States

The Conference of State Banking Supervisors (CSBS) is urging Congress to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act as part of the final version of the America COMPETES Act.

Passage of the SAFE Banking Act has bipartisan support but it is still unlikely to make it to the final form of the bill in the Senate.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interpretive rule which describes states’ authority to engage in enforcement of consumer financial protection laws.

The interpretive rule clarifies what the CFPB sees as the role of states’ attorneys general and state regulators in enforcing the Consumer Financial Protection Act and related CFPB rules.

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Attorneys general from 21 states and Washington, D.C., are calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop servicers from charging consumers convenience fees for using convenient payment methods to pay bills.

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The 16th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3), slated for Sept. 1-3, will feature an entire compliance track this year, one of three tracks featured at the show.

Four top regulators will kick things off by participating in a panel discussion about how many of the regulations affecting the industry recently are coming from the state level.

Read on to see who is speaking, details about a vendor management session, what other compliance topics will be discussed and how you can register.

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As business processes have changed in the past week, with federal and state health officials issuing guidance and orders concerning public health, a number of mortgage loan officers have been asked to work from home or the process is being considered.

Many states have different rules on allowing loan officers to work from home when their home is not considered a branch office under regulations. But state banking and financial institution regulators have issued guidance in the past week or more on how to comply with standards and while working from home.

Read on for details and examples from some state regulators of their guidance.

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One of Colorado’s largest credit unions was blocked from acquiring a community bank when state regulators determined that the deal did not align with statutory requirements in Colorado.

The Colorado Banking Board voted 6-1 to deny Elevations Credit Union’s proposed purchase of Cache Bank & Trust on the grounds that state law prohibits acquisitions between different types of financial institutions.   

Learn more details and reactions regarding the situation.

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Leandra English, the former deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), recently joined the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) as a special policy advisor to Superintendent Linda Lacewell.

English brings nearly 10 years of experience dealing with consumer financial protection laws to the department, having served in various leadership capacities at the CFPB, as well as at other organizations focused on consumer protection issues.

Learn more details about her new regulatory oversight role. 

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With the dust far from settled on the largest data breach to date, Capital One revealed that it too has suffered a major breach, exposing personal information for 106 million credit card customers in U.S. and Canada.

The incident already has caught the ire of the New York Attorney General’s office and could be the subject of federal regulatory action similar to that recently taken against Equifax.

Learn more about the breach and its potential regulatory implications.

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Financial services and cannabis industry advocates have urged Congress to act in eliminating legal risks associated with financing marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) by passing the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act.

The Senate Banking Committee recently heard testimony by multiple financial and legal experts, arguing that the question of whether to provide a safe harbor for financial institutions which finance MRBs is a matter of public safety.

Learn what arguments were presented during the hearing.

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A recent case involving one of the world’s largest multinational hotel organizations highlights the types of add-on charges that regulators may determine to be intended to deceive consumers, resulting in hefty fines for the businesses responsible.

The interpretation relying upon by the state attorney general in this case is similar to that used in crafting many federal laws concerning consumer financial protection.   

Find out more details about the case and its possible implications.

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