The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently shared initial findings from its ongoing review of potential debanking activities at the nine largest national banks it supervises. The review is part of the agency’s effort to implement mandates under Executive Order 14331, which directs “Federal banking regulators,” including the OCC, to remediate past instances, and prevent future acts of, politicized or unlawful debanking. The executive …
BNPL Market Remains Strong, Per CFPB Report
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a data spotlight on the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market. Using data about the BNPL market for the years 2022 and 2023 from six large BNPL providers, the report describes trends and figures in BNPL market growth, borrower usage, late fees and charge‑offs. While there are different versions of the BNPL product, the report focuses on four-installment, …
State Attorneys General Step Up Oversight of BNPL Programs
A coalition of seven attorneys general recently requested information from six buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers to evaluate their BNPL programs and whether they comply with consumer protection laws. The coalition is comprised of attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with Connecticut and North Carolina leading the inquiry. Company responses are due by December 31. The inquiry follows …
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 …
Federal Debanking Scrutiny Prompts Compliance Questions
Michelle Rogers, partner and chair of Cooley’s financial services enforcement and regulatory practice group, and lawyers Elyse Moyer and Christine Thebaud co-authored an article in Law360 detailing compliance questions and concerns following the US Small Business Administration’s recent instruction to its network of lenders to cease any “politicized or unlawful debanking” actions. Read the article (subscription required)
Federal Banking Regulators Rescind Guidance on Climate-Related Financial Risks
On October 16, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve (Fed) jointly announced the rescission of guidance intended to mitigate climate-related financial risks at large financial institutions. The October 2023 interagency guidance, “Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions,” had required financial institutions[1] with more than $100 billion in total assets to …
OCC to Halt Fair Lending Exams
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently announced a stop to fair lending examinations of the banks it supervises until early 2026, in the most recent change in the federal government’s policy shift away from fair lending enforcement and supervision. As reported by Bloomberg Law, an internal OCC email from Chief National Bank Examiner Jay Gallagher announced that the agency would “defer” all …
FinCEN Clarifies Certain Ambiguities in SARs Requirements
The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued answers to FAQs to clarify certain requirements related to suspicious activity reports (SARs). The FAQs were jointly issued with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The FAQs do not establish …
SBA Provides Some Clarity to Smaller Lenders in Complying with Debanking Efforts
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) recently provided additional guidance to the smaller lenders in its network on how to comply with its prior directive on eliminating “politicized or unlawful debanking” activities. The initial letter to lenders came in response to a Trump administration executive order (EO) that directs the SBA and other “Federal banking regulators”[1] to identify and remediate past instances and prevent against …
Leadership Change at NYDFS
News out of New York: Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Superintendent Adrienne Harris is stepping down after four years in the role. Kaitlin Asrow, currently executive deputy superintendent of the Research & Innovation Division, will take over as acting superintendent effective October 18, 2025. According to the announcement, over the last four years, Asrow has overseen the regulation of virtual currency companies as well as …