On August 17, 2022, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) issued a comment on regarding the New York State Department of Financial Services’ (“NYFDS”) proposed amendments to the cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies, the Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies (“Part 500”).

On August 11, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) published a Circular stating “[i]nadequate security for the sensitive consumer information collected, processed, maintained, or stored by … [a] company can constitute an unfair practice” under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”).

On July 7, 2022, the Federal Reserve Board (“Board”) published its annual Cybersecurity and Financial System Resilience Report. The issuance of the report is mandated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”), which requires the Board to provide a description of measures Board it “has undertaken to strengthen cybersecurity within the financial services sector and with respect to the Board’s functions as a regulator, including the supervision and regulation of financial institutions and third-party service providers.”

On July 29, 2022, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYFDS”) posted a request for public comment on their proposed amendments to their cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies, the Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies (“Part 500”).

On July 18, 2022, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) announced the establishment of the Office of Financial Technology, which “will serve as a centralized source of information to support FHFA in addressing emerging risks and advancing Agency priorities related to the adoption and deployment of financial technology (fintech).”

On July 21, 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a finding of violation against a bank that permitted persons who had been added to the OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN” list) to continue to conduct transactions.

On June 28, 2022, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued an interpretive rule clarifying the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).

On July 25, 2022, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) announced that it was soliciting “academic-and policy-focused research” on the impact of financial technology (“fintechs”) entities and nonbank organizations on the industry of banking and lending, deposit-taking, and payment service markets.

On May 5, 2022, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FR”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) released a joint notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM” or “Proposal”) and requested public comment on their amendments to the regulations that implement the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (“CRA”).

On May 5, 2022, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“agencies”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend their regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”).

On May 19, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released an Interpretive Rule that granted states the right to bring enforcement actions for alleged violations of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”).

On June 2, 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) to understand and better the oversight of “climate-related financial risk relevant to the derivatives markets and underlying commodities market.”

On June 3, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) today issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) soliciting public comment relating to the implementation of a no-action letter process at FinCEN.

On June 7, 2022, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (“Committee”), Senator Sherrod Brown sent Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen a letter requesting the Financial Stability Oversight Council (“Council”) to conduct a review on the collection and sale of personal consumer data by financial institutions to assess the systematic threats posed to the stability and security of the U.S. financial.

On June 9, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) launched an inquiry into “employment practices and financial products that may leave employees indebted to their employers.”

On May 19, 2022, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) established a process for an insured institution or applicant for deposit insurance to request recognition as a Minority Depository Institution (“MDI”). According to the release, “FDIC supervised institutions or applications for deposit insurance may submit a written request that the FDIC recognize the institution as an MDI at any time to the appropriate regional office.”

On May 19, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued an interpretive rule (“Rule”), clarifying the authority of States to address violations of Federal consumer financial laws. The Rule welcomes states to bring actions in federal court based on violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”), as well as federal lawsuits based on violations of such “enumerated consumer laws,” as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Truth in Lending Act, enforced by the CFPB.

During 2019 and 2020, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") reached informal resolutions in over 160 instances regarding the misuse of its name, logo, or the misrepresentations of deposit insurance. This misuse is only increasing by both scammers and non-banks who continue to mislead consumers. In efforts to mitigate these misuses, the FDIC issued a new rule that prohibits misrepresentations about FDIC deposit insurance and the misuse of the FDIC logo and name.

On May 9, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued an advisory opinion to affirm its interpretation that Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA") bars lenders from discriminating against customers after customers have applied for and received credit, not just during the application process.

On May 5, 2022, the SBA clarified and confirmed that 501(c)(3) nonprofit lenders are eligible for PPP loan forgiveness, provided such nonprofit lenders have complied with the PPP's rules. This was following a recent review of the SBA’s PPP records that showed 501(c)(3) nonprofit lenders were confused as to their eligibility and forgiveness of the PPP.