On March 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging a failure to reasonably investigate a disputed debt.
The lawsuit concerned a consumer who disputed a debt that she...more
On May 27, the CFPB filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice in its lawsuit against a lease-to-own fintech provider. The lawsuit, filed in July 2023, alleged that the company’s rental-purchase agreements violated several...more
On May 1, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced a new centralized consumer protection hotline, website, and email address, providing residents with streamlined access to state agencies for reporting scams, financial...more
On May 16, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law S. 27, a medical debt relief measure that prohibits the inclusion of medical debt on consumer credit reports and establishes a state-funded initiative to abolish...more
5/30/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Medical Debt ,
New Legislation ,
Nonprofits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government
On May 28, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed House Bill 1294 into law, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for Earned Wage Access (EWA) providers operating in the state. Effective October 1, the new law...more
On May 21, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee granted a joint motion by the CFPB and DOJ to terminate a 2021 redlining settlement with a regional bank, vacating the consent order and dismissing the...more
On May 23, the CFPB notified a Kentucky federal court that it now considers its own 2023 open banking rule “unlawful” and plans to set the rule aside. The Bureau announced its intent to seek summary judgement against the...more
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