On August 2, the U.S. Senate passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808) by unanimous consent, which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to restrict consumer reporting agencies from sharing “trigger leads” generated in connection with residential mortgage credit inquiries. The bill now awaits the President’s signature and would take effect 180 days after enactment.Continue Reading Congress Passes Homebuyer Lead Reform Bill, Limiting Mortgage Lead Sharing Under FCRA
On July 29, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted the CFPB’s request to stay litigation challenging its open banking rule. The rule (previously discussed here) aimed to establish industry-wide standards for data access and sharing between banks, fintechs, and consumers. The Bureau stated that it intends to revise the rule through an accelerated rulemaking process.Continue Reading In a Surprising Switch, CFPB Now Seeks to Rewrite Open Banking Rule
On July 23, a coalition of consumer advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit against the CFPB and Acting Director Russel Vought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the agency unlawfully delayed implementation of its small-business lending data collection rule. The complaint asserts violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Administrative Procedure Act in connection with the Bureau’s recent policy changes surrounding its Section 1071 rule.Continue Reading Consumer Groups Sue CFPB Over Delay in Section 1071
On July 23, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied the Department of Justice’s motion to terminate a consent order requiring a Pennsylvania bank to implement a five-year fair lending remediation program. The DOJ had previously alleged that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.Continue Reading Federal Court Rejects DOJ’s Request to End Oversight of Pennsylvania Bank’s Redlining Settlement
On July 18, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS ACT) was signed into law, creating the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The law prohibits the issuance of payment stablecoins in the United States unless the issuer is a permitted entity under a state or federal regime that meets strict reserve, redemption, compliance, and disclosure requirements.Continue Reading Stablecoin Regulation Takes Effect Under Newly Enacted GENIUS Act
On July 21, the CFPB withdrew its plan to repeal rules that provide procedures for state officials to notify the Bureau before initiating enforcement actions under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The CFPB cited “significant adverse comments” as the reason for the withdrawal and indicated it will consider the feedback in a subsequent rulemaking.Continue Reading CFPB Withdraws Rule to Eliminate State Enforcement Notification Requirements
On July 1, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction sought by several short-term lenders challenging amendments to the City of Dallas’s short-term lending ordinance. Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Upholds Dallas Fee-Cap & Installment Limits for Short-Term Loans
On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the FTC’s “click-to-cancel” Negative Option Rule, holding that the FTC violated the FTC Act and the Administrative Procedure Act when it finalized the rule (previously discussed here). The court found that the FTC wrongly determined that the economic effect of the proposed rule would be under $100 million, and accordingly declined to conduct a preliminary regulatory analysis that would have identified alternative approaches. The failure to do this analysis deprived businesses the opportunity for participation in the rulemaking process. Because that procedural error affected the rule as a whole—including the requirement that cancellation mechanisms be as simple as enrollment—the court vacated the rule in its entirety. Although the rule included a severability clause, the court found that partial enforcement was not feasible given the scope of the defect and the prejudice to petitioners.Continue Reading Eighth Circuit Vacates FTC’s “Click-to-Cancel” Negative Option Rule
On July 4, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” was signed into law, which includes a provision to reduce the cap on the CFPB’s annual funding. The bill lowers the cap from 12% to 6.5% of the Federal Reserve’s total operating expenses for the fiscal year 2009, adjusted each year for inflation.Continue Reading CFPB Funding Cut Nearly 50% by “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”
On June 24, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to evaluate how Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) loans may affect FHA-insured mortgage underwriting. The RFI seeks comment on whether short-term, unsecured BNPL debt may distort borrowers’ debt-to-income calculations and undermine housing affordability. Comments are due by August 25, 2025.Continue Reading HUD Requests Public Input on Buy Now Pay Later Loans and FHA Mortgage Eligibility