On October 5th, the CFPB finalized its long-awaited payday lending rule, reportedly five years in the making. The final rule is substantially similar to the proposal the Bureau issued last year. However, the Bureau decided not to finalize requirements for longer-term high-cost installment loans, choosing to focus only on short-term loans and longer-term loans with a balloon payment feature. The final rule will become effective in mid-summer 2019, 21 months after it is published in the…

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 marketplace. FSRE partner Melanie Brody (Washington DC) will participate on a panel on how fintech is changing the way consumer…

A complaint filed March 23 by the bankruptcy trustee for Lam Cloud Management, LLC in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey challenges two small business financing models: (i) merchant cash advances (“MCAs”); and (ii) small business loans originated under bank partnerships.  While disposition of the complaint will take time, and all that is available for now are bare allegations, the complaint is another recent challenge involving usury and bank partner…

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 Beam, Keisha Whitehall-Wolfe, and Eric Mitzenmacher also will be attending the conference.  …

On June 2, 2016, the CFPB proposed new ability-to-repay and payment processing requirements for short-term and certain longer-term consumer loans.  Relying largely on the CFPB’s authority to prohibit unfair or abusive practices, the proposal would generally require that lenders making payday, vehicle title, and certain high-rate installment loans either originate loans satisfying strict product characteristic limitations set by the rule or make an ability-to-repay determination based on verified income and other information. To facilitate the…