Maryland regulations governing “shared appreciation agreements” become effective November 25, 2024.  After the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation proposed regulations governing required disclosures for shared appreciation agreements in July 2024, the regulations were finalized on October 30, 2024, with no substantive revisions.

As a reminder, a “shared appreciation agreement” is defined for purposes of Maryland’s Credit Grantor mortgage laws as “a writing evidencing a transaction or any option, future, or any other derivative between a person and a consumer where the consumer receives money or any other item of value in exchange for an interest or future interest in a dwelling or residential real estate, or a future obligation to repay a sum on the occurrence of an event such as: (1) the transfer of ownership; (2) a repayment maturity date; (3) the death of the consumer; or (4) any other event contemplated by the writing.”

Below is a summary of the final regulations governing shared appreciation agreements. Continue Reading New Disclosure and Other Requirements for Shared Appreciation Agreements Take Effect in Maryland

On October 22, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) marked a significant milestone in the shift towards open banking in the United States with the finalization of its rulemaking on Personal Financial Data Rights. As we discussed in our Legal Update on the October 2023 proposed rule, the final rule provides the long-awaited implementation of Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in 2010, and establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework to provide consumers—and their authorized third parties—with rights to receive structured, consistent and timely access to consumers’ personal financial data held by financial institutions and other financial services providers.

The 594-page final rule is intended to allow consumers to access and share data held by banks, credit unions, credit card issuers, digital wallets, payment apps and other financial service providers, with the goal of improving customer choice and increasing competition, while strengthening consumer protections by imposing limitations on authorized third parties’ collection, use and retention of consumers’ data. Financial institutions subject to the final rule could face a variety of compliance, operational and technical challenges as they build out the infrastructure necessary to comply with the final rule. For the largest financial institutions, which include depository institutions with total assets in excess of $250 billion and non-depository institutions that generated at least $10 billion in total receipts in either calendar year 2023 or calendar year 2024, compliance is required by April 1, 2026, with compliance by smaller covered institutions required in phases beginning April 1, 2027, through April 1, 2030.Continue Reading CFPB Issues Long-Awaited Open Banking Rule; Lawsuit Immediately Filed

On May 10, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted the credit card industry at least a temporary reprieve from a CFPB rulemaking that would have restricted late fees on consumer credit cards significantly (as described in more detail in our prior Legal Update).Continue Reading CFPB Credit Card Late Fee Rule Stayed . . . For Now

The Department of Labor issued a final rule raising the thresholds applicable to an employer’s obligation to pay overtime. The rule sets new levels applicable to the so-called “executive, administrative, and professional” (“EAP”) exemption from overtime requirements and for qualifying as a “highly compensated employee.” The initial updates will become effective on July 1, 2024.

On March 29, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the new Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) regulations against the plaintiffs in the case.

The CRA, passed in 1977, generally requires insured depository institutions to participate in investment, lending, and service activities that help

On March 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “Bureau”) issued a Final Rule that would significantly restrict late fees that consumer credit card issuers may charge to a mere $8.

Within two days, the Final Rule faced a challenge in the Northern District of Texas by a coalition of trade groups including the United

On March 5, the CFPB issued a final rule that would significantly reduce late fees that may be charged on consumer credit card accounts from $30 or more to $8 in most cases. A proposed rule on this subject matter was issued February 1, 2023, and the credit card industry has paid close attention to the rulemaking process since.

The final rule amends provisions of Regulation Z, implementing the Truth in Lending Act, related to permissible penalty fees—including late fees, NSF fees, returned payment fees, etc.— that a card issuer may impose on consumers who violate the terms of a credit card account subject to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (the “CARD Act”).Continue Reading CFPB Finalizes Significant Restrictions on Credit Card Late Fees

FHA branch offices could become a thing of the past.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development published a final rule on February 2, 2024, eliminating the requirement for lenders to register each branch office where lenders and mortgagees conduct FHA business with HUD. FHA addressed questions from stakeholders in Frequently Asked Questions.

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The CFPB’s 1071 Rule is on hold.  On October 26, 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction that enjoins the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) from implementing and enforcing its small business lending data collection rule (the “1071 Rule”).  The injunction stems from a lawsuit filed

Mayer Brown has published a new edition of Licensing Link, a periodic publication that will keep you informed on hot topics and new developments in state licensing laws, and provide practice tips and primers on important issues related to state licensing across the spectrum of asset classes and financial services activities.

In this issue, we