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Ethan G. Ostroff

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Ethan’s practice focuses on financial services litigation and compliance counseling, as well as digital assets and blockchain technology. With a long track record of successful litigation results across the U.S., both bank and non-bank clients rely on him for comprehensive advice throughout their business cycle.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have rescheduled their joint event, “SEC – CFTC Harmonization: U.S. Financial Leadership in the Crypto Era.” Originally planned for January 27, the program will now take place on Thursday, January 29, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET at CFTC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week.

Federal Activities

State Activities

Federal Activities:

On January 16, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will temporarily delay the use of involuntary collection tools…

On January 6, the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau issued an order further extending the effective date of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) “revoke-all” requirement in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10) to January 31, 2027. That provision would require callers to treat a revocation of consent made in response to one type of informational call or text message as applying to all future calls and text messages from that caller on unrelated matters. The Bureau found good cause to continue the waiver while the FCC reviews comments filed in response to its 2025 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which specifically asks whether the revoke-all rule should be modified or replaced to give consumers more tailored control over unwanted calls. The FCC also noted that requiring companies to implement costly, enterprise-wide changes now could result in unnecessary compliance expenditures if the rule is later revised.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The proposal is not yet public. Once OMB completes its review, the rule will be published in the Federal Register with a public comment period.

On December 19, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill S1353A creating a new General Business Law article on “actions involving coerced debts.” The law is aimed squarely at survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, and other forms of economic abuse who find themselves saddled with credit card balances, loans, or other consumer debts they never truly agreed to incur. Once effective (90 days after signing), it will prohibit creditors from enforcing certain coerced consumer debts against victims, create a structured process for disputing those debts, and establish robust private rights of action and defenses against collection. New York becomes the eighth state to enact protections of this kind.