The most consequential cyberattacks hitting the financial sector this summer did not start with malware or a zero-day exploit. They started with a phone call. According to research published in early August by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, dozens of prominent U.S. financial institutions—including some of the country’s largest private equity…
On August 27, 2026, the Colorado Attorney General, together with the state’s Consumer Credit Code Administrator, filed a lawsuit in Colorado state court against a California-based financial technology company offering earned wage access products, alleging that the company has been operating an unlicensed, high-cost lending program in violation of the…
In August 2026, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it had entered into a consent order with Academy Mortgage Corporation resolving findings arising from a March 2023 ransomware attack, which signaled that a mortgage company’s ability to document cybersecurity governance may matter as much as…
In August, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) approved the deposit insurance application of Augustus National Bank, N.A., a newly chartered national bank that focuses on deposit and lending products for digital asset companies, technology companies, and artificial intelligence companies, as well as offering virtual currency, payment, and treasury services….
The United States House Committee on Financial Services has advanced H.R. 9330, the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act, a bill that would establish a comprehensive federal regime for the regulation of earned wage access (EWA) services and establish nationwide rules and consumer protections, including those reinforcing the non-credit nature…
On July 1, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced he issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) to a leading credit score issuer, commanding the production of documents and responses to questions to determine whether the company violated the Florida Antitrust Act. The CID focuses on allegations that the California-based company has maintained…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) recently issued a press release summarizing significant changes it has made to its consumer complaint portal. The Bureau’s explanation is blunt: the system has been abused, and that abuse impedes its ability to respond to legitimate complaints. For financial institutions—and particularly for the nationwide…
On June 17, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rescinded its December 2020 advisory opinion regarding Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. The Bureau stated that the advisory opinion no longer reflects current law and guidance following amendments to Regulation…
Continuing the current federal shift away from reputation risk in the bank supervisory space, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System jointly announced on June 2, 2026 that they had removed all…
In May 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its Semiannual Risk Perspective report, warning that artificial intelligence (AI) is “significantly transforming” the cybersecurity threat landscape for banks. Specifically, the OCC found that AI can be used to facilitate fraud, while also lowering the barrier to…
In April 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued two coordinated interim actions addressing national banks’ authority to impose certain fees. The OCC adopted an interim final rule and final order clarifying that national banks have long possessed the power under federal law to assess non‑interest charges…
On April 17, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) submitted a final rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) that would complete its overhaul of small-business lender data collection requirements originally issued during the Biden administration. The submission signals that the CFPB’s long-anticipated “reconsideration” of its…
On April 7, 2026, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) jointly issued a final rule (Final Rule) codifying the elimination of reputation risk from their supervisory programs – a shift in the agencies’ supervisory philosophy that places limits on how examiners…
On March 26, 2026, mortgage provider Better Home & Finance and cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase announced a partnership with Fannie Mae to offer Fannie Mae-complaint mortgages backed by cryptocurrency from borrowers as collateral. The partnership represents the first mortgage products backed by cryptocurrency to be accepted by Fannie Mae since…
State Attorneys General Sue Lender for Alleged “Bait-and-Switch” Scheme On March 16, 2026, a coalition of State Attorneys General (AGs) filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against a New York-based lender and its affiliated entities for an alleged “bait-and-switch” scheme through which the AGs assert the lender charged customers “hundreds…
A federal district court in the Northern District of California has granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs in Rise Economy et al. v. Vought et al., permanently enjoining the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from relying on a Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion that sought to…
In January 2026, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) revised its digital-signage requirements, relaxing the guidelines that dictate where and how FDIC-insured labeling must appear online. According to the agency, the final rule is “intended to address implementation issues and sources of potential confusion” that emerged following the adoption of…
On December 23, 2025, the CFPB issued an advisory opinion affirming that “covered” earned wage access (EWA) services fall outside the definition of “credit” under TILA’s Regulation Z, and that optional expedited delivery fees and voluntary tips are not “finance charges” under TILA’s Regulation Z, withdrawing a Biden Administration July 2024 proposed…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion on December 23, 2025, that resolves significant regulatory uncertainty surrounding whether earned wage access (EWA) products and are “credit” for purposes of Regulation Z, the Truth in Lending Act’s (TILA) implementing regulation. The advisory opinion establishes four critical characteristics that…
On January 12, 2026, the CFPB and DOJ published a Federal Register Notice withdrawing Biden-era guidance concerning the consideration of immigration status when making credit decisions under ECOA. ECOA does not expressly prohibit consideration of immigration status. Under Regulation B, creditors may consider an applicant’s immigration status or status as…