California has recently proposed legislation that, if enacted, would impose a new licensing requirement for any person providing “commercial brokerage” services to a borrower in connection with a commercial loan of $5,000 or more. The legislation, Senate Bill 869, would expand the current commercial loan broker licensing requirements under the California Financing Law, which, as of now, does not require a license to broker non-real estate secured commercial loans.Continue Reading California Bill Proposes to License All Commercial Loan Brokers

On November 21, a Washington-based bank confirmed through a public filing that it entered into a consent order with the FDIC alleging that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound banking practices, primarily related to products offered through a fintech partner. In particular, the FDIC determined that in connection with the bank’s relationship with the fintech, the bank engaged in, among other things, deceptive and unfair acts and practices in or affecting commerce by making implied claims that credit products with non-optional debt cancellation features were unemployment insurance, approving consumers who did not qualify for the debt cancellation feature, and misrepresenting the fees and benefits for those products.Continue Reading FDIC Issues Order Against Bank Over Fintech Partnership

On January 27, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) announced that it unanimously voted to deny a crypto firm’s application to become a member of the Federal Reserve System. This denial ends the crypto firm’s 27-month effort to obtain a “master account,” which allows companies to move money through the Federal Reserve System without having to use a federally insured bank.Continue Reading Fed Board Denies Crypto Firm’s Bid to Join Federal Reserve System

On December 16, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued civil monetary penalties against a Texas community bank for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”).  The consent orders read like a veritable “how not to” for reviewing anti-money laundering alerts.
Continue Reading OCC and FinCEN Issue $9 Million in Penalties for BSA-AML Violations