To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week.
Federal Activities:
On April 4, the International Monetary Fund warned that the rapid move to tokenized finance such as shifting stocks, bonds, cash, and other assets onto blockchain-based systems could accelerate financial crises beyond regulators’ capacity to respond, even as it reduces costs and settlement delays. The IMF cautioned that instant, 24/7 settlement and the growing use of privately issued stablecoins as settlement assets could remove existing buffers, speed up stress events, and heighten run and margin-call risks, particularly given that central bank emergency facilities are designed for business-hour crises. The report highlighted ongoing tokenization initiatives by major market players and outlined three possible paths for tokenized finance: one anchored by central bank digital currencies, a fragmented system of incompatible national platforms, or a market dominated by private stablecoins with weaker public backstops. The IMF urged policymakers to act proactively — by, for example, anchoring settlement in “safe” money and clarifying the legal status of tokenized assets — arguing that there is a limited window to shape the architecture and risk allocation of the emerging tokenized financial system. For more information, click here.
On April 3, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that Stephen D. Andrews and M. Jordan Minot have been appointed as deputy general counsel for regulation and litigation, respectively. Chairman Michael S. Selig and General Counsel Tyler Badgley emphasized their roles in supporting the CFTC’s pro-growth agenda and defending its regulatory authority through robust rulemaking and litigation. Andrews, a Yale Law School graduate who clerked on the Ninth Circuit and the Eastern District of New York and most recently served as general counsel to Senator Josh Hawley, will lead the Regulatory Branch of the General Counsel’s Office. Minot, a University of Virginia School of Law graduate who clerked for then-Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the Seventh Circuit and served as an assistant solicitor general and senior assistant attorney general in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, will lead the Litigation, Enforcement, and Adjudication Branch. For more information, click here.
On April 3, a Congressional Research Service Legal Sidebar analyzed the rapid growth of online prediction markets and the extent to which existing insider trading laws apply to event contracts, explaining how such markets function, how they may fall within the Commodity Exchange Act’s (CEA) “swap” and “option” definitions, and how traditional insider trading frameworks under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Rule 10b-5, CFTC Rule 180.1, and various Title 18 fraud statutes might reach trading based on material nonpublic information. The Sidebar reviewed a February 2026 CFTC advisory highlighting potential Rule 180.1 violations on a CFTC-registered exchange and emphasizing exchanges’ surveillance and enforcement duties, then explored unresolved issues for Congress, including the contested status of certain event contracts (such as sports markets) under the CEA, the interaction between CFTC rules and stricter exchange-level insider-trading policies, prosecutorial interest in criminally charging insider trading on prediction markets, and a suite of pending bills in the 119th Congress that would restrict or prohibit trading in particular event contracts and/or bar covered public officials from profiting on prediction markets using confidential government information. For more information, click here.
On April 3, a Congressional Research Service Legal Sidebar analyzed new SEC guidance — issued March 17, 2026, and joined by the CFTC — on how federal securities law applies to crypto-assets and related activities, explaining that the guidance (which supersedes the SEC’s 2019 staff guidance) introduces a five-part taxonomy (digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities), clarifies that certain non-security crypto-assets can nonetheless be “subject to” an investment contract (and thus securities regulation) until they later “separate from” that contract when purchasers can no longer reasonably expect essential managerial efforts from the issuer, and addresses when protocol mining, protocol staking, wrapping of non-security crypto-assets, and airdrops fall outside the securities regime. The Sidebar notes that the SEC rejects the “absolute separation theory” under which most secondary-market crypto trading would lie beyond securities laws, shifts the analytical focus away from “decentralization” toward issuers’ representations and promises, and situates the guidance against the backdrop of pending market-structure legislation such as H.R. 3633 and a Senate Banking Committee draft that would narrow the SEC’s role over secondary crypto markets, expand CFTC authority, and partially codify an absolute separation approach for specified assets. For more information, click here.
On April 2, the Tenth Circuit granted rehearing en banc in National Association of Industrial Bankers v. Weiser, vacating its November 10, 2025, panel decision that had allowed Colorado to apply its Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) interest-rate caps to loans made by out-of-state, state-chartered banks to Colorado borrowers. The court’s prior judgment is vacated, issuance of the mandate is stayed, and the case is reopened for en banc consideration. The court specifically directs the parties to submit supplemental briefs addressing a series of questions focused on the meaning of DIDMCA § 525’s phrase “loans made in such State” and on the preemption framework. The en banc court asks whether “loans made in such State” refers to an executed loan and encompasses loans in which either the lender or the borrower is located in the opt-out state, as the panel held, and how the reference in § 521 to “the State … where the bank is located” should inform the interpretation of § 525. The court further asks how DIDMCA’s enactment history and regulatory guidance bear on the meaning of “loans made in such State,” whether that phrase is ambiguous, and whether a presumption against preemption applies in this case. The order sets a schedule for supplemental opening, response, and reply briefs and expressly encourages additional amicus participation. For more information, click here.
On April 2, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the agenda and panelists for its April 16 roundtable on options market structure, to be held at SEC headquarters in Washington, D.C., open to the public and webcast live, with later recording available on the SEC’s website. The program will feature opening remarks from Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda and Division of Trading and Markets Director Jamie Selway, a data presentation from the Division’s Office of Analytics and Research, and three panels: one on how current options market structure affects competition among liquidity providers in quote-driven markets; a second on the customer experience with listed options; and a third on the opportunities and challenges arising from the growth of listed options, including issues the Commission and market participants should address going forward. Panelists include representatives from major exchanges, trading firms, broker-dealers, industry associations, and academia, and the event will also include remarks from SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins, with further details and comment submission procedures available on the SEC’s roundtable event page. For more information, click here.
On April 1, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the broad-based principles set out in the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act for determining when a state-level regulatory regime for “state qualified payment stablecoin issuers” is “substantially similar” to the federal regulatory framework. That determination is the gateway for state-chartered, nonbank stablecoin issuers with up to $10 billion in outstanding stablecoins to operate primarily under state oversight rather than as federally supervised “permitted payment stablecoin issuers.” Treasury clarifies that “substantial similarity” extends beyond § 4(a) to other provisions as well, including transition to federal oversight (§ 4(d)), applications and licensing (§ 5), supervision and enforcement (§ 6), custody (§ 10), and insolvency (§ 11). For example, a state regime that materially weakened custody safeguards or limited the state regulator’s examination and enforcement tools compared with § 6 would not be substantially similar. At the same time, Treasury makes clear that states may diverge on procedural and formal matters, such as data formats for reports or internal timelines, so long as those deviations do not change substantive standards or impede the operation of federal law. Comments will be due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. For more information, click here.
On March 31, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced a final rule rescinding its recovery planning guidelines for large OCC‑supervised banks with at least $100 billion in assets, with Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould explaining that prescriptive recovery planning requirements add little value to banks’ ability to manage stress and instead distract from maintaining safe and sound operations. As part of the agency’s broader effort to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, the OCC emphasized that it still expects these institutions to maintain strong risk management and contingency funding plans, clarified that the rule does not apply to or affect banks with less than $100 billion in average total consolidated assets, and noted that community banks are unaffected. The rescission will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. For more information, click here.
On March 31, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) moved the en banc D.C. Circuit to modify its existing stay pending appeal to allow the Bureau to implement a newly adopted, superseding reduction-in-force (RIF) plan that, consistent with a presidential directive to streamline operations, downsizes the agency while keeping it open and adequately staffed to meet its statutory obligations, thereby undermining the district court’s premise that CFPB would “shut down” absent injunctive relief. The motion further requests a limited 45‑day remand for the district court to reconsider the preliminary injunction in light of intervening developments, including Congress’s enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which significantly lowers the CFPB’s funding cap and makes some RIF necessary by late 2026, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc., which confirms that injunctive relief must be tailored to the plaintiffs’ own irreparable injuries. The motion further requests that the appeal be held in abeyance while the district court evaluates whether the injunction should be dissolved or narrowed under these materially changed circumstances. For more information, click here.
On March 31, the CFPB announced that the 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Modified Loan Application Register (LAR) data for approximately 4,768 filers are now available on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s HMDA Platform, providing loan-level information that has been modified to protect consumer privacy and is accessible online for each institution as well as in a single combined file covering all filers. This expanded electronic availability, implemented under the CFPB’s 2015 HMDA rule, replaces the prior system of requesting data from individual institutions and is intended to increase public access to mortgage lending information, with the CFPB’s Beginner’s Guide to Accessing and Using HMDA Data offered as a resource to help users understand, access, and analyze the data. For more information, click here.
On March 30, the CFPB notified an Oregon federal district court that the acting director, in order to comply with the preliminary injunction entered in NTEU v. Vought, prepared and submitted to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System a quarterly funding request in the amount of $75.8 million, while expressly stating in his transmittal letter to Chairman Jerome Powell that this figure reflects the amount required by the court order rather than his own judgment of what is “reasonably necessary” for the Bureau to perform its statutory functions, which he believes could be accomplished with a significantly smaller budget. For more information, click here.
On March 30, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced the launch of Phase 1 of its new, streamlined online charter system for new credit union applications, a phase focused on obtaining preliminary approval of a proposed credit union’s field of membership, with NCUA Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman emphasizing that simplifying and systematizing the chartering process and removing unnecessary requirements will ease burdens on organizers and support fair, accessible opportunities to form new credit unions. Funded by a $2 million allocation approved by the NCUA Board in December 2024, the system will continue to be developed, with additional phases to be released and a fully automated charter application processing system expected by 2027. For more information, click here.
On March 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in the consolidated appeals Forcht Bank, NA, et al. v. CFPB, et al., issued an order granting the plaintiffs-appellees’ motion to hold the case in abeyance for docket-management purposes while the CFPB undertakes new rulemaking related to the Personal Financial Data Rights Rule, thereby cancelling the March 9, 2026, briefing schedule and directing the plaintiffs to file a status report on the rulemaking every 60 days — beginning 60 days from the order — with each report to include the appellants’ positions on whether and how briefing should proceed. For more information, click here.
On March 30, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that it had submitted to the Federal Register a NPRM to fully implement its whistleblower program by establishing a framework of incentives and protections to encourage individuals to report fraud-related violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and other laws critical to the U.S. financial system and national security. The proposal outlines secure procedures for submitting tips and award applications, setting eligibility standards and adjudication processes, authorizing awards of 10-30% of collected monetary penalties where whistleblower information leads to successful enforcement actions by Treasury or the Department of Justice, and providing protections for whistleblowers. FinCEN emphasized that, although the program is already authorized under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act of 2022 and is currently accepting tips (including through a newly launched whistleblower portal), this regulation will fully implement those statutes, and members of the public are invited to submit comments within 60 days of the NPRM’s publication. For more information, click here.
On March 30, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Richard Blumenthal sent letters to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins raising grave concerns that the abrupt resignation of Enforcement Division Director Judge Margaret Ryan and a pattern of declining enforcement activity reflect preferential treatment for Trump’s financial allies and crypto partners. The letters cite reports that Ryan clashed with senior SEC leadership after seeking aggressive action in cases involving Trump-affiliated individuals and entities, note the SEC’s dismissal or softening of significant crypto fraud cases, and highlight the agency’s failure to release FY 2025 enforcement data despite repeated congressional requests. The senators further point to substantial staff reductions, especially within the Division of Enforcement, and historically low enforcement case numbers as undermining the SEC’s ability to protect investors and maintain market integrity. In addition, they emphasize the national security and consumer protection risks posed by crypto platforms such as Tron, which has allegedly facilitated large volumes of illicit finance while its founder strengthened financial ties to Trump-related ventures. The letters demand prompt release of FY 2025 enforcement statistics and request detailed explanations and extensive records regarding Ryan’s departure, internal deliberations over enforcement decisions, communications with Trump family members and associates, White House officials, and attorneys for certain crypto actors, as well as a list of instances in which Enforcement Division recommendations were overruled by SEC leadership. For more information, click here and here.