FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch – Page 11 – At the Crossroads of Law, Innovation and Commerce

California Enacts “Mini-CFPB” Law, Significantly Altering Financial Services Regulation in the State

Oct 01 2020

On September 25, 2020, California Governor Newsom signed AB-1864 into law, which will significantly change the landscape of consumer financial service regulation in the state. The law renames the Department of Business Oversight as the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”). Along with a new name, the DFPI also gains important enforcement powers as the agency will now have the power to enforce all California laws related to “persons offering or providing consumer financial products or services in the state.” The law allows DFPI to establish a “Financial and Technology Innovation Office.” A key aim of the law is to improve the state’s consumer protection capacity by increasing the number of investigators and attorneys to oversee financial institutions.

CSBS Rolls Out Joint Examination Initiative for Nationwide Payments Firms

Sep 21 2020

By Jeremy McLaughlin and Dan S. Cohen

On September 17, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced that at least 40 states will establish a joint examination process for “nationwide payments firms” for the 2021 examination cycle. Known as “MSB Networked Supervision,” the initiative will allow 78 licensed payments companies, including some cryptocurrency exchanges, to undergo one joint examination rather than separate examinations for each state in which they are licensed. The examinations will be conducted by a group of examiners from multiple states but led by one designated state’s regulator. To be eligible, companies must be licensed in at least 40 states. This initiative follows the “One Company, One Exam Pilot” that was completed earlier this year and is part of CSBS Vision 2020, an initiative to create “a networked system of nonbank licensing and supervision.”

Remittance Companies in CFPB’s Crosshairs

Sep 14 2020

By Jeremy McLaughlin and Judie Rinearson

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced settlements with two remittance transfer providers for violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and the Remittance Rule, part of the regulation that implements the EFTA—an area in which there isn’t typically much CFPB enforcement activity.

The OCC Tells Cryptocurrency Holders to Take It to the Bank: National Banks and FSAs Can Now (Definitively) Provide Custodial Services for Cryptocurrency

Jul 29 2020

By Judith Rinearson, Jeremy McLaughlin, and Daniel Cohen

On 22 July, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interpretive letter confirming that national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, banks) can offer custodial services for cryptoassets because “providing cryptocurrency custody services…is a modern form of traditional bank activities related to custody services.”

FATF report to the G20 on stablecoins

Jul 14 2020

By Giovanni Campi

Stablecoins have attracted much regulatory attention lately. The G7 working group on stablecoins, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the European Commission are among the international institutions pressing for global stablecoins regulation. The overarching regulatory problems they all identify are:

New EU digital finance rules by the end of 2020

Jul 09 2020

By Giovanni Campi

In a recent address on digital finance in the context of the European Commission’s Digital Finance Outreach, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, shared some of the Commission’s thinking on technological innovation and digital finance.

It’s BA-ACK! OCC planning a new fintech charter: “Payments Charter 1.0”

Jul 06 2020

By Judie Rinearson and Mehreen Ahmed

On June 25, 2020, Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks announced in an American Bankers Association’s podcast that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) is planning to introduce “Payments Charter 1.0”, which would effectively be a “national version of a state money transmission license.”

An Empire State Glimmer of Hope for Crypto

Jun 27 2020

By: Jeremy McLaughlin and Daniel Cohen

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”).