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David Beam is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and a member of the Consumer Financial Services group. His practice encompasses a broad range of matters related to payments and credit regulation. He provides clients with regulatory compliance and related business planning advice; conducts regulatory due diligences of investment and acquisition targets; structures joint ventures and other business arrangements; obtains approvals, licenses and regulatory guidance from US federal and state financial regulators; and prepares terms and conditions for financial products and services. Additionally, he defends companies in connection with federal and state governmental audits, investigations and enforcement proceedings and assists with litigation matters, including putative class action proceedings.

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On March 23, 2021, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 1792, enacting the Predatory Loan Prevention Act (PLPA) and capping interest at an “all-in” 36% APR (similar to the Military Lending Act’s MAPR) for a variety of consumer financing, effective immediately. The PLPA uses an expansive definition of interest, applies to

Legalization of certain cannabis-related activities by over 30 states has led to a surge in companies that grow and produce cannabis and related products. However, banks and other financial services companies have been hesitant to serve this growing population of potential customers due to conflicting statutes and enforcement policies under federal law. On Thursday, March 28, 2019, the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives took a step toward clearing some ambiguity, at least for federally insured financial institutions.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 (“SAFE Act”), which the Committee approved on a vote of 45-15, with 11 of the panel’s Republican members voting in favor, has been cleared for consideration by the full House. The SAFE Act would, if enacted, provide a safe harbor against retaliatory enforcement action by federal bank regulators directed at banks (including federal branches of non-U.S. banks), savings associations, and credit unions that provide services to cannabis businesses or service providers. In addition, the SAFE Act would prohibit federal regulators from discouraging depository institutions from offering financial services, including loans, to an account holder on the basis that the account holder is a cannabis-related business or service provider; an employee, owner, or operator of a cannabis-related business; or an owner or operator of real estate or equipment leased to a cannabis-related business. Furthermore, the SAFE Act would provide that officers, directors, and employees of depository institutions and the Federal Reserve Banks may not be held liable under federal law or regulations based solely on their provision of financial services to cannabis-related businesses or for investing any income derived from such businesses. The protections would apply only to cannabis-related businesses located in states, political subdivisions of states, or an Indian country where local law permits the cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, transportation, distribution, or purchase of cannabis. 
Continue Reading House Takes First Step to Open Banking for Cannabis Companies

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed amendments to its earlier policy for issuing no-action letters, and proposed a process for participating in a so-called regulatory “sandbox,” which would provide certainty in or exemptions from complying with certain federal consumer protection laws. Comments on the proposals are due by February 19, 2019.

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New California legislation will impose disclosure requirements, similar to those under the federal Truth in Lending Act, on commercial-purpose loans of $500,000 or less, including arrangements such as factoring, merchant cash advances, and certain assignments of accounts and receivables. The disclosures will generally include the total cost of the financing, expressed both as a

The ABA Business Law Section is holding its 2017 Annual Meeting in Chicago next week and will offer over 90 CLE programs and many more committee meetings and events.

Mayer Brown’s Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement (FSRE) partner David Beam (Washington DC) will moderate a panel on payment network rules and their impact in the

Last week was busy for the financial technology industry (Fintechs) and non-bank regulators.

New York joined the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) in filing a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and announced plans to adopt a uniform licensing system for Fintechs. CSBS issued its support of the lawsuit,

On January 31, 2017, the CFPB released its Prepaid Rule Small Entity Compliance Guide to facilitate comprehension of and the implementation of the new prepaid rule on October 1, 2017. As described in our prior Legal Update, the CFPB issued the final prepaid rule in October 2016 which amends Regulation E to cover prepaid

Five Mayer Brown attorneys in the Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement group presented at the American Bar Association Business Law Section Annual Meeting in Boston last week.

Ori Lev spoke on a panel discussing the CFPB’s enforcement track record.  The panel addressed a study by Professor Chris Peterson of the S.J. Quinney College of Law

Tomorrow, September 13, 2016, Mayer Brown partner Jeff Taft will be speaking at the inaugural Marketplace Lending Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.  Jeff will be on a panel covering “Hot Legal Topics in Marketplace Lending.”

David BeamKeisha Whitehall-Wolfe, and Eric Mitzenmacher also will be attending the conference.