We are a little more than two weeks into the new year and we’ve already seen several states introduce comprehensive privacy legislation on the heels of California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It is no easy task to stay on top of (potentially) 50 different privacy requirements, each with differing applicability standards, definitions, requirements, obligations, and enforcement mechanisms. Cue this series of articles — meant to address developments at the state and (dare we say with…

As part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, Congress enacted Section 1071, which amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to mandate certain reporting requirements for lenders making business loans. The act aims to “facilitate enforcement of fair lending laws and enable communities, governmental entities, and creditors to identify business and community development needs and opportunities of women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.” Specifically, Section 1071 requires that lenders identify women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses and collect…

New federal legislation introduced in the House and Senate would place a 36% annual percentage rate cap on nearly all consumer loans, potentially killing the small dollar consumer lending industry. Last month, Congressmen Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-IL) and Glen Grothman (R-WI) introduced H.R. 5050, the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act. The bill proposes to limit the finance charge on consumer loans to 36%. In essence, the bill would extend the rate cap…

On December 3, several federal agencies issued guidance (Guidance) that, by its terms, “provide[s] clarity” regarding “the regulatory requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for banks providing services to hemp-related businesses.” Hemp proponents hope this additional clarity will encourage hesitant financial institutions to begin serving the hemp industry. The key takeaway from the Guidance – which was issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the…

Recently, the First Circuit held that a parent’s tuition payments on behalf of an adult child do not benefit the parent’s bankruptcy estate, and a Chapter 7 trustee may therefore claw the payments back as fraudulent transfers. The concept underlying fraudulent transfer law is that, if a person cannot pay his debts in due course, it is fraudulent to transfer his assets to another person with a motive to avoid paying his debts. This concept…