Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser and Uniform Consumer Credit Code Administrator Martha Fulford have sued Activehours, Inc., doing business as EarnIn, alleging that EarnIn’s direct-to-consumer “Cash Out” earned-wage-access product is a consumer loan subject to Colorado’s lending laws.

The complaint, filed on August 27, 2026, in the Denver District Court for the City and County of Denver, alleges that EarnIn made more than 3.1 million transactions to Colorado consumers between January 2023 and July 2025, advancing approximately $300 million and collecting more than $16 million in tips and expedited-transfer fees.… Continue Reading

FinCEN and the federal banking agencies have clarified that Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) confidentiality does not prevent banks from communicating with customers about the underlying transactions or conduct that prompted concern, including explaining certain fraud-related restrictions or account closures.

The September 2 joint statement from FinCEN, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, NCUA and OCC does not change the Bank Secrecy Act or impose new supervisory requirements.… Continue Reading

Proposed legislation that would clarify the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA) is important to the health of the dual banking system, Kathleen Kraninger, President and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association, told the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing held on September 2, 2026 entitled “Strengthening the American Economy: Promoting Growth, Opportunity, and Prosperity.”… Continue Reading

On September 1, 2026, Ballard Spahr (through its representative, Adam Maarec), in response to an invitation from the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC or Committee), attended a roundtable at the U.S. Capitol focused on the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The discussion, “Modernizing Consumer Financial Protection: Reform, Accountability, and Opportunity,” featured House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Andy Barr, Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Lindsey Johnson, and Financial Technology Association President and CEO Penny Lee, with opening remarks from former CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger.… Continue Reading

First and Ninth Circuit decisions conflict with the Second Circuit, while the OCC has concluded that state escrow-interest laws are preempted

National bank preemption is headed toward another Supreme Court showdown. The Second Circuit has held that New York’s mortgage escrow-interest requirement is preempted, directly conflicting with the First Circuit’s decision upholding a comparable Rhode Island requirement and the Ninth Circuit’s decision allowing a similar California law to remain in effect.… Continue Reading

As we have chronicled in our blog, states are increasingly moving to fill the consumer-protection void created by the CFPB’s dramatic retreat from supervision, enforcement and rulemaking. State legislatures are considering and enacting new consumer-finance protections; state attorneys general are bringing more enforcement actions under state UDAP and other laws, often in bipartisan and multistate coalitions; and state financial regulators are expanding their supervisory and enforcement efforts.… Continue Reading

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on August 27, 2026, finalized a rule (which was published in the Federal Register on September 1, 2026) that establishes new standards for determining when a bank has engaged in an “unsafe or unsound practice” and when examiners may issue a Matter Requiring Attention (MRA) (for the FDIC, MRAs will now replace the former MRBAs, Matters Requiring Board Attention).… Continue Reading

Hearing will focus on whether Section 525 permits an opt-out state to regulate loans made by out-of-state state banks

On Wednesday, September 2, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Strengthening the American Economy: Promoting Growth, Opportunity, and Prosperity.” The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. ET in Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building.… Continue Reading

A state senator in New York introduced a bill that, if adopted, would exercise New York’s right under Section 525 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (“DIDMCA”) to opt-out of DIDMCA preemption. However, there is virtually no chance that this bill will be enacted this year.… Continue Reading

Online bill payment company Doxo will pay $2.1 million to settle an FTC complaint that alleged that the firm and two of its co-founders used misleading search advertising to impersonate consumers’ billers and misled consumers about junk fees they added to their bills.

According to a 2024 complaint, filed in the U.S.… Continue Reading