On January 20, 2026, the Trump administration issued an executive order to limit the purchase of single-family homes by Wall Street investors. Declaring it the administration’s policy that “large institutional investors should not buy single-family homes that could otherwise be purchased by families,” the executive order aims to “preserve the supply of single-family homes for American families and increase the paths to homeownership.” While the …
CFPB and DOJ Withdraw 2023 Statement on ECOA and Noncitizen Borrowers
On January 12, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) formally withdrew their October 2023 joint statement addressing creditors’ consideration of immigration status under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and its implementing Regulation B. The withdrawal is another explicit renunciation of the previous administration’s policies applicable to financial services, though the agencies were clear that withdrawal of the …
CFPB Submits to Court Order, Seeks New Funding
On January 9, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) requested $145 million in new funding from the Federal Reserve. This development follows a ruling by the US District Court for the District of Columbia that the CFPB’s refusal to request additional funding from the Federal Reserve would violate the preliminary injunction in National Treasury Employees Union, et al. v. Russell Vought. The ruling, therefore, essentially required …
Judge Rules CFPB’s Refusal to Request Funding Violates Preliminary Injunction
In a case deciding the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), National Treasury Employees Union, et al. v. Russell Vought, the US District Court for the District of Columbia declared that the CFPB’s refusal to request funding violates the existing preliminary injunction. The December 30, 2025, ruling effectively requires the CFPB to request funding from the Federal Reserve – a move the CFPB has …
CFPB Advisory Opinion Analyzes Whether EWA Is Credit Under TILA and Regulation Z
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion (AO), rescinding its 2024 proposed interpretive rule and clarifying the regulatory treatment of certain earned wage access (EWA) services. In the AO, the CFPB analyzes whether nonrecourse EWA services are subject to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and its implementing Regulation Z and confirms that certain employer-partnered EWA services are not “credit” under that …
Key Fair Lending Updates From the Fed’s 2025 Interagency Webinar
On December 16, the Federal Reserve (Fed) hosted its annual Fair Lending Interagency Webinar, during which it, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) offered insight into their fair lending programs. The Fed highlighted its risk-focused approach to fair lending supervision, emphasizing the importance of tailored risk assessments, recurring training and robust monitoring of discretionary lending practices. Examiners continue …
Showdown: New Executive Order Puts Federal Government and States on a Collision Course Over AI Regulation
Last week, the White House issued a new executive order (EO) seeking to limit states’ regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and instead create a uniform national AI policy. The EO does not preempt state AI laws, but it mobilizes federal agencies to take actions that may curtail state efforts to enforce their laws and regulate AI. The EO directs the Justice Department to create a …
10th Circuit Upholds Colorado’s DIDMCA Opt Out, Deepening States’ Power Over Bank-Fintech Partnership Lending – But Not Without Dissent
On November 10, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit issued its opinion in National Association of Industrial Bankers v. Weiser, a closely watched case testing the boundaries of state authority over interest-rate caps for loans made by state-chartered banks over the internet. The decision, which reversed a district court injunction, allows Colorado to enforce its own limits on loans to Colorado …
CFPB Faces Uncertain Future as Funding Shortfall Looms
On November 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) informed the US District Court for the District of Columbia that it expects to run out of funds in early 2026. The CFPB filed the Notice of Potential Lapse in the ongoing National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought lawsuit, in which the union representing CFPB employees is challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down the agency. …
Attorneys General Share Updates on State Priorities
Cooley partner Kate Goodman recently attended the National Association of Attorneys General’s Fall Consumer Protection Conference in Washington, DC. The annual conference for attorneys general and staff, consumer advocates and industry stakeholders, explores hot topics in consumer protection, with the first day open to the public and the remaining days exclusive to attorneys general and their staff. One of the central themes was price transparency …