FinTech

Subscribe to FinTech

On January 20, 2022, the FTC continued its recent experiment in holding open meetings of its commissioners. The FTC did not vote on new initiatives; Chair Lina Khan is likely waiting for a third Democratic commissioner before pushing through her more controversial agenda. Public comments focused on two areas: possible anticompetitive conduct in the franchise…

On Thursday (March 26, 2021), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to invalidate the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) true lender rule. The resolution is co-sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Catherine Cortez-Masto (NV), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) participated in the introduction of the resolution, signaling support for the resolution by House Democrats. The Biden Administration has not yet stated its support for the resolution, though President Biden is likely to sign the resolution into law if Congress passes it.

With the statutory deadline for Congress to take up the resolution of disapproval quickly approaching in approximately mid-May, Congress will have to either pass the resolution when it returns in April from its two week recess, or effectively defer to President Biden’s future Comptroller of the Currency to determine the future of the rule. Given the Democrats’ narrow majorities in both houses of Congress, the vote on the resolution is expected to be close with possible defections on both sides of the aisle. If Congress does not pass the resolution by the statutory deadline, the new Comptroller of the Currency could still seek to repeal or modify the rule at a later date. President Biden has not yet announced a nominee for Comptroller.
Continue Reading Congress Prepares to Invalidate OCC’s True Lender Rule

On Tuesday (September 3, 2019), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) seeking to block the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) from issuing federal charters to fintech companies. As explained in a prior blog post…

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.

Read more in

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 2018 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas on September 13-15, 2018. The Meeting will offer over 80 CLE programs and many more committee meetings and events, and will feature several Mayer Brown panelists.

Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement (FSRE) partner Laurence Platt will participate in a panel…

On July 30, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued its much-anticipated report on reshaping Fintech regulation.  “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities — Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation,” available here, focuses on the regulation of financial technology and makes more than 80 recommendations related to Fintech and nonbank financial policy, including:…

On Monday, a federal district court judge in the District of Columbia issued an order dismissing a lawsuit brought by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) regarding a proposal of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to issue federal charters to certain Fintech firms. In dismissing the case, US District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich held the CSBS did not have standing to sue because the OCC had not yet officially decided to issue charters to Fintech companies. Judge Friedrich explained that the CSBS lacks standing to bring the suit because the harms it alleges are “contingent on whether the OCC charters” a Fintech company, and “[s]everal contingent and speculative events must occur before the OCC” issues such a charter.
Continue Reading Federal Court Dismisses “Speculative” and “Attenuated” Lawsuit By the Conference of State Bank Supervisors Over Proposed OCC Fintech Charter