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Continuing a trend of expanding its supervisory scope, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on April 25, 2022 that it will examine fintechs and other nonbank financial enterprises, based on reasonably...more
5/10/2022
/ Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FinTech ,
FOIA ,
New Rules ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supervision ,
Transparency
On March 9, 2022, President Biden issued the Executive Order Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets setting forth six principal policy objectives in furtherance of U.S. initiatives in the crypto and digital asset...more
In this Issue. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published an alert warning financial institutions of possible efforts to evade U.S.-imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus; the U.S. Department of the Treasury...more
3/14/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Belarus Sanctions ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
FATF ,
FDIC ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Investors ,
Money Laundering ,
OCC ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Shell Corporations ,
Terrorist Financing ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency
In This Issue. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a proposed rule about the establishment of a limited-duration pilot program for sharing suspicious activity reports (SARs); FinCEN published the final...more
1/28/2022
/ Borrowers ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cross-Border ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Division of Investment Management ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Examination Procedures ,
FDIC ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Fund Distribution ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Investors ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
Lenders ,
Marketing ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
New Rules ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Pilot Programs ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Student Loans ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
In This Issue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reminded institutions of a new threshold for reporting Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data about open-end lines of credit; the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network...more
11/22/2021
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
HMDA ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Open-Ended Lines of Credit ,
Ransomware ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Alert ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Threshold Requirements
In this Issue. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations recently published a risk alert spotlighting observations from its “RIC Initiatives”; the Federal Financial Institutions Examination...more
11/8/2021
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Examination Procedures ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guidance Documents ,
Lenders ,
OCC ,
OTCBB ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulation Z ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
In This Issue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) withdrew its proposal to delay the Debt Collection Final Rules; the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance...more
9/17/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Community Banks ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Digital Platforms ,
Due Diligence ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
FRB ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
OCC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulation F ,
Retail Investors ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Risk
In This Issue. The federal bank regulators published frequently asked questions concerning the London Interbank Offered Rate transition; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) confirmed an effective date for two...more
8/6/2021
/ Annual Meeting ,
Banking Sector ,
Breach of Duty ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Rules ,
Comment Period ,
Comptroller ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debtors ,
FDCPA ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
FedNow ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Inter-Bank Offered Rates (IBORs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Firms ,
Investors ,
Libor ,
OCC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 36(b) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In This Issue. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert raising concerns about misleading Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures by investment firms; the...more
4/20/2021
/ Advertising ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fannie Mae ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Freddie Mac ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Public Comment ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervisory Guidance
In This Issue. President Biden signed a bill extending the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through May 31, 2021; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the rescission...more
4/2/2021
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Capital Requirements ,
Causation ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dividends ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Ford Motor ,
Ford Motor Co. v Bandemer ,
Ford Motor Co. v Montana Eighth Judicial District Court ,
Jurisdiction ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Policy Statement ,
SBA ,
SCOTUS ,
Share Buybacks ,
Small Dollar Lenders ,
Stress Tests ,
Supervisory Guidance
In this Issue. The federal bank regulatory agencies announced that the temporary change to the supplementary leverage ratio for depository institutions will expire as scheduled on March 31, 2021; the Small Business...more
3/25/2021
/ Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Banking Sector ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Loan Companies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Depository Institutions ,
Division of Investment Management ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Valuation ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Libor ,
NYDFS ,
OCC ,
Partnerships ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation FD ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Secondary Markets ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Small Business
In this Issue. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance on its authority to charter limited purpose trust companies, raising the possibility that a limited purpose national bank could be organized...more
1/15/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Capital Rules ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Instruments ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Incentive Stock Options ,
Interpretive Letters ,
MD&A Statements ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA ,
TCPA ,
Terms of Service ,
U.S. Treasury