True Lender

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On February 26, the FDIC withdrew its amicus brief in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging Colorado’s 2023 opt-out law which aimed to restricting higher-cost online lending. The FDIC’s decision follows a shift in the agency’s leadership and marks a departure from the previous administration’s position supporting Colorado’s interpretation of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (DIDMCA).Continue Reading FDIC Withdraws Support for Colorado’s Opt-Out Law Before Tenth Circuit

On August 2, New Hampshire passed House Bill 1243 (the “Bill”), which substantially amends its Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act (the “Act”). The Bill is effective as of August 2.Continue Reading New Hampshire Updates Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Act: What Lenders Need to Know

On May 16, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (“OFR”) announced a settlement with a Missouri-based bank and its fintech partners for engaging in unlicensed lending, credit repair, and debt collection activities. 

In the OFR’s January 2021 Charge Letter, the agency alleged that the bank and its fintech partners violated Maryland law by its failure to hold a lending, debt collection, and credit repair license. According to the OFR, the bank offered in-store retail credit financing as well as store-branded credit cards to Maryland consumers. Continue Reading Maryland Banking Regulator Settles with Bank/Fintech Partnership For Unlicensed Lending, Credit Repair, and Debt Collection Activities

On May 21, the Massachusetts Attorney General entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (“AOD”) with a California-based fintech alleging that it was the “true lender” of its consumer installment loans. Under the terms of the settlement, the fintech is required to pay $625,000 in restitution, request deletion of tradelines on credit reports for loans reported to credit bureaus, and cease doing business in the state. Continue Reading Massachusetts AG Forces Fintech from State as Part of “True Lender” Settlement

On March 25, Washington State became the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions to introduce a “true lender” law with the passing of bill SB 6025. The legislation, similar to laws in other states would characterize a person as the “lender” of a loan if the person makes a loan in excess of the state’s rate cap and if the person:Continue Reading Washington State Passes New “True Lender” Legislation

On March 25, a coalition of trade groups filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, challenging a Colorado law which would have opted the state Section 521 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (“DIDMCA”), a federal law enacted to create competitive equality between state-chartered banks and national banks. The law, set to take effect on July 1, 2024, would have subject out-of-state lenders to the state’s rate cap. Continue Reading Lenders Sue to Block Colorado’s Interest Rate ‘Opt-Out’ Law

On January 29, a Missouri-based bank and its Kansas-based fintech loan servicer filed a joint motion to dismiss a purported class action filed against them alleging violations of the Georgia Installment Loan Act (GILA) and state RICO law, arising out of a consumer installment loan. Continue Reading Bank Partnership Moves to Dismiss Class Action Asserting Violations of Georgia Rate Cap Law

On November 30, Washington D.C. introduced District of Columbia Council Bill B 25-0609, which would opt the state out of Section 521 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (“DIDMCA”) with respect to loans made in the District of Columbia, and would add “anti-evasion” and territorial application provisions to the D.C. Official Code (we discussed similar DIDMCA opt-out legislation in Colorado in a blog post here). Continue Reading Washington D.C. Introduced Rate Exportation Opt-Out and “Anti-Evasion” Bill

On October 9, Florida introduced SB 146, which amends the Florida Consumer Finance Act (CFA), and joins other states that have passed laws characterizing certain nonbanks as the “true lender” of loans made through a bank partnership and treats all payments incident to the loan as interest, even if voluntary.Continue Reading Florida Introduces “True Lender” Legislation

On October 30, the Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles denied the DFPI’s motion for a preliminary injunction to force a Chicago-based fintech company to stop facilitating loans to California borrowers from its bank partner at interest rates above California’s interest rate cap (generally 36% for loans less than $10,000) (we previously discussed this case here and here).Continue Reading California Court Denies DFPI’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction Against Fintech