Firm News

In a forthright blog post, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Andrew Smith, explained the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) approach to bringing enforcement actions against companies that assist, facilitate or participate with their customers, vendors or business partners in misconduct…Read More

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) released another Interpretive Letter relating to a nation bank’s use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Interpretive Letter 1174 provides that national banks and federal savings associations may use independent node verification networks (“INVN”) and stablecoins to carry out permissible payment activities…Read More

On December 18, 2020, the chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) published a letter detailing the OCC’s comprehensive interpretation of the federal preemption standard and related procedural requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) (codified at 12 U.S.C. § 25b, “Section 25b”). See OCC Chief Counsel’s Interpretation: 12 U.S.C. § 25b, Interpretation Letter No. 1173 (Dec. 18, 2020)…Read More

Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released two opinions that clarify the types of earned wage access (“EWA”) programs that do not involve the offering or extension of “credit” regulated by Regulation Z.

On November 30, the CFPB issued an advisory opinion to resolve regulatory uncertainty regarding the applicability…Read More

On December 23, 2020, the New York Governor signed the bill that requires specific disclosures be provided in certain commercial financing transactions. See our prior ALERTS dated Dec. 14, 2020 and Sept. 15, 2020 for details of the law’s requirements. Financial institutions are exempt from the disclosure requirements…Read More

On December 18th, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released part two of its federal debt collection rule (known as “Regulation F,” to be codified at 12 C.F.R. Part 1006) under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). Part two focuses on debt validation information, time-barred debts, certain credit reporting in collections and deceased consumers. Part two of the final rule becomes effective on the same date as part one of the final rule — November 30, 2021…Read More

Over the past month, three cryptocurrency companies filed for a bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”).

In November, Anchorage, a digital asset custodian, filed an application for a national trust charter with the OCC. Anchorage’s General Counsel announced in a statement that a national bank charter would be significant for the following reasons: (i) it would put Anchorage on par with other national banks from a regulator perspective, making it easier for traditional banks….Read More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has entered into a consent order with a debt buyer to resolve allegations that the debt buyer violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and Section 1031 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”) by sending demand letters and filing collection lawsuits through law firms without the proper licenses in ….Read More

On December 11, 2020, the New York legislature finally delivered a bill that, similar to California, requires that specific disclosures be provided in certain commercial financing transactions. The New York bill is strikingly similar to, but does differ from, the California commercial disclosure bill as the New York bill….Read More

On December 10, 2020, the California Attorney General’s Office released a fourth set of proposed modifications made to the regulations regarding the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). These modifications build upon the third draft set of modifications issued on October 12, 2020….Read More