On January 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued a notice of proposed interpretive rule (Proposed Rule). The deadline for comments is March 31, 2025. The Proposed Rule would apply the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA)—which protects consumers against errors and fraud—to new types of digital payment mechanisms, including stablecoins and other digital currencies.
Matthew Bornfreund
Matthew provides comprehensive guidance to clients on a wide range of regulatory, transactional, and compliance matters, helping them to advance their operational goals and launch new products and services. His clients include domestic and international traditional and nontraditional banks, as well as fintechs, private equity funds, and payment services firms.
Court Rules Against Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc. in Master Account Dispute
On January 8, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the claims brought by Banco San Juan Internacional, Inc. (BSJI) against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board). BSJI alleged that the termination of its master account by the FRBNY violated various federal laws. The ruling in the BSJI case underscores the discretionary authority of Federal Reserve Banks in granting or denying master accounts.
FDIC Extends Comment Period for Proposed Rule on Recordkeeping for Third-Party Deposits
In a previous post, we discussed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at enhancing recordkeeping for bank deposits received from fintech and other third-party, non-bank companies. The proposed rule initially set a public comment period ending on December 2, 2024. Yesterday, the FDIC announced a 45-day extension to this comment period, now allowing stakeholders until January 16, 2025, to submit their feedback.
Preparing for the FDIC’s Final Enforceable Guidelines on Corporate Governance and Risk Management: State Nonmember Banks with Assets Above — and Potentially Also Below — $10 Billion Take Note
Over one year ago, on October 3, 2023, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) proposed supervisory guidelines that would establish standards for corporate governance and risk management for all state non-member banks with assets greater than $10 billion (Proposed Guidelines). Unlike guidance, which does not have the force and effect of law, any final guidelines based on the Proposed Guidelines (Final Guidelines) would be issued as Appendix C to the FDIC’s standards for safety and soundness in part 364, pursuant to Section 39 of the FDI Act.
FDIC Extends Comment Period for Proposed Changes to Brokered Deposit Regulations
Today, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced an extension of the comment period for its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) aimed at revising the 2020 Brokered Deposit Rule. To ensure that all interested parties have sufficient time to review the proposed changes and prepare their comments, the FDIC has extended the comment period from October 22, 2024, to November 21, 2024.
FDIC Publishes Proposed Rule on Recordkeeping for Third-Party Deposits, Opens Comment Period
We previously posted on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at enhancing recordkeeping for bank deposits received from fintech and other third-party, non-bank companies. Today, the proposed rule was published in the Federal Register and the FDIC is accepting public comments until December 2, 2024.
Where the F(BO) is the Money? Part 2 — Adopting the Right Lessons from Synapse
Guest Contributors: Jonah Crane and Adam Shapiro of Klaros Group
This is the second of three articles focused on a key question: as bank-fintech partnerships continue to play a vital role in driving financial services, how does the industry make this system safer and better?
In this second article,[i] we focus on encouraging the industry and regulators to adopt the right lessons from Synapse Financial Technologies’ (Synapse) bankruptcy by drawing from the root causes of its failure. We offer some best practices and discuss the potential role of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) recently proposed recordkeeping rule (Records NPR) — including areas of potential improvement — and conclude by noting how enhanced account ledgering by banks helps address one root cause of the Synapse failure: faulty account ledgering performed only by a third party.
FDIC Proposes New Rule to Strengthen Recordkeeping for Third-Party Deposits
On September 17, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (Proposal) aimed at enhancing recordkeeping for bank deposits received from fintech and other third-party, non-bank companies. The FDIC is accepting public comments on the Proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
ABA Business Law Section Fall Meeting
Troutman Pepper Partner Matthew Bornfreund spoke at the ABA Business Law Section Fall Meeting in San Diego on September 12, 2024. The discussion focused on the FDIC’s brokered deposits NPR.
Where the F(BO) Is the Money? Part 1 – Synapse’s Clarion Call for Standards
This is the first of three articles focused on a key question: as bank-fintech partnerships continue to play a vital role in driving financial services, how does the industry make this system safer and better?
Fintechs and their partner banks are on edge. Regulators are concerned. But as counselors to a wide range of banks and nonbanks, we are confident that the bank-fintech partnership model is not broken. We have seen these partnerships work well — not just for clients, but for consumers and other end-users — with rigorous, risk-based controls that satisfy both the regulators and the public.