On June 3, 2021, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in the OCC's appeal of the SDNY decision in Lacewell v. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in which the NYDFS had successfully challenged...more
On June 3, 2021, the Second Circuit ruled that the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) lacked legal standing to challenge the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) fintech charter program. The...more
After years of litigation, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s (“OCC”) special purpose national bank charter (“fintech charter”) survives to see another day. On June 3, 2021, the Second Circuit reversed the district...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) controversial special-purpose national bank charter that had been challenged by the New York Department of...more
Court Rules that Debt Collector Violated FDCPA with Communication to Dunning Vendor - A federal appellate court has recently ruled that a debt collector violated certain privacy requirements under the federal Fair Debt...more
On May 5, 2021, the Federal Reserve Board (the “Board”) published for public comment proposed guidelines (the “Account Access Guidelines”) for the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks (the “Reserve Banks”) to use when reviewing...more
On April 15, 2021, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions will hold a hearing titled, “Banking Innovation or Regulatory Evasion? Exploring Trends in Financial...more
On March 9, 2021, the Second Circuit heard oral arguments in connection with the New York Department of Financial Services’ (“DFS”) challenge to block the Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s (“OCC”) special purpose...more
On March 9, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit heard oral argument on the question of whether the OCC can legally issue national bank charters to non-depository financial technology (fintech) firms. The case is...more
On December 7, 2020, several bank and credit union trade associations (collectively, the “Associations”) submitted a joint letter (the “Letter”) to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) opposing the...more
The OCC has filed its reply brief with the Second Circuit in its appeal from the district court’s final judgment in the lawsuit filed by the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) challenging the OCC’s issuance of...more
On July 31, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved the national bank charter application of Varo Bank, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of fintech Varo Money, Inc. The approved application is for a...more
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) recently asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm a lower court decision blocking the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) from issuing...more
On July 31, 2020, Varo Money Inc. announced that it was granted a national bank charter by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The charter will allow Varo, a mobile banking fintech, to launch a national...more
On July 23, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) filed its appellate brief asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the lower court’s decision to block the Office of Comptroller of the...more
On June 25, 2020, Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks announced in an American Bankers Association’s podcast that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) is planning to introduce “Payments Charter 1.0”, which...more
On April 23, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) filed its opening brief defending its special purpose fintech charter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit....more
The OCC has filed its opening brief in its appeal to the Second Circuit from the district court’s final judgment in the lawsuit filed by the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) seeking to block the OCC’s issuance...more
On February 7, all-mobile banking services startup Varo Money, Inc. (“Varo”) received the FDIC’s approval of its federal deposit insurance application for Varo Bank, N.A. (in formation) (the “Bank”). The FDIC’s approval...more
As expected, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has requested a federal appeals court to reverse a decision by a lower court denying the OCC’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its plans to issue...more
New year … new market? Read our Structured Finance Spectrum for the latest on what’s happening in the structured finance markets in the U.S. and UK. ...more
Taking a break after eight brisk years of regulatory and litigious turbulence, the world of fintech and marketplace lending in 2019 was notable for being more business as usual, or what some might call a “ho hum” year of...more
The Situation: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") has appealed a decision from the Southern District of New York that concluded that the OCC lacks the authority to grant "Fintech Charters" to nondepository...more
The OCC has appealed to the Second Circuit from the district court’s final judgment entered in October 2019 in the lawsuit filed by the New York Department of Financial Services seeking to block the OCC’s issuance of special...more
On October 23, the District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) issued a final judgment setting aside in relevant part the regulation on which the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) based its...more