Last week, the Federal Reserve Board published a paper on partnerships between community banks and fintech companies, “Community Bank Access to Innovation through Partnerships.”  The Fed’s publication of the paper is another indication of the increased attention that regulators are paying to bank relationships with fintechs.  It follows the publication at the end of last month of a guide by the Fed, OCC, and FDIC that is intended to assist community banks in conducting due…

The OCC’s true lender rule was intended to create a bright line test for when a national bank or federal savings association should be considered the “true lender” in the context of third party partnerships but Congress overturned the rule.  After reviewing the relevant background, we examine the Congressional override’s implications for future federal true lender rulemaking and its impact on existing law, key federal and state court challenges and decisions, state legislative and administrative…

(Ballard Spahr will hold a webinar on 9/21 at 3pm ET, “The Path Forward for Income Share Agreements.” Register online here.)  The CFPB issued a consent order against an income share agreement (ISA) provider, Better Future Forward (BFF), in which it concluded that BFF’s ISAs are extensions of credit under the Consumer Financial Protection Act and Truth in Lending Act and are “private education loans” under TILA.  In doing so, the CFPB alleged that…

During D.C.’s declared State of Public Health Emergency, several financial protections have been put in place, including some that severely limit, among other things, collection activities relating to consumer contracts, repossession, and legal actions on accounts.  On September 1, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the most recent pair of emergency and temporary legislation to land on her desk, B24-0347 and B24-0348.  These bills include a number of provisions impacting collection activities that relate to both third-party…

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that she has nominated Adrienne Harris to serve as Superintendent of the state’s Department of Financial Services.  If confirmed by the New York Senate, Ms. Harris would succeed Linda Lacewell whose last day at the DFS was August 24. Ms. Harris previously served as a Senior Advisor in the Treasury Department during the Obama Administration.  Following her time at the Treasury Department, Ms. Harris joined The White…

We discuss a range of practical issues related to the rule’s rapidly-approaching effective date, including: the prospects for further CFPB rulemaking or guidance; the aspects of the rule that should be prioritized by third-party collectors and debt buyers; the rule’s impact on creditors (for internal collections and third-party collector/debt buyer oversight), state law considerations, and steps being taken to mitigate risk; and greatest risks for third-party collectors and creditors once the rule is effective. Chris…