Bank Notes

  • July 14, 2016
    On Thursday, July 14, 2016, the CFPB announced a consent order with Santander regarding overdraft policies. The Bureau alleged Santander’s telemarketers engaged in deceptive practices by signing consumers up for overdraft services without their consent, implying the overdraft services were free, insinuating there would be fees if consumers did not opt in, falsely claiming the call was not a sales...
  • July 13, 2016
    On Wednesday, July 13, 2016, CBA and the American Bankers Association submitted a joint comment letter in response to the CFPB’s request for re-approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), of a revised generic clearance for “Qualitative Consumer Education and Engagement Information Collections.” CBA also expressed broader concerns with the Bureau’s use of the generic clearance process. The...
  • July 13, 2016
    On Wednesday, July 13, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority released its latest findings from its National Financial Capability Study (NCFS) indicating while Americans as a whole are feeling less financial stress, making ends meet remains a daily struggle for millions — particularly women, millennials, African-Americans, Hispanics, and those lacking a high school education. The study...
  • July 13, 2016
    On Wednesday, July 13, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Federal Insurance Office (FIO) published a notice in the Federal Register “advising adoption of methodology to monitor affordability of personal automobile insurance.” Under the new method, FIO will calculate the Affordability Index by dividing the average annual auto insurance premium by the median household income in a zip code...
  • July 12, 2016
    On Tuesday, July 12, 2016, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to examine the capital buffer option offered by Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) in his draft Financial CHOICE Act. Under the discussion draft of the bill, banks and credit unions that maintain a leverage ratio of at least 10 percent and have a composite CAMELS rating of 1 or 2 can elect to be exempted from a...
  • July 12, 2016
    On Tuesday, July 12, 2016, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing entitled “Examining the Opportunities and Challenges with Financial Technology (“FinTech”): The Development of Online Marketplace Lending.” With several federal regulatory agencies turning their attention to the FinTech marketplace in recent months, the hearing sought...
  • July 12, 2016
    On Tuesday, July 12, 2016, Republican staff of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee released an interim report indicating a foreign government - "likely the Chinese" - penetrated computers and the workstations used by high-level FDIC officials, including Chairwoman Sheila Bair, who ran the agency from 2006 until 2011, as well as a former Chief of Staff and former General Counsel...
  • July 11, 2016
    On Monday, July 11, 2016, the OCC released its spring 2016 Semiannual Risk Perspective , noting the four main types of risks are strategic, credit, operational, and compliance. In terms of strategic risk, the OCC focused on heightened lending risk from relaxed credit structures; institutions’ reliance on marketplace lenders and third party vendors; prevalence of mergers and acquisitions...
  • July 11, 2016
    On Monday, July 11, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3179, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act, by voice vote. The legislation increases the borrower counseling required prior to federal loan disbursement and repayment. The legislation also requirements that Direct Stafford and Grad PLUS loan borrowers be given “an explanation that Federal student...
  • July 7, 2016
    On July 7, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives approved by a vote of 239-185 its Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill (H.R. 5485). The legislation provides funding for the Treasury Department, the Small Business Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service, among other agencies and programs. Importantly, the bill puts the CFPB under...

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