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Lori Sommerfield

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With over two decades of consumer financial services experience in federal government, in-house, and private practice settings, and a specialty in fair lending regulatory compliance, Lori counsels clients in supervisory issues, examinations, investigations, and enforcement actions.

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Federal regulators recently took two coordinated steps that significantly shift expectations for how lenders and banks treat non‑work authorized individuals and their employers. On June 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a formal statement on how immigration status should factor into ability‑to‑repay determinations under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z. On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), jointly with the federal banking agencies and in coordination with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), released a detailed advisory on fraud, payroll schemes, and money laundering risks associated with the unlawful employment of non-work authorized persons, including specific guidance regarding the use of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is reportedly moving to give community banks more time between examinations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), the federal anti-redlining statute that shapes how banks serve low- and moderate-income communities. As reported by Bloomberg Law, based on a May 15 supervisory memorandum obtained by the publication, the OCC has revised its exam cycle expectations for community and small regional banks that demonstrate strong CRA performance.

On April 7, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board approved its second notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act). This second set of FDIC proposed regulations would establish prudential standards for FDIC-supervised permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs) and FDIC-supervised stablecoin custodians, and it would update the capital and deposit insurance frameworks for the bank parents of those issuers and for stablecoin reserves and tokenized deposits.

On May 6, the American Bankers Association (ABA), joined by nearly every state bankers association, sent the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), a follow‑on request for more time to comment on Treasury’s GENIUS Act “broad‑based principles” proposed rule for determining whether a state stablecoin regime is “substantially similar” to the federal framework (RIN 1505‑AC90).

On February 25, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a 376‑page notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act for entities under its jurisdiction. The proposed rule would create a comprehensive framework for “payment stablecoin” issuers supervised by the OCC, foreign payment stablecoin issuers accessing the U.S. market, and certain custody activities by OCC‑regulated banks. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on March 2, with the 60-day comment period ending on May 1, 2026. The NPRM also poses more than 200 specific questions for public comment on definitions, activities, reserves, liquidity, and other key design choices.

On April 21, four major banking trade associations — the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, and Independent Community Bankers Association (collectively, the associations) — sent a joint letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) requesting an additional 60 days to comment on three key proposed rules implementing the GENIUS Act after the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issues a final rule implementing the GENIUS Act for entities subject to the OCC’s jurisdiction. These rulemakings address, respectively, how to determine whether state stablecoin regimes are “substantially similar” to the federal framework (discussed here), prudential standards for FDIC‑supervised permitted payment stablecoin issuers and insured depository institutions, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and sanctions compliance program requirements for stablecoin issuers.

On December 17, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed new guidance that would significantly streamline how community banks elect to be evaluated under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by providing a simplified strategic plan form. Framed as part of Comptroller Gould’s broader initiative to reduce regulatory burden on community banks, the proposal would make the strategic plan option more accessible, more predictable, and less resource‑intensive for smaller institutions.

At The Clearing House Annual Conference, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould outlined an agency-wide strategy to defend and promote federal preemption across the banking system. As reported by Law360, he emphasized pairing court advocacy with public- and policymaker-facing engagement to rebuild political support that he said has eroded over the past 15 years.

On September 8, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) took significant action to “depoliticize” the federal banking system by issuing two bulletins to banks that further the goals of Executive Order 14331 “Guaranteeing Free Banking for All Americans” (discussed here). The OCC’s press release announcing the bulletins explains that they are aimed at eliminating politicized or unlawful debanking practices and ensuring that banks provide access to financial services based on objective, risk-based analyses rather than political or religious beliefs. Bulletin 2025-22 clarifies how politicized or unlawful debanking will be assessed in licensing applications and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations. Bulletin 2025-23 reminds banks of their legal obligations under the Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA) to protect customer financial records and ensure proper use of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).