Fintech

  • September 19, 2024

    Dems Seek School Lunch 'Junk Fee' Ban After CFPB Report

    A group of Democratic senators has called on the Biden administration to crack down on payment processing fees in school lunch programs, citing a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report that raised concerns about the charges parents pay to fund their kids' online lunch money accounts.

  • September 19, 2024

    CFTC Warns Of 'Profound' Harm In Election Betting Appeal

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission fought Thursday to prevent an online trading platform from offering betting on election outcomes while the agency appeals a trial court ruling that allowed the futures contracts to go live, warning the D.C. Circuit that the "high-stakes" event contracts threaten serious harm to election integrity.

  • September 19, 2024

    Texas Judge Tosses Crypto Co.'s SEC Challenge As 'Unripe'

    A Texas federal judge found Thursday that blockchain firm Consensys can't sue the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a determination that its MetaMask software doesn't offend securities laws because the agency's threat of enforcement and subsequent suit aren't final actions the court can review.

  • September 19, 2024

    Bank Raises Contract Shield In E-Merchants' $12M Suit

    Bank Pathward Financial Inc. asked a federal judge Thursday to nix claims against it in a lawsuit brought by two online merchants who alleged that the bank and its partner payment company misrepresented fees and their compliance with card network rules, saying the merchants' claims stem from a contract that clears Pathward of liability.

  • September 19, 2024

    Scammers Bilked At Least $230M In Bitcoin, Feds Say

    Two people were arrested and charged with conspiring to steal and launder at least $230 million in bitcoin, allegedly using online monikers like "Anne Hathaway" and "VersaceGod," federal prosecutors said Thursday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Crypto Exchange Must Refund Bitcoins, But In 2013 Dollars

    A New York judge held Thursday that bygone cryptocurrency exchange Bitfloor improperly failed to return more than 200 of its customers' bitcoins upon shutting down in 2013, but said damages will be limited to the dollar value of the digital assets over a decade ago.

  • September 19, 2024

    Terraform Gets OK For Ch. 11 Liquidation Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday confirmed the Chapter 11 liquidation plan from cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs after overruling objections from several individual cryptocurrency investors.

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds Oppose Overturning Guilty Verdict For Crypto Trader

    Federal prosecutors told a New York federal judge that the crypto trader convicted of fraudulently draining more than $100 million from platform Mango Markets is wrongly attempting to recast factual issues as legal questions in his bid for acquittal.

  • September 18, 2024

    CFPB Says Fintech's Funding Challenge 'Misconstrues' Law

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a California federal judge that its lawsuit accusing fintech lender SoLo Funds Inc. of falsely touting interest-free loans on its platforms should proceed despite SoLo's claims that the agency is operating with an illegal funding scheme, among other things.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Says Unregistered DeFi Project Pooled $1B In Crypto

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced settlements with the business and co-founders behind decentralized finance, or DeFi, project Rari Capital Inc. on Wednesday after the regulator accused the project of misleading investors and acting as an unregistered broker.

  • September 18, 2024

    Colo. Urges 10th Circ. To Restore Interest Rate Opt-Out Law

    Colorado has urged the Tenth Circuit to accept its "straightforward interpretation" of an interest rate opt-out law, arguing federal lawmakers would have used other language if they didn't want the state to place more restrictive caps on loans made by banks located outside the state. 

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Must Clarify Murky Crypto Rules, Ex-Officials Tell House

    Two former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials who now represent crypto businesses told House lawmakers Wednesday that the agency's insistence on analyzing the economic realities of every crypto transaction in lieu of clear rulemaking has put the sector and its attorneys in unworkable situations.

  • September 18, 2024

    FTX Auditor Prager Metis Settles SEC Charges For Negligence

    The former auditor of Sam Bankman-Fried's defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX agreed Tuesday to pay $1.95 million to resolve allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of misconduct in FTX audits and, in a separate case, violations of auditor independence rules.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Files Its 1st Suits Over 'Pig Butchering' Crypto Scams

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed two first-of-their-kind suits against a series of entities and individuals behind a pair of so-called pig butchering schemes that allegedly solicited investments in fake crypto platforms by gaining people's trust over social media only to scam them out of nearly $3 million.

  • September 18, 2024

    Fed's Powell Sees Final Basel Rule Less Than 1 Year Away

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that a revamped version of the Basel III endgame capital rules for big banks could be finalized before next summer, adding that the federal banking agencies will be "moving together" as the controversial rulemaking project enters its next phase.

  • September 18, 2024

    Tax Chiefs Eye Crypto Payment Cos., OTC Traders, IRS Says

    Tax investigators in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands are preparing guidance on red flags for cryptocurrency payment providers and over-the-counter trading desks following a joint operation this week, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC's Equity Trading Reforms Allow Half-Penny Stock Pricing

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday unanimously agreed to allow exchanges to quote stock prices in half-penny increments, part of a wider overhaul purportedly aimed at improving transparency and lowering trading costs.

  • September 18, 2024

    Federal Judge Won't Abstain From Pot Payment Co. Dispute

    A Nevada federal judge has declined to abstain from a dispute between a pair of investment firms over the collapse of their joint venture, saying while one company is a subsidiary of a cannabis payment processing company, the dispute can be resolved without dipping into the murky waters of cannabis's federal illegality.

  • September 18, 2024

    Silvergate Bank Parent Co. Files Ch. 11, Plans Liquidation

    The parent company of shuttered cryptocurrency-focused bank Silvergate filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware on Tuesday with plans to wind down and liquidate its remaining assets.

  • September 17, 2024

    CFPB Warns Banks On ATM Overdraft Fees Without Consent

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday warned banks that charging customers debit card overdraft fees without their consent violates the law, the latest escalation in the regulator's crackdown on so-called junk fees.

  • September 17, 2024

    FDIC Proposes Rule On Bank-Fintech Partnership Risks

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s rulemaking board on Tuesday proposed new recordkeeping rules aimed at both shoring up consumer protections as more fintech firms enter the banking space, and preventing a repeat of account freezes that have occurred after fintech service provider Synapse entered into bankruptcy earlier this year.

  • September 17, 2024

    GC Base Salaries At Big Companies On The Rise

    General counsel base salaries at companies making $5 billion or more in revenue has increased from last year, while their total compensation has decreased, according to a report released Tuesday by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Empsight International LLC.

  • September 17, 2024

    SEC Fines 12 Muni Advisers $1.3M In Texting Probe Actions

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday fined 12 municipal advisory firms a combined $1.3 million over their failure to keep records of employees' use of text messages and other so-called off-channel communication methods to conduct business.

  • September 17, 2024

    Competitiveness Outranks Climate In New EU Commission

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shifted her focus from climate change to boosting competitiveness as she proposed her team of commissioners for the next five-year mandate Tuesday, handing out key jobs covering everything from competition enforcement to trade policy.

  • September 17, 2024

    Ashurst Hires Fintech Pro From EY Law In London

    Ashurst LLP has recruited an expert in financial technology from EY Law to strengthen its capability to advise clients on digital transformation projects.

Expert Analysis

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Banking Compliance Takeaways From Joint Agency Statement

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    Federal bank regulatory agencies’ recent joint statement warning of risks associated with third-party fintech deposit services spotlights a fundamental problem that may arise with bank deposit products that are made through increasingly complex customer relationships, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

  • Regulators Are Revamping Use Of Bank Service Company Act

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Though the Bank Service Company Act was written six decades ago, banks and service providers should be alert to the evolving ways financial regulators are using the law as a tool for scrutinizing bank-fintech partnerships and third-party service providers that could put consumers at risk, say James Bergin and Paul Lim at Arnold & Porter.

  • Carbon Offset Case A Win For CFTC Enviro Fraud Task Force

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    An Illinois federal court's decision in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Ikkurty — earning the CFTC a sizeable monetary award that will likely incentivize similar enforcement pursuit — shows the impact of the commission's Environmental Fraud Task Force, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • RealPage Suit Shows Growing Algorithm, AI Pricing Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's suit against RealPage for helping fix rental rates, filed last week, demonstrates how the use of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools to assist with pricing decisions is drawing increasing scrutiny and action across government agencies, and specifically at the Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ, say Andre Geverola and Leah Harrell at Arnold & Porter.

  • What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires

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    Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.

  • CrowdStrike Incident Highlights Third-Party Risk For Banks

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    The global business disruptions caused by CrowdStrike's faulty software update last month serves as a reminder that banks should assess operational and compliance risks associated with third-party service providers and create resiliency plans extending down to fourth- and fifth-level providers, says Craig Landrum at Jones Walker.

  • Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support

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    A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.

  • Crypto Regs Could See A Reset Under The Next President

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    Donald Trump has taken a permissive policy stance favoring crypto, while Kamala Harris has been silent on the issue, but no matter who wins the presidential election, we may see a more lenient regulatory climate toward the digital currency than from the Biden administration, says Liam Murphy at McKool Smith.

  • Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

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    During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • Key Concerns To Confront In FDIC Brokered Deposit Proposal

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    Banks and fintech companies should note several fundamental issues with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent proposal to widen how it classifies brokered deposits, an attempt to limit prudential risk that could expose the industry and underbanked consumers who rely on bank-fintech apps to widespread unintended consequences, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Crypto Gatekeepers May Be The Next Front Of Enforcement

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    Lawyers and other professionals who advise cryptocurrency companies should beware regulators' increasing focus on gatekeeper accountability, and should take several measures to fulfill their ethical and legal obligations, including implementing a robust vetting mechanism when representing crypto clients, say Temidayo Aganga-Williams and Xinchen Li at Selendy Gay.

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