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.
Seth A. Winter
Seth represents publicly traded companies and financial institutions, including banks and bank holding companies, nonbank lenders, and other fintech and financial services companies, on regulatory, compliance, strategic, corporate law, securities law, and disclosure matters.
Lenders Take Note: Federal Banking Agencies Issue Long-Awaited Community Reinvestment Act Final Rule
On October 24, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the agencies) finally issued their long-awaited final rule modernizing how they assess lenders’ compliance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The CRA was enacted in 1977 to address systemic inequities in access to credit and encourages banks to meet the credit needs of the entire community, including low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities, consistent with safety and soundness principles. The last meaningful, comprehensive revision to the CRA regulations occurred in 1995.
Federal Agencies Take Unprecedented Action to Strengthen Public Confidence in Banking System
On March 10, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed Silicon Valley Bank and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as its receiver. Silicon Valley Bank had 17 branches in California and Massachusetts. The FDIC transferred all deposits and assets of the former bank to a newly created, full-service FDIC-operated bridge bank…
DOJ’s Combatting Redlining Initiative Continues With $9 Million Settlement With Park National Bank
On February 28, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its sixth redlining settlement under its Combatting Redlining Initiative. This most recent case involves an agreement between the DOJ and Ohio-based Park National Bank to resolve allegations that the bank failed to provide mortgage loans by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Columbus, Ohio…
New Virginia Law Permits Banks to Provide Virtual Currency Custody Services
On April 11, Virginia enacted a new law (HB 263), which goes into effect on July 1, 2022, permitting “banks” to provide customers with “virtual currency custody services so long as the bank has adequate protocols in place to effectively manage risks and comply with applicable laws.” The law, in a first for…
CFPB Settles Lawsuit Over Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law
On November 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) settled a lawsuit by the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) challenging the formation and operation of the Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law (the Taskforce). The Taskforce was formed in October 2019 by then-CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger to examine the existing consumer financial services legal…
OCC and FDIC Propose Rules to Address Madden(ing) Uncertainty
On November 19, 2019, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a proposed a new rule to clarify that the interest rate on a loan extended by a state-chartered bank or savings association will not be usurious upon sale, transfer or assignment of the loan if such interest rate was valid when the loan was made. …
Troutman Sanders Advises Trustar Bank as First Virginia De Novo Since 2009
Richmond — Troutman Sanders LLP advised Trustar Bank in Fairfax County, Virginia in connection with its organization, equity offering, and regulatory applications and approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions as the first de novo bank in Virginia since 2009. Trustar Bank was formed to serve customers in…