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Category Archives: Financial Institution Regulation

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Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities

FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook discusses FINRA360 and Consolidating Enforcement Divisions

On May 17, 2017, at the annual FINRA conference in Washington D.C., FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook discussed the recently-launched FINRA360 initiative: a top-to-bottom review of FINRA’s operations and organization.  Cook recognized that 2017 marks FINRA’s  ten-year anniversary since its “successful” but “complicated” merger of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Fails to State Case Against Payment Processor

The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota recently dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) complaint against a payment processor, Intercept, in a case McGuireWoods has been monitoring.  The Court held that the CFPB failed to adequately plead an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Fraud, Deception and False Claims

Will 2017 Be the Year of Insider Trading Reform?

For several years running, insider trading has been among the most high-profile enforcement priorities for both DOJ and the SEC. Unlike most federal criminal law, insider trading remains undefined by statute, having instead been largely judge-made. Unsurprisingly, since the explosion of enforcement actions began, prosecutors and defendants have both pushed the courts to clarify (or… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

D.C. Circuit Grants Rehearing in PHH Case

On Thursday, February 16, 2017, the D.C. Circuit granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) petition for rehearing en banc in PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  The Order marks the latest twist in a case that tests the constitutional and statutory limits of the CFPB. As we previously reported, in 2014 an Administrative… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

Pending Senate Bill Would Restructure CFPB Leadership

On January 11, 2017, a trio of Republican Senators introduced a bill that would change the leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) from a single director to a five-member bipartisan “Board of Directors.” Senate Bill 105, titled “Consumer Financial Protection Board Act of 2017,” introduced by Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Ron Johnson… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

Trump Signals Beginning of Efforts to Curtail Dodd-Frank

On February 3, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order that signaled the beginning of the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle parts of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”).  The executive order, entitled Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System (“Order”), lays out seven core principles (“Core Principles”)… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Again Challenges Meaningful Attorney Involvement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has entered into its latest consent order targeting consumer debt collection law firms.  Once again, the CFPB challenges the lack of “meaningful attorney involvement” it deems required in collection actions. This latest consent order was entered into by two Oklahoma medical debt collection law firms and their president (“Respondents”). … Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

The Forgotten Face of Student Lending

Mention student loans and the face that comes immediately to mind is probably someone in their early twenties. A recent report from the CFPB sheds light on an overlooked segment of the student loan population – consumers 60 years old and older. The number of older student loan borrowers has skyrocketed in recent years. The… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB’s 2017 Fair Lending Priorities

The CFPB recently issued its Fair Lending Priorities for 2017.  According to its December blog post, the CFPB plans to increase its focus on the following three areas, which it describes as “presenting a substantial risk of credit discrimination for consumers.” Redlining: The CFPB “will continue to evaluate whether lenders have intentionally avoided lending in… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

GOP Takes Aim at Dodd-Frank

On Friday, January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump will become the President of the United States, and for the first time in nearly a decade, a single party will control the Presidency, the House, and the Senate. After years of deadlock, Republicans are prepared to use this consolidation of power to move their legislative agenda… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

Companies Challenge CFPB’s Authority to Issue Civil Investigative Demands

As any company that has received a civil investigative demand (CID) from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) knows, the Bureau’s authority to issue CIDs is a powerful tool that leaves recipients with limited options to challenge or limit their compliance obligations.  Recently, the CFPB has fought back against CID challenges, asking two federal district… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Report Highlights Continued Focus on Mortgage Redlining

In its Fall 2016 Supervisory Highlights report, issued October 31, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) identified mortgage redlining as an ongoing “priority area” in the Bureau’s supervisory work.  In the mortgage industry, “redlining” is a form of disparate treatment where a lender provides unequal access to credit, or unequal terms of credit, on the… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

The Yates Memo and Individual Representation

At the November 2, 2016 Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) Compliance and Legal Society Regional Seminar in New York, a SIFMA panel discussed the “Yates Memo,” its effect on internal investigations, and considerations regarding individual representation. The Yates Memo is a September 9, 2015 memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

Tuesday’s GOP Wins May Put the Brakes on the CFPB’s Controversial Oversight of Auto Lending

The CFPB’s imposition of its auto lending guidelines, and use of its admittedly flawed proxy-methodology to determine discriminatory lending in auto finance, may come to an end under the GOP controlled White House and Senate. The CFPB’s current guidance, published in a March 2013 Bulletin, has been largely criticized as limiting competition and increasing interest… Continue Reading
Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Director Cordray’s Remarks at FinTech Conference Highlight Focus on Increasing Access to Financial Data

Last Monday, October 24, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray spoke on the Bureau’s approach to FinTech at Money 20/20, a conference focused on payments and financial service innovation.  In his remarks, Cordray focused on responding to criticism of the CFPB’s enforcement actions against FinTech start-ups and appeared to warn large financial institutions… Continue Reading
Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

D.C. Circuit Rebukes CFPB in PHH Case

In a major setback for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), the D.C. Circuit issued a significant ruling today that found the CFPB’s single director structure unconstitutional, ruled against the CFPB on important statutory interpretations – including the Bureau’s position that it was not subject to any statute of limitations in enforcement proceedings – and… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

I Can’t Get No (Financial Product) Satisfaction: CFPB Complaint Database Exceeds One Million Complaints

On September 27, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Monthly Complaint Report capturing a high-level snapshot of trends in consumer complaints.  In conjunction with releasing its September Report, the CFPB confirmed it has handled over one million consumer complaints.  The CFPB describes consumer complaints as “submissions that express dissatisfaction with, or communicate suspicion… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

At Long Last, CFPB Issues Final Rule on Prepaid Accounts

The CFPB today finalized its rule on prepaid cards.  Over four years in the making, the final rule, which weighs in at nearly 1700 pages, provides “strong federal consumer protection for prepaid account users,” according to prepared remarks of CFPB Director Richard Cordray.  The final rule covers not only traditional “general purpose reloadable” cards, but… Continue Reading
Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

FinCEN Associate Director for Enforcement Delivers Remarks at Title 31 Conference, Stresses Importance of Culture of Compliance

On the day after his appointment in August 2016, the Associate Director for Enforcement for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Thomas Ott, addressed the National Title 31 Suspicious Activity & Risk Assessment Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.  In his remarks, he (1) covered recent enforcement actions, (2) sought to dispel myths or misconceptions about… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

Payment Processor Challenges CFPB’s Allegation That It Engaged in Unfair Practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) lawsuit against payment processor Intercept Corporation remains pending, and recent briefing sheds light on what could result in broad implications for the payment processing industry and CFPB enforcement at large. We previously reported on the CFPB’s suit against Intercept, pending in district court in North Dakota.  The CFPB alleges… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Issues Safe Harbors under FDCPA for Mortgage Servicers

On August 4, 2016, in conjunction with issuing the final mortgage servicing rule, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interpretive rule under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  Although a mortgage servicer’s conduct is not always governed by the FDCPA, as the CFPB explains in the interpretive rule, servicers that acquire a… Continue Reading

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