Much has been written about the consternation and concern of businesses around the world regarding the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR applies to companies operating within the EU that control or process data. Notably, it also applies to companies outside the EU that offer … Continue Reading
It is hard to peruse the internet or even mainstream media outlets without hearing about bitcoin. What is this ubiquitous bitcoin? It depends on whom you ask. A CNN Money articled defined bitcoin as “a new currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.” The IRS has recently … Continue Reading
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II has begun an investigation into small business financial technology (FinTech) lending, expressing concern that “some FinTech lenders may be trapping small business owners in cycles of debt or charging higher rates to entrepreneurs of color.” Cleaver stated that his investigation is particularly interested in payday loans for small businesses because the … Continue Reading
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently issued supplemental guidance (Bulletin 2017-21) on third-party risk management. Responding to questions raised by banks and federal savings associations since the release of the OCC’s Bulletin 2013-19 on vendor management issues, the OCC provided additional insight on topics in the 2013 Bulletin and the application … Continue Reading
[This post is the first in a series of post which will examine the risks, rewards, innovative uses, and changing legal landscape of social media use by financial services institutions. Future blog posts will examine topics such as: monitoring and managing consumer complaints through social media, disgruntled employee use of social media, and control over content and message. … Continue Reading
As part of its push to promote innovation in the financial services industry, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) plans to allow financial technology (“fintech”) companies to become special purpose national banks. If the proposal is successful, fintech companies could secure a charter providing them with preemptive effects of federal law over … Continue Reading
Community banks that have not considered the potential for partnership with nonbank financial technology (fintech) companies, alone or in collaboration with other community banks, may not be accounting for the full range of strategic risks to their business. Strategic Risk Defined and Applied In a brief but wide-ranging talk before the Annual Community Bankers Symposium … Continue Reading
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an Advisory which provided substantial guidance to financial institutions regarding the scope of information that must be provided in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) arising from cyber-events, cyber-enabled crime, and cyber-related information under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). When are financial institutions required to … Continue Reading
In a clear message to FinTech start-ups, on September 27, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered online lender Flurish, Inc. to pay $1.83 million in refunds and a civil penalty of $1.8 million for failing to deliver the promised benefits of its products. Flurish, a San Francisco based company doing business as LendUp, … Continue Reading
