On January 8, the OCC announced a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its national bank chartering regulations to make clear that national trust companies can engage in non-fiduciary activities. According to the OCC, the proposal would neither expand nor contract its chartering authority under the National Bank Act.
Continue Reading OCC Proposes Clarifying Amendments to National Trust Bank Chartering Rule
On January 12, the CFPB and DOJ withdrew their October 2023 joint statement addressing how creditors’ consideration of immigration or citizenship status may intersect with the ECOA. The joint statement, published in the Federal Register on October 18, 2023, had cautioned that certain creditor policies affecting noncitizen borrowers could, in some circumstances, raise fair lending concerns.
Continue Reading CFPB and DOJ Withdraw Joint Statement Addressing ECOA and Noncitizen Borrowers
On December 15, the CFPB issued a final rule amending Regulation V under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to update the maximum amount a consumer reporting agency may charge a consumer for certain file disclosures. The amendment implements FCRA’s annual inflation adjustment requirement and sets the ceiling for calendar year 2026.
Continue Reading CFPB Finalizes 2026 Increase to Fair Credit Reporting Act Disclosure Fee Cap
On December 10, 2025, the National Credit Union Administration announced a new Deregulation Project and issued the first package of proposed rules aimed at streamlining its regulatory framework for federally insured credit unions under the Federal Credit Union Act.
Continue Reading NCUA Launches Deregulation Project and Proposes Four Rules to Streamline Credit Union Regulations
On December 10, in a federal court filing, the CFPB stated that it plans to issue an interim final rule revising its open banking framework under the Dodd Frank Act’s Section 1033. The disclosure came in a status report filed in the Kentucky federal court litigation challenge over the rule that directed banks to make account data available free of charge for consumer sharing with fintechs.
Continue Reading CFPB Signals It Will Issue Interim Open Banking Rule as Funding Lapse Approaches
On November 17, 2025, the SEC’s Division of Examinations released its examination priorities for fiscal year 2026, identifying areas the agency alleges present heightened compliance and investor protection risks under the federal securities laws. The priorities apply to investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, municipal advisors, transfer agents, self-regulatory organizations, clearing agencies, and other registrants overseen by the Division.
Continue Reading SEC Releases 2026 Examination Priorities Highlighting Compliance, Information Security, and Emerging Technology
On December 8, the OCC and the FDIC announced that they are rescinding the 2013 Interagency Guidance on Leveraged Lending and the 2014 FAQs. The agencies explained that banks should instead manage leveraged lending activities under generally applicable safe and sound lending principles, including underwriting, credit administration, and risk rating standards used for other commercial loan portfolios.
Continue Reading OCC and FDIC Withdraw Leveraged Lending Guidance
On November 13, the CFPB issued a proposed rule to amend Regulation B’s 2023 small business lending rule implementing section 1071 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The proposal would revise the scope of covered transactions, redefine which institutions are subject to reporting, modify several data fields, and adjust compliance timelines.
Continue Reading CFPB Proposes Revisions to Regulation B’s Small Business Lending Rule Under Section 1071
On November 13, the CFPB issued a sweeping proposed rule to overhaul Regulation B, arguably the most far-reaching ECOA rewrite in the agency’s history. The proposal would eliminate disparate-impact liability under ECOA, sharply narrow the scope of discouragement to focus on explicit statements directed at applicants, and prohibit or heavily restrict the use of protected-class criteria in Special Purpose Credit Programs offered by for-profit organizations.
Continue Reading CFPB Proposed Rule Dramatically Revises ECOA
On October 29, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from enforcing its Personal Financial Data Rights Rule, also known as the open banking rule, until the Bureau completes its reconsideration of the rule. The court determined that the plaintiffs, a national bank and two banking associations, demonstrated a likelihood of success on several claims, including that the rule exceeds the Bureau’s authority under the Dodd-Frank Act and is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Continue Reading Federal Court Halts Implementation of CFPB’s Open Banking Rule
On October 29, the CFPB rescinded two related rulemakings that would have created public registries for nonbank financial companies. The Bureau withdrew both the Registry of Nonbank Covered Persons Subject to Certain Agency and Court Orders and the Registry of Supervised Nonbanks That Use Form Contracts To Waive or Limit Consumer Legal Protections rules, citing significant compliance costs, duplication with existing systems, and a lack of quantifiable consumer benefit.
Continue Reading CFPB Withdraws Repeat Offender and Form Contract Registry Proposals