CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
The cost of consumer fraud targeting older adults could have been as high as $119.5 billion in 2025, the FTC said in an annual report to Congress.
The report also outlines the FTC’s outreach efforts to combat fraud against older adults. The Justice Department released a similar annual report.
The FTC report summarizes 2025 findings from the Consumer Sentinel Network which collects reports of fraud and other consumer problems.… Continue Reading
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has filed on November 2,2026 its reply brief in support of its motion to dismiss, or alternatively transfer to the District of Columbia, a lawsuit brought by Oregon and nine other states challenging two OCC rules issued on May 15, 2026, concerning the preemption of state interest-on-mortgage escrow laws.… Continue Reading
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s newly released Semi-Annual Report to Congress for January–June 2026 offers a revealing account of the Trump Administration’s transformation of the Bureau. The report, released on October 27, 2026, describes an agency that has substantially narrowed its enforcement priorities, abandoned or terminated numerous matters pursued under former Director Rohit Chopra, reduced the scope of its supervisory examinations, and advanced a deregulatory agenda that includes, among other things, significant changes to the Bureau’s fair lending regulations.… Continue Reading
A federal court has shut down a debt relief service that the FTC alleged targeted seniors and veterans by impersonating banks, credit card companies and government agencies.
A $106.8 million default judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona bans Accelerated Debt Settlement Inc., ADS Resolve LLC, Financial Solutions Group LLC, Unified Capital Services LLC, Mediwerks, Resolution Specialists LLC and Futura Capital and individual defendants from working in the debt relief industry.… Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a district court decision denying Rugs.com’s motion to compel arbitration in a putative class action brought by two consumers. Although the plaintiffs’ lawyers have portrayed the decision as a significant victory against forced arbitration, the decision is considerably less consequential than their publicity suggests. It does not announce a new rule governing arbitration agreements or impose any new restrictions on their enforceability.… Continue Reading
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is taking aim at another potential source of state regulatory interference with federally chartered financial institutions. In an October 29, 2026 letter to the Chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould urged California to exempt national banks and federal savings associations from two California climate-disclosure statutes.… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania has enacted legislation imposing new disclosure requirements on certain advertisements that use artificial intelligence (AI)-generated or AI-modified content. Senate Bill 806, now Act 99 of 2026, was signed into law by Governor Josh Shapiro on October 22, 2026. The statute, titled the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act, establishes a disclosure requirement for advertisers whose use of synthetic content creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin, or authenticity of the goods or services being advertised.… Continue Reading
As digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenized financial products continue to reshape financial markets, much of the legal and policy debate has focused on financial regulation. Congress, federal banking agencies, the SEC, the CFTC, and state regulators have devoted considerable attention to establishing the regulatory framework governing these emerging technologies.… Continue Reading
The Eighth Circuit’s October 26, 2026 unanimous decision in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System delivers a significant victory for merchants challenging the Federal Reserve’s regulation of debit card interchange fees. The court affirmed a district court judgment vacating the Federal Reserve’s longstanding 21-cent-per-transaction cap, concluding that the agency failed to follow the Durbin Amendment’s statutory command to base regulated interchange fees on the incremental cost of processing a particular debit card transaction.… Continue Reading
The ten states challenging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) new interest-on-escrow rules are urging a federal district court to reject the agency’s attempt to delay judicial review of those rules while the U.S. Supreme Court considers three petitions involving the preemption of state mortgage interest-on-escrow laws. In an October 23, 2026 filing the states argue that the Supreme Court proceedings discussed below will not resolve the central issues in their Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenge, that an indefinite stay would harm both the states and consumers, and that the OCC has not demonstrated the hardship necessary to justify delaying the case.… Continue Reading
