Join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis as he discusses the New York Department of Financial Services’ (NYDFS) latest updates to its cybersecurity regulations with Troutman Pepper Privacy + Cyber Partner Kim Phan. With data breaches on the rise, the NYDFS has heightened its expectations for licensed entities in New York regarding data management. The finalized
Join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis for a solo episode where he discusses a recent joint statement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice regarding the consideration of immigration status in credit underwriting — an issue that has plagued creditors for years. Chris provides listeners with important background on this matter, the history and impact of litigation on credit underwriting and immigration status, the content of the joint statement, and what strategies creditors can employ to stay ahead of the issue.
On November 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to amend existing regulations defining “larger participants” the CFPB supervises by adding a new section to define larger participants that offer digital wallets, payment applications, and similar services.
Join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his colleagues Joe Reilly and Chris Capurso as they discuss the impact of state licensing laws on the consumer financial services industry. They tackle topics such as:
On October 30, President Biden issued a sweeping Executive Order calling on Congress to enact privacy laws and directing federal agencies to review existing rules and potentially explore new rulemakings governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across various sectors of the U.S. economy. Among other things, the Executive Order will require AI system developers to submit safety test results to the federal government, establish standards for detecting AI-generated content to fight consumer fraud, and develop AI tools to identify and fix vulnerabilities in critical software. According to the White House fact sheet, the stated goal of the Executive Order is to “ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of [AI].” To that end, the Executive Order focuses on national security, privacy, discrimination and bias, healthcare safety, workplace surveillance, innovation, and global leadership.
In a major victory for small business lenders, yesterday the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted motions filed by three groups of trade association intervenors to extend the court’s existing injunction against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) enforcement of its final rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule) to cover all small business lenders nationwide. A discussion of the preliminary injunction issued by that Texas federal court on July 31 can be found here. The injunction in Texas Bankers Association v. CFPB will dissolve if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses the Fifth Circuit in Community Financial Services Association v CFPB (CFSA case), which found the CFPB’s funding structure unconstitutional.
On October 24, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced a settlement with Wisconsin auto dealer group Rhinelander Auto Center, Inc. (Rhinelander), its current and former owners, and general manager. The lawsuit was brought under the FTC Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Wisconsin Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the Wisconsin Consumer Act.
In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis and Matthew Orso discuss lessons learned from bank internal investigations. They explore the trigger points that give rise to these investigations, provide useful advice for banks regarding their investigations, discuss how to avoid common issues, and suggest remedial measures to prevent issues from repeating.
In the last three weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached two more settlements with lenders under its Combatting Redlining Initiative, which began in October 2021. On September 27, the DOJ announced that Washington Trust Company agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island. On October 19, the DOJ announced a separate $9 million agreement with Ameris Bank to resolve allegations that it engaged in redlining predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida. And, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland, this is just the beginning. “[T]he Justice Department currently has over two dozen active investigations into redlining, spanning neighborhoods across the country.”
Join Troutman Pepper Partners Chris Willis, Mary Zinsner, and Dave Gettings for an in-depth discussion about litigating elder financial exploitation cases. Elder abuse and financial exploitation of the elderly are increasing problems in our society, and financial institutions are right in the thick of it. Chris, Mary, and Dave discuss trends in elder fraud litigation, offering insights on the common themes and defenses that financial institutions have in these cases.