On January 20, President Trump issued a memorandum instituting a regulatory freeze pending review. This action, a common practice for new administrations, directs federal agencies to halt any new rulemaking until agency heads appointed by the incoming president have reviewed and approved pending regulations. The freeze has significant implications for the financial services industry.
Continue Reading Trump Administration Issues Regulatory Freeze
On January 10, 2025, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) issued guidance significantly expanding licensing requirements for assignees of residential mortgage loans in Maryland. The guidance stems from an April 2024 court ruling and raises important considerations for entities involved in the secondary mortgage market.
Continue Reading Maryland Expands Licensing Requirements for Mortgage Loan Assignees
The FDIC will shift its focus and priorities under the leadership of its new Acting Chairman, Travis Hill. In a statement released on January 20, 2025, Chairman Hill signaled a potential departure from some of the initiatives of the prior FDIC leadership. In the statement, he explained his key priorities for the agency moving forward, which include:
Continue Reading New FDIC Chairman Outlines Agency’s New Priorities
On January 17, 2025, the CFPB filed a complaint against an Illinois-based non-depository mortgage lender for allegedly engaging in discriminatory practices. The CFPB alleges the lender engaged in improper redlining by deliberately excluding certain neighborhoods from its services based on the racial and ethnic composition of those areas, in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).
Continue Reading CFPB Takes Action Against Illinois Mortgage Lender for Redlining Violations
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report, consumer advisory, and filed an amicus brief addressing the risks associated with home equity contracts (HECs)—financial products often marketed as home equity “investments.” The Bureau highlighted the high costs, complexity, and risks these products pose to homeowners, including the potential for financial distress and forced home sales if repayment obligations become unmanageable. The Bureau’s amicus brief, filed in a lawsuit currently ongoing in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, is discussed in detail below.
Continue Reading CFPB Issues Warning on Risks of Home Equity Contracts, Takes Legal Action to Ensure Compliance with TILA
On January 2, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed an interpretive rule under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E to clarify how emerging payment systems, such as those used in video games, esports betting, and the use of stablecoin, fit within the existing regulatory framework. According to the Bureau, their actions are part of a broader effort to ensure that companies offering these types of “financial products” have mechanisms in place to protect consumers against hacking attempts, account theft, scams, and unauthorized transactions. It is the CFPB’s belief that absent these protections, consumers may face
Continue Reading CFPB Proposes Interpretive Rule on Emerging Payment Mechanisms Under EFTA
On January 13, 2025, the CFPB announced a proposed rule aimed at prohibiting companies from including in consumer agreements terms that operate to waive consumers’ legal rights, allow companies to unilaterally change key terms, or restrict consumers’ lawful free expression. The CFPB has made a preliminary determination that the use of such terms may constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). See 12 U.S.C. 5531(b).
Continue Reading CFPB Proposes Rule to Protect Consumers from Unfair Contract Clauses
On January 14, 2025, the American Fintech Council (AFC) submitted a letter to the Ohio Department of Financial Institutions, urging it to re-examine its recent guidance on responsible bank partnerships and provide more clarity. The guidance, which outlines expectations for banks partnering with fintech companies, raised concerns among industry participants regarding its potential impact on innovation and competition in financial services.
Continue Reading Trade Group Calls for Clarity on Ohio Fintech Guidance
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a comprehensive report today, outlining detailed recommendations to strengthen state-level consumer protection laws and address modern risks in consumer financial markets. The CFPB also provided a compendium of guidance documents summarizing its enforcement strategies and regulatory insights, designed to serve as a resource for state lawmakers and regulators.
Continue Reading CFPB Proposes Roadmap For States to Continue Regulatory Activity
On January 17, 2025, the CFPB issued a consent order against a large consumer reporting agency for failing to properly investigate consumer disputes concerning inaccurate information on consumers’ credit reports. The CFPB alleges the agency violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), by relying on ineffective processes and failing to thoroughly investigate disputes.
Continue Reading CFPB Orders Credit Reporting Agency to Pay $15 Million for Mishandling Consumer Disputes
During the week of January 6, the CFPB released a “second” Winter 2024 Supervisory Highlights, focused on the agency’s most recent findings in deposits, small dollar lending, buy now, pay later (BNPL), paycheck advance products, and furnishing. Some key takeaways include:
Continue Reading CFPB Publishes Supervisory Highlights Focused on Deposits, Small-Dollar Lending, BNPL, and Paycheck Advance Products
On January 7, 2025, the CFPB announced the finalization of a rule amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., to prohibit the inclusion of medical bills on credit reports used by lenders and prevent lenders from using medical information in lending decisions. According to the Bureau, the final rule (previously discussed here) will remove an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans.
Continue Reading CFPB Finalizes Rule Removing Medical Bills from Credit Reports
On January 8, the CFPB announced its intent to pursue rulemaking that would allow the agency to oversee nonbank personal loan lender. The announcement came in response to a petition filed in September 2022 by the Consumer Bankers Association and the Center for Responsible Lending, which called on the CFPB to engage in rulemaking under section 1024(a)(2) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act to subject certain “larger participants” in the nonbank personal loan market to the CFPB’s supervisory authority.
Continue Reading CFPB Announces Plans to Regulate Nonbank Personal Loan Providers
On January 3, 2025, the CFPB announced a reboot of its no-action letter and compliance assistance sandbox policy, aimed at promoting consumer-beneficial innovation in financial services. The new policies are designed to foster competition and transparency while addressing unmet consumer needs.
Continue Reading CFPB Updates No-Action Letter and Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policies to Spur Innovation
On January 7, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) announced that a non-depository mortgage lender has agreed to pay $1.75 million in connection with allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by redlining predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
Continue Reading DOJ Announces Third Settlement with a Non-Depository Lender to Resolve Alleged Redlining Claims
On January 6, 2025, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a non-bank manufactured home financing company for violations of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z. The lawsuit alleges that the mortgage lender engaged in predatory lending practices by providing manufactured home loans to borrowers it knew could not afford them.
Continue Reading CFPB Sues Mortgage Lender for Predatory Lending Practices in Manufacture Homes Loans