On October 12, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center, P.S.C., an appeal from the Sixth Circuit. Plaintiff abortion providers (collectively, “EMW”) initiated this case, seeking to challenge the constitutionality of a controversial Kentucky law, H.B. 454. The law prohibits the “dilation and evacuation” abortion
On October 18, consumer advocate groups and 19 state attorneys general wrote comment letters, urging banking regulators to denounce “rent-a-bank” arrangements between financial institutions and fintechs or other third-party providers.
The consumer advocates and attorneys general both push regulators to address and denounce financial institutions partnering with nonbanks to engage in high-cost lending otherwise prohibited
On October 6, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to handle criminal misuses of cryptocurrency. According to the press release, NCET will focus specifically on crimes committed in virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and money launderers. The team’s additional duties will include
On October 14, the Fifth Circuit issued a one paragraph order to extend a stay on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) payday lending regulations currently challenged by the Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. and the Consumer Service Alliance of Texas. The stay will allow small dollar lenders to postpone the June 2022 compliance
On October 5, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 497, legislation that restricts the types of prepaid accounts that can be used to receive certain government assistance payments. According to the National Consumer Law Center (NCLA), an advocacy organization that sponsored the legislation, the now-enacted law will “close a loophole that allows nonbank prepaid card
In early September, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) advisory committee endorsed rule changes to increase disclosure regulations for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). For almost a year now, the SEC has signaled that there may be a need to beef up rules around SPAC mergers, and this recent move all but confirms its
On September 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its biennial report to Congress regarding the consumer credit card climate. The report shows that the market’s growth during the last few years reversed course in 2020. It also provides the latest research findings on consumer credit use, its cost, and consumers’ access to credit,
On September 13, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report to Congress that highlights the agency’s recent efforts to protect Americans’ privacy, announces the agency’s priorities for future data security and privacy protection efforts, and urges Congress to allocate more resources to the agency so it can expand its data security and privacy protection
On October 4, California passed a bill requiring a money transmitter to display a toll-free telephone number on its website through which a customer may contact the licensee for customer service issues and receive live customer assistance. The telephone number must be operative at least 10 hours per day, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed California Assembly Bill 45 (AB 45) into law, which, among other things, allows hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) to be included in any food, beverages, and dietary supplements sold in California. This is not only a break from California’s prior position prohibiting CBD from being included in such products even as the