Putting an end to a 2014 lawsuit filed by payday lenders challenging the actions of federal regulators in Operation Choke Point, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a resolution to the action....more
Why it matters - Some bank vendors may cautiously smile when the FDIC makes a point that providing accounts and other services to payday lenders is fine, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) told banks by...more
Why it matters - A D.C. federal court judge issued a mixed ruling in a suit brought on behalf of payday lenders against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and the...more
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
Regulatory Developments - NYDFS Announces Approval of First BitLicense Application from a Virtual Currency Firm: The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced Sept. 22 that it has approved...more
Why it matters A new report from the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) found that agency attorneys did not engage in professional misconduct by improperly targeting objectionable...more
During 2014, the number of enforcement actions brought by federal banking agencies1 continued a downward trend that began in 2011. Federal banking agencies issued 661 formal enforcement actions, representing more than a 55...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
Six Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee, including Chairman Jeb Hensarling, have sent identical letters to the CFPB, OCC, Fed and NCUA asking each agency to “publicly disclaim [its] past, present, and...more
Yesterday, the CFPB announced that it had filed a lawsuit against “the ringleaders of a robo-call phantom debt collection operation, their companies, and their service providers.” This is the same lawsuit filed in federal...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
The SEC’s Settlement with Goodyear: A Cautionary Tale - Why it matters: In a settlement announced on February 24, 2015, the SEC found Goodyear to be in violation of the FCPA in connection with bribes paid by two...more
The House Financial Services Committee voted unanimously today to approve the Committee’s oversight plan for the 114th Congress. The plan provides that the Committee intends to continue its close examination of the...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
In an unexpected move earlier this week, the FDIC issued a Financial Institution Letter (FIL) announcing that it was withdrawing the list of “risky” merchant categories that was included in prior guidance on account...more
Among the displays offering tribute to Reba and The Man in Black, Richard Cordray and some of his fans at the CFPB held a public hearing at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville on March 25, 2014. Rather than the...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