A federal district judge rejected states' challenge to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) rules that the permissible interest rate for a loan is determined...more
The Second Circuit’s decision in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC was announced in 2015. Since that time, there have been a number of cases brought based on the Second Circuit opinion, as well as recent regulatory proposals...more
Comments on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) proposed “Madden fix” regulation are in. What Happened - There were 61 comments filed by the usual suspects: trade and consumer groups, state agencies,...more
On Wednesday, February 5, the House Financial Services Committee will hold the first part of a two-part hearing on “rent-a-bank” structures. The hearing is titled “Rent-A-Bank Schemes and New Debt Traps: Assessing Efforts to...more
I don’t understand why Professor Levitin is attacking the OCC and FDIC for filing an amicus brief in an “obscure small business bankruptcy case to which a bank was not even a party.” The brief was an exceptional piece of...more
The OCC and FDIC have filed a joint amicus brief in a Colorado federal district court arguing that the court should affirm the decision of a bankruptcy court holding that a non-bank loan assignee could charge the same...more
Last week, three Capital One cardholders filed a putative class action in the Eastern District of New York, Cohen v. Capital One Funding, LLC, alleging that the rates of interest they paid to a securitization trust unlawfully...more
Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting appeared before the House Financial Services Committee yesterday and before the Senate Banking Committee yesterday....more
Among the more than 20 bills that the House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to mark-up this Wednesday, October 11, is a bill to provide a “Madden fix” as well as several others relevant to consumer financial...more
On September 25, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency and leading participants in the online lending industry gathered in Washington, D.C. at the second annual Online Lending Policy Institute (OLPI) Online Lending Policy...more
Democratic Senator Mark Warner has introduced a bill, S.1642, that would override the Second Circuit’s decision in Madden v. Midland Funding. (In Madden, the Second Circuit ruled that a nonbank that purchases loans from a...more
Two state-chartered banks recently filed complaints for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the Administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code for the State of Colorado, Julie Ann Meade. The complaints were...more
Two state-chartered banks, WebBank and Cross River Bank, recently filed complaints for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the Administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code for the State of Colorado, Julie...more
A careful parsing of state laws should be done if a lender is relying on a choice of law to avoid states that have criminal usury statutes. On February 27, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York...more
On Monday, a federal district court in the Southern District of New York granted a motion to compel arbitration in Bethune v. Lending Club Corporation, et al., a closely watched putative class action raising important issues...more
The Solicitor General’s brief argues the Second Circuit’s holding was incorrect, but does not recommend a grant of certiorari. On May 24, the U.S. Solicitor General and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency...more
The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, in CashCall, Inc. et al. v. Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation, recently affirmed the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals (MCSA) directing CashCall to...more
Regardless of whether or not Midland’s case is successful at the district court, there are a number of reasons why the Second Circuit’s Madden decision is not as disastrous as some have portrayed it to be. On June 27,...more
In a blow to banks and the marketplace lending industry, on June 27, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition by Midland Funding to hear the case Midland Funding, LLC v. Madden (No. 15-610). That case involves a...more
Many have expressed disappointment that the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Midland Funding, LLC v. Madden. The question presented by the petitioners in the case was as follows...more
On Monday, June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States denied the petition for certiorari in Midland Funding LLC v. Madden, No. 15-610. The Supreme Court’s denial leaves intact the unusual – and troubling –...more
The U.S. Supreme Court will likely consider whether to grant or deny certiorari in the Madden v. Midland Funding case at its June 23 conference. In addition, Midland filed a supplemental brief with the Supreme Court on June 7...more
In response to a request of the U.S. Supreme Court (discussed here), the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office on Tuesday filed a brief with the Court expressing the U.S. Government’s views on the merits of the claims brought in...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued an order inviting the Solicitor General to provide the views of the United States on whether the Court should grant Midland Funding’s petition seeking review. As discussed in greater...more
While far from certain, this development shows that the Supreme Court is interested in the case and will likely give weight to the Solicitor General’s recommendation as to whether the Second Circuit’s ruling should be...more