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After months of negotiations, on December 12, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, which is also known as the “Farm Bill.”  For banks and payment processors, the Farm Bill’s passage is an important development because the bill includes language removing hemp from the list of prohibited substances under the federal Controlled

The recent courtroom battle over the admissibility in a criminal trial of statements made by former Deutsche Bank AG traders to Deutsche Bank’s outside counsel during its internal investigation into misconduct involving the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, shines a spotlight on a potentially recurring problem in criminal prosecutions that arise out of or

On October 17, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released the CFPB’s fall 2018 rulemaking agenda.  In the preamble to the agenda, the CFPB notes that the agenda lists the regulatory matters that the agency “reasonably anticipates having under consideration during the period from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.”

Implementing Statutory

On February 28, Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, delivered remarks at the winter meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General (“NAAG”) in which he outlined the CFPB’s strategic vision and enforcement priorities.

More Enforcement Leadership from State Attorneys General

In his comments, Mulvaney stressed that, moving forward, the

On February 6, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) announced that seven states have entered into a compact that should streamline the process of applying for state money transmitter licenses.

Moving forward, the participating states– Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington – will accept each other’s findings regarding certain “key elements of

On January 3, a coalition of 49 state attorneys general announced a $45 million settlement with PHH Mortgage Corporation, which was accused of misconduct related to its servicing of single-family residential mortgages.

In announcing the settlement, state attorneys general from across the country touted their commitment to holding mortgage companies responsible for any misconduct that

On January 24, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a request for public comments on its use of Civil Investigative Demands or “CIDs”.  The CFPB expects the request to be published in the Federal Register on January 26, and public comments will therefore be due on or around March 27.

The CFPB’s use –

On January 19, a federal district court judge closed the damages phase of the CFPB’s long-running challenge to CashCall’s tribal-lending operation by ordering the company and its associates to pay a $10 million penalty.  While the $10 million penalty is substantial, the order stands as an impressive victory for CashCall, as the CFPB requested a

On January 10, the FTC issued a report summarizing the themes and key takeaways from a recent workshop it jointly hosted with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on privacy and security issues related to connected and autonomous cars.

The report – styled a “Staff Perspective” – noted several important themes that emerged from

On January 9, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced a settlement with a debt collector that will wipe out $8.8 million in consumer debt.

“It is plain and simple, any debt collector that employs abusive, deceptive and illegal tactics in Georgia will be held accountable,” Carr said in announcing the settlement.

Carr alleged that the