Firm Alerts

On Feb. 10, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall issued a split decision regarding the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA). Illinois Bankers Association v. Raoul, __ F.Supp.3d __, 2026 WL 371196 (N.D. Ill., Feb. 10, 2026). The IFPA is scheduled to become effective July 1, 2026, and would ban financial institutions, including payment networks and other entities, from (i) charging or receiving interchange fees in Illinois on the portion of a debit or credit card transaction attributable to tax or gratuity (Interchange Fee Provision) and (ii) using data generated in connection with...

On January 21, the Defendants-Appellees filed their response to the petition for rehearing in National Association of Industrial Bankers v. Weiser, i arguing that en banc review is not warranted because (i) the Panel Opinion does not conflict with the Eighth Circuit’s decision in Jessup v. Pulaski Bank, ii, (ii) the Panel Opinion correctly applies Supreme Court precedent on express preemption and (iii) the Panel Opinion is a routine statutory interpretation, not a question of exceptional public importance…

On Friday, January 9, 2026 President Trump kicked off a week of uncertainty for the credit card industry when he took to social media to revive his support for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates beginning on January 20, 2026. An idea he initially floated on the 2024 campaign trail, his recent post on Truth Social called for a one year, 10% cap on credit card interest with the stated goal of improving “affordability.” The president doubled down on his stance on Sunday evening…

The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) has announced that it will resume accepting pennies from banks and credit unions at commercial coin distribution locations beginning January 14. See our ALERT of Dec. 26, 2025. The FRB had stopped accepting penny deposits at some commercial coin distribution locations late last year – exacerbating penny shortages in some areas and prompting U.S. Treasury guidance on rounding cash transactions to the nearest…

On November 5, the appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Riffard v. Bank of America N.A. was voluntarily dismissed before briefing began. In 2022, the Circuit Court of Milwaukee County had held that the National Bank Act (NBA) preempts the Wisconsin notice of default and right to cure notice (RTC) provisions of the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA),1 finding that the RTC provisions impermissibly limit a national bank’s ability to set the terms of credit.2 A 2018 Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions letter came to the same result.3 But in a February 18, 2025 opinion, the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin reversed the Circuit Court’s decision and remanded, finding that NBA preemption did not apply, characterizing the RTC provisions as a (mere) “procedural” requirement to access…

How many times have you heard someone suggest giving the regulator a call?

Legal issues arising in connection with statutes and regulations that are subject to a state or federal regulatory authority can and frequently do involve difficult interpretations. The statutes and regulations often contain ambiguities, lack of definitiveness and, all too frequently, apparently contradictory provisions. Sorting through this morass and applying rules of statutory construction is the job of an attorney…

Just before Christmas, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued two notices of proposed rulemaking regarding national banks’ and federal savings associations’ real estate lending powers with respect to the payment of interest on funds held in escrow accounts. The first asserts “longstanding powers of national banks and federal savings associations to establish or maintain real estate lending escrow accounts and to exercise flexibility in making business judgment as to the terms and conditions of such accounts, including whether and to what extent to offer any compensation...

The U.S. Treasury issued long-awaited guidance on rounding cash transactions to the nearest nickel on December 23 in the face of potential penny shortages. The guidance, in the form of FAQs, points to a recent report by the National Council of State Legislators (“NCSL”) as an example of how states are likely to respond. The NCSL’s November 21, 2025 report titled Elimination of the Penny: Cents-able Considerations states: “The most recommended form of rounding is symmetrical rounding whereby if the final digit of the total transaction amount (including taxes) is 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents, the...

The Dodd-Frank Act amended The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) by requiring that the dollar threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions be adjusted annually by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). If there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the exemption threshold from the prior year is not adjusted. The Dodd-Frank Act requires similar adjustments in the Consumer Leasing Act’s threshold for exempt consumer leases. TILA establishes special appraisal requirements for “higher-priced mortgage loans.” The...

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee did not hold a markup hearing on the CLARITY Act, the market structure legislation to define which federal regulator will oversee what part of the digital assets (“crypto”) industry, before its Christmas break. Under the Act, the classification of a digital asset (whether as a security or a commodity) will determine the appropriate regulator. See our ALERTS of July 11 and July 18, 2025. While the committee reportedly made significant progress, lawmakers are still negotiating. The committee is working from a Republican draft. Democratic concerns include...