June 2020 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

An Empire State Glimmer of Hope for Crypto

Jun 27 2020

It’s no secret that accessing the New York market is difficult, if not impossible, for some digital asset companies, especially those in their early stages. New York’s Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) is hoping to change that—at least incrementally—with several initiatives it recently announced. Our digital asset team will soon provide a detailed analysis of the initiatives, but in the meantime here is a brief summary:

The OCC’S ANPR on Digital Banking: Is this a Harbinger for Digital and Open Banking in the US?

Jun 19 2020

By Judie Rinearson, John ReVeal and Stan Ragalevsky

The office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on June 3, 2020, focusing on digital banking activities. Typically such ANPRs are a precursor to new federal regulation; following collection of data from the industry and other interested parties, the OCC may propose new regulations by issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking within 6-12 months. Responses to the ANPR are due on August 3, 2020.

OCC Issues Final Rule to Fix Madden

Jun 15 2020

John ReVeal and Judie Rinearson

On May 29, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a final rule (https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/federal-register/2020/nr-occ-2020-71a.pdf) to clarify that, when a federal or state-chartered savings association transfers a loan portfolio, interest permissible on the loans before the transfer continues to be permissible after the transfer. In this way, the OCC hopes to resolve the uncertainty created by the Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC decision (“Madden”).

Archive:June 2020