Politics, Legal & Regulation

December 23, 2024 @ 4:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a lawsuit against Rocket Homes claiming kickbacks for real estate brokers and agents who steered customers to use the platform for mortgages. The CFPB reported that it had also sued Jason Mitchell, his real estate brokerage firm,… Read More

December 23, 2024 @ 4:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged Tai Mo Shan Limited with misleading investors about the stability of Terra USD (UST), a purported “algorithmic stablecoin” issued by Terraform Labs PTE Ltd. (Terraform), when UST dropped from its “purportedly fixed exchange rate of 1… Read More

December 21, 2024 @ 4:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  (CFPB) announced a lawsuit targeting the big banks that launched Zelle. Zelle was created by big banks in recognition of the rise of peer-to-peer payments and transfers. The banks wanted to keep pace with competitors and decided… Read More

December 20, 2024 @ 7:45 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Indian government is set to introduce a comprehensive legislative framework aimed at curbing the rise of illegal lending applications, the New Indian Express reported. The Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance has drafted a bill that imposes severe penalties on individuals… Read More

December 20, 2024 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of a push to maintain relevance in the digital finance world, several years ago big banks partnered up to launch their own instant payments and transfer system Zelle. The payments platform has emerged as a significant success – except for claims of fraud… Read More

December 19, 2024 @ 8:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced actions in order to protect consumers from “illegal” credit card practices and help people save money on interest and fees. In a circular to other law enforcement agencies, the CFPB warned that some credit card companies operating rewards… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 3:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Even while economic data has been very choppy, the US Federal Reserve decided to match market expectations, cutting benchmark rates by 25 basis points. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 bps to 4-1/4 to… Read More

December 18, 2024 @ 10:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a report on Authorized Push Payment (APP) scams and how to avoid them. In brief, a fraudster pilfers money illicitly when it tricks targets into sending money to its account. The trick is presenting what looks like… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has published its annual report which includes data on access to capital as well as policy recommendations. The Office is relatively new, created under the SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016 – legislation… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against two individuals and a single entity regarding money laundering to the benefit of North Korea. OFAC says that Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, working out of the UAE and… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 7:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

BitGo, the digital asset custody and security platform trusted by institutions since 2013, today announced it has entered into an agreement with FTX Trading Ltd. and its affiliated debtors to assist in distributing recoveries to both retail and institutional customers in “supported jurisdictions in accordance… Read More

December 17, 2024 @ 7:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Anchorage Digital—the crypto platform for institutions—is pleased to announce that the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has approved their subsidiary, Anchorage Digital NY, LLC, for a BitLicense. The addition of BitLicense-regulated trading means Anchorage Digital can offer institutions in New York State… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Everyone knows the definition of an Accredited Investor is broken. The rule sets a monetary hurdle for individuals who may participate in certain private securities offerings. It is obvious to all that wealth is not necessarily an indicator of sophistication. Still, the SEC has failed… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 10:19 am By JD Alois  |  

The Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government issued its interim report this month outlining the abuse of financial data by the federal government. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, you should be outraged by this… Read More

December 14, 2024 @ 3:48 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

This week, Independent Community Bankers of America president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey spoke out against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule on overdraft services. Despite the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s overdraft rule’s exemption for community banks under $10 billion in assets, Rainey said… Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 4:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Faced with “dense” and complex information, the AMF in France is encouraging financial institutions to continue their efforts to “improve the transparency of their Taxonomy reporting.” In a report covering the first alignment reporting of seven French banks and insurers, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers… Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 11:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of multiple firms including Tesla and SpaceX, has leveraged X, another one of his companies, to lambast outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.   Oh Gary, how could you do this to me? 🥹 pic.twitter.com/OoooQI77ZS — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12,… Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 11:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The initial coin offering (ICO) era came to a screeching halt following a statement made by the Securities and Exchange Commission that effectively told issuers to halt the process. During the wild and crazy days of ICOs, millions or billions were both made and lost…. Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 11:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Cantor Fitzgerald, LP, and two Special Purpose Acquisition companies (SPACs) it controlled with “making misleading statements to investors ahead of their initial public offerings (IPOs).” SPACs are companies that go public with the intent to acquire a private… Read More

December 13, 2024 @ 10:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bitcoin and crypto industry is now focused on blocking or preventing the re-nomination of  SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw as the Senate Banking Committee prepares to vote on her appointment to another term at Wall Street’s main regulatory authority. Crenshaw, a Democrat, was appointed to the commission by President Donald… Read More