“Although there may be other constitutional checks on Congress’ authority to create and fund an administrative agency, specifying the source and purpose is all the control the Appropriations Clause requires.” With these words, seven members of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding mechanism and forestalled the possibility that
Small Business Lending
Navigating the CFPB’s Final Rule on Dodd-Frank Section 1071
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its final rule to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The rule amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), introducing substantial data collection and reporting requirements for small business lenders and finance companies. In this blog post, we delve deeper…
Supreme Court to Decide CFPB’s Validity
Less than three years after the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the CFPB’s appointment structure, the bureau again finds itself before the Court in what could prove the most consequential case for the financial services industry in years. Four months ago, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in Community Financial Services Association of…
New York Finalizes Commercial Lending Disclosure Regulations
As the regulatory scrutiny facing commercial finance providers continues to increase, many have been closely monitoring developments in state-level disclosure requirements. The New York Commercial Finance Disclosure Law (CFDL), which was originally enacted in 2020, stands out as the most comprehensive commercial disclosure law to date. And with the release of the final regulations on…
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Invalidates Small-Dollar Rule, Throws the Future of the CFPB Into Question
On October 19, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Community Financial Services Association of America, et al. v. CFPB (CFSA v. CFPB) invalidating the CFPB’s Payday, Vehicle-Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans rule (Small-Dollar Rule). The three-member panel decision calls into question the future viability of the CFPB…
The Countdown Is on for Factors, MCAs, and Other Commercial Financing Providers to Comply with California’s Commercial Disclosure Law, and the Deadline Is Sooner Than You Think
In 2018, California became the first state to pass a commercial finance disclosure law (CDL) requiring certain commercial finance companies to make consumer-style disclosures to financing recipients. The CDL was the catalyst for the passage of similar laws in Utah, Virginia, and New York, and the introduction of commercial disclosure legislation in many other states…
First DOJ Enforcement Action Against PPP Lender Presages Increased Government Scrutiny of Bank and Non-Bank PPP Lenders
Until last month, government enforcement and regulatory scrutiny of fraud and other misconduct relating to COVID-19 relief programs was generally limited to end recipients of the relief. These efforts have mostly been directed to fraud in connection with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a nearly $1 trillion business loan program administered by the Small Business…
The LIBOR Act: 7 Key Things Financial Institutions Need to Know about the New Law in Preparation for the LIBOR Transition in 2023
On March 15, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 – which included the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act – was signed into law. The LIBOR Act is meant to address concerns with ceasing the use of LIBOR by creating a uniform process for replacing LIBOR in those existing contracts that do not provide for the…
Dodd Frank 1071 Update: Members of Congress Address Significant Concerns
On February 16, 2022, legislators Blaine Luetkemeyer, French Hill, and Roger Williams submitted a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra raising concerns regarding the Bureau’s Dodd Frank Act Section 1071 rulemaking.
As we have discussed, the CFPB issued its Section 1071 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on September 1, 2021.
FTC Updates CFPB on Action in the Fair Lending Space
In early February, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent its annual letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The letter explained the FTC’s activities related to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B of ECOA. Pursuant to a January 2012 memorandum of understanding between the CFPB and the FTC, and consistent with…