CFPB Proposes to Expand Certain Remittance Transfer Safe Harbors To reduce compliance costs for certain banks, credit unions and other insured financial institutions, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed amendments to Regulation E to increase the safe-harbor available to insured financial institutions that provide a limited amount of remittance transfers from being categorized as a remittance transfer service provider.  Under the proposal, the limit on remittances would be raised from the current limit of…

The Fed Chairman Comments on Potential for a US-backed Digital Currency Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, wrote to Congress this week discussing the merits of implementing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the U.S. The letter responds to a number of questions posed by lawmakers regarding the value that a digital currency would provide and implementation challenges that would need to be overcome. Two Congressmen had expressed concern that the U.S. is…

California Prohibits Clinics from Using Deferred Interest Provisions California signed into law SB-639 that prohibits medical and veterinary clinics and their agents and employees from establishing open-end credits or loans that include deferred interest provisions in an effort to protect patients and pet owners from signing up for certain credit, including credit products that accrue interest during a 0% introductory period. Additionally, clinics and their agents and employees cannot complete any portion of an application…

House Financial Services Subcommittee Hearing on Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ in Lending and Housing The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing this week on the extent and effects of discrimination against persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) when seeking housing or credit in the United States. A recording of the hearing has been made available online. Testimony by Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign,…

Federal Judge Rules the OCC Lacks Authority to Issue Fintech Bank Charters U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero approved a final judgment in favor of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) that sets aside the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) special-purpose chartering regulation for certain non-depository fintech applicants seeking a limited-service national bank charter (the Fintech Charter). The OCC has claimed authority to issue Fintech Charters through (i) its leeway to…

OCC to Host Innovation Office Hours During Money20/20 On October 28, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) will hold Innovation Office Hours in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Venetian Hotel during the Money20/20 conference (October 27-30). During the Innovation Officer Hours, the OCC’s Office of Innovation staff meets one-on-one with fintech firms and other companies that partner with banks to discuss new products or services to facilitate responsible innovation in the…

Increase to the Management Interlock Threshold Rule Approved The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) approved a change to the thresholds in the major assets prohibition for management interlocks stated in the Depository Institution Management Interlocks Act (“DIMIA”). Prior to the final rule, the DIMIA prohibited a management official of a depository organization that…