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
FinTech
Mayer Brown’s Lakatos Contributes Video Series to Fintechpolicy.org Website
Mayer Brown’s Alex Lakatos will serve as a contributor to the new fintechpolicy.org website. His most recent contribution is a video series on the intersection of ethics, fintech, and artificial intelligence.
Check out the latest episodes (each episode is a time-friendly 1 or 2 minutes), and note that new episodes will be released about once…
CFPB Proposal for No-Action Letters and New Product Sandbox
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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California Enacts TILA-Like Requirements for Business-Purpose Loans
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…
Mayer Brown Lawyers Featured at American Bar Ass’n Business Law Meetings
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…
Treasury Report on Fintech Regulation
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:…
Mayer Brown’s Jaffe Presents ABA Webinar on eMortgages and eClosings
Mayer Brown partner Jon Jaffe will present at an American Bankers Association webinar on June 13, entitled “How Can Your Bank Compete in the Age of the Digital Mortgage? Industry Experts Explain.” The webinar for ABA members is the first in a series intended to explore innovative mortgage business strategies in the age of “fintech.”…
Federal Court Dismisses “Speculative” and “Attenuated” Lawsuit By the Conference of State Bank Supervisors Over Proposed OCC Fintech Charter
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
Federal Court Dismisses “Speculative” Lawsuit By New York Department of Financial Services Over Proposed OCC Fintech Charter
On Tuesday, a federal district court in the Southern District of New York issued an order dismissing a lawsuit brought by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) 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, U.S.…
CFPB Issues No-Action Letter to Alternative Credit Lending Platform
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has issued its first No-Action Letter (“No-Action Letter” or “Letter”) in response to a request from Upstart Network, Inc. (“Upstart”). The No-Action Letter means that CFPB staff currently has no intention of recommending enforcement or supervisory action against Upstart. This decision is limited to the application of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) and its implementing regulation, Regulation B, to Upstart’s automated model for underwriting applicants for unsecured, non-revolving credit (“automated model”).
Upstart is an online lending platform that, working with a bank partner, uses alternative data to facilitate credit and pricing decisions for consumers with limited credit or work history. In addition to relying on traditional credit information, Upstart uses non-traditional sources of information to evaluate a consumer’s creditworthiness. For instance, Upstart might look at an applicant’s educational information, such as school attended and degree obtained, and the applicant’s employment to determine financial capacity and ability to repay. Upstart submitted a Request for No-Action Letter (“Request”) in relation to its automated model to the CFPB pursuant to the agency’s no-action letter policy.
According to the CFPB, the no-action letter policy is intended to facilitate consumer-friendly innovations where regulatory uncertainty may exist for certain emerging products or services. In practice, however, the process has presented significant challenges for companies that might seek to benefit from it. …
Continue Reading CFPB Issues No-Action Letter to Alternative Credit Lending Platform