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  • President Trump issues Executive Order prohibiting Venezuelan cryptocurrency transactions; OFAC sanctions additional Venezuelan officials

    Financial Crimes

    On March 19, President Trump issued Executive Order 13827 (E.O.) prohibiting transactions within the U.S. that involve any digital currency issued by, for, or on behalf of the Venezuelan government since January 9, and authorizing the U.S. Treasury Department to “employ all powers” necessary to carry out the E.O.’s provisions. President Trump issued the E.O. in conjunction with E.O. 13692 and E.O. 13808 and because of recent steps taken by Venezuelan President Maduro to “circumvent U.S. sanctions” by issuing a digital currency that the Venezuelan legislature “denounced as unlawful.” The E.O. took effect on March 19 at 12:15 p.m. EDT.

    On the same day, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced additional sanctions pursuant to E.O. 13692 against four current or former Venezuelan government officials as part of “ongoing efforts to highlight the economic mismanagement and endemic corruption that have been the defining features of the Maduro regime.” Pursuant to OFAC’s sanctions, all assets belonging to the designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are “generally prohibited” from participating in transactions with these individuals. OFAC also published answers to several related FAQs concerning President Trump’s E.O., as well as new FAQs related to virtual currency.

    Visit here for additional InfoBytes coverage on Venezuelan sanctions.

    Financial Crimes Digital Assets OFAC Department of Treasury Sanctions Cryptocurrency Trump International

  • Treasury releases Orderly Liquidation Authority report

    Federal Issues

    On February 21, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a report on the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA) and Bankruptcy Reform. The report is in response to the April 2017 Presidential Memorandum requiring the Treasury Department to review and provide recommendations for improving the OLA under the Dodd-Frank Act, previously covered by InfoBytes here. According to the Treasury Department’s announcement, the recommendations outlined in the report “ensure that taxpayers are protected by strengthening the bankruptcy procedure for a failed financial company and retaining OLA in very limited circumstances with significant reforms.” In addition to recommending a new Chapter 14 of the Bankruptcy Code for distressed financial companies, the report recommends significant reforms to the OLA process, such as (i) creating clear rules administered with impartiality, including restricting the FDIC’s ability to treat similarly situated creditors differently; (ii) ensuring market discipline and strengthening protection for taxpayers by, among other things, only allowing the FDIC to lend on a secured basis; and (iii) strengthening judicial review to provide a stronger check on the decision to invoke OLA.

    Federal Issues Department of Treasury Dodd-Frank Orderly Liquidation Authority Trump Bankruptcy

  • President Trump releases 2019 budget proposal; key areas of reform include appropriation shifts, cybersecurity, and financial crimes

    Federal Issues

    On February 12, the White House released its fiscal 2019 budget request, Efficient, Effective, Accountable, an American Budget (2019 budget proposal), along with Major Savings and Reforms (MSR) and an Appendix. The mission of the President’s budget sets forth priorities, including imposing fiscal responsibility, reducing wasteful spending, and prioritizing effective programs. However, the 2019 budget proposal has little chance of being enacted as written and does not take into account a two-year budget agreement Congress passed that the President signed into law on February 9. Notable takeaways of the 2019 budget are as follows:

    CFPB. Under the MSR’s “Restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” section, Congress and the current administration would implement a broad restructuring of the Bureau to “prevent actions that unduly burden the financial industry” by restricting its enforcement authority over federal consumer law. Among other things, the proposed budget would cap the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) transfers this year at $485 million (an amount equivalent to its 2015 budget) and eliminate all transfers by 2020, at which point the Bureau’s appropriations process would shift to Congress.

    Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As stipulated in the Appendix, the budget proposes legislation, which would authorize the CFTC to collect $31.5 million in user fees to fund certain activities and would bring the Commission’s budget to $281.5 million for 2019. According to the administration, if the authorizing legislation is enacted, it would be “in line with nearly all other Federal financial and banking regulators.”

    Cybersecurity. The 2019 budget proposal requests funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to execute efforts to counter cybercrime. The DOD funds would go towards efforts to sustain the Cyber Command’s 133 Cyber Mission Force Teams, which “are on track to be fully operational by the end of 2018.” Furthermore, the administration states it “will improve its ability to identify and combat cybersecurity risks to agencies’ data, systems, and networks.”

    Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Currently FSOC (which is comprised of the heads of the financial regulatory agencies and monitors risk to the U.S. financial system) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR) (FSOC’s independent research arm) receive funding through fees assessed on certain bank holding companies with assets of at least $50 billion as well as nonbanks supervised by the Fed. However, the 2019 budget proposal would require FSOC and OFR to receive their funding through the normal congressional appropriations process. 

    Flood Insurance. Outlined in the MSR is a budget request that would reduce appropriations for the National Flood Insurance Program's flood hazard mapping program by $78 million. The funding reduction is designed to “preserve resources for [DHS]’s core missions”; however, the administration plans to work to “improve efficiency in the flood mapping program, including incentivizing increased State and local government investments in updating flood maps to inform land use decisions and reduce risk.” Additionally, contained within the Appendix is a proposal for a “means-tested affordability program” that would determine assistance for flood insurance premium payments based on a policyholder's income or ability to repay, rather than a home's location or date of construction.

    Government Sponsored Enterprises. Noted within the MSR, the budget proposes doubling the guarantee fee charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to loan originators from 0.10 to 0.20 percentage points from 2019 through 2021. The proposal is designed to help “level the playing field for private lenders seeking to compete with the GSEs” and would “generate approximately $26 billion over the 10-year Budget window.” 

    HUD. The 2019 budget proposal eliminates funding for the following: (i) the CHOICE Neighborhoods program (a savings of $138 million),  on the basis that state and local governments should fund strategies for neighborhood revitalization; (ii) the Community Development Block Grant (a savings of $3 billion), over claims that it “has not demonstrated a measurable impact on communities”; (iii) the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (a savings of $950 million); and (iv) the Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program Account (a savings of $54 million). The budget also proposes reductions to grants provided to the Native American Housing Block Grant and plans to reduce costs across HUD’s rental assistance programs through legislative reforms. Rental assistance programs generally comprise about 80 percent of HUD’s total funding.

    SEC. As stipulated in the MSR, the budget proposes eliminating the SEC’s mandatory reserve fund and would require the SEC to request additional funds through the congressional appropriations process starting in 2020. According to the Appendix, the reserve fund is currently funded by collected registration fees and is not subject to appropriation or apportionment. Under the proposed budget, the registration fees would be deposited in the Treasury’s general fund.

    SIGTARP. As proposed under MSR, the 2019 budget would reduce funding for the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) “commensurate with the wind-down of TARP programs.” According to the proposal, “Congress aligned the sunset of SIGTARP with the length of time that TARP funds or commitments are outstanding,” which, Treasury estimates, will be in 2023. This will mark the final time payments are expected to be made under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). As previously covered in InfoBytes, SIGTARP delivered a report to Congress last month, which identified unlawful conduct by certain of the 130 financial institutions in TARP’s Making Home Affordable Program as the top threat to TARP and, thus, the agency’s top investigative priority.

    Student Loan Reform. Under the 2019 budget proposal, a single income-driven repayment plan (IDR) would be created that caps monthly payments at 12.5 percent of discretionary income. Furthermore, balances would be forgiven after a specific number of repayment years—15 for undergraduate debt, 30 for graduate. In doing so, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and subsidized loans will be eliminated, and reforms will be established to “guarantee that all borrowers in IDR pay an equitable share of their income.” These proposals will only apply to loans originated on or after July 1, 2019, with the exception of loans provided to borrowers in order to finish their “current course of study.”

    Treasury Department. Under the 2019 budget proposal, safeguarding markets and protecting financial data are a top priority for the administration, and $159 million has been requested for Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence to “continue its critical work safeguarding the financial system from abuse and combatting other national security threats using non-kinetic economic tools. These additional resources would be used to economically isolate North Korea, complete the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center in Saudi Arabia, and increase sanctions pressure on Iran, including through the implementation of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.” The budget also requests a $3 million increase from 2017 to be applied to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s authority to administer the Bank Secrecy Act and its work to prevent the financing of terrorism, money laundering, and other financial crimes.  

    Federal Issues Budget Trump CFPB CFTC FSOC Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Flood Insurance HUD SEC Student Lending Department of Treasury

  • Continuing Resolution Extends National Flood Insurance Program Deadline to December 22

    Federal Issues

    As previously reported in InfoBytes, the House voted 237-189 on November 14 to pass legislation reforming and reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years before it expired at the beginning of December. A continuing resolution (H.J. Res. 123), passed by both the Senate and House and signed into law by President Trump on December 8, amended the expiration date of Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations to December 22, and extended the NFIP another two weeks. The Senate Banking Committee is still waiting to act on a flood insurance bill. 

    Federal Issues OCC Bank Regulatory National Flood Insurance Program Trump

  • Mulvaney Completes First Week as Acting Director of CFPB

    Federal Issues

    In his first week at the Bureau, Mulvaney ordered freezes on hiring and any new regulations for 30 days, and also announced a halt to payouts from the enforcement fund. It is also reported that Mulvaney has put new enforcement actions on hold as he reviews on-going matters. Additionally, on December 1, the White House appointed Brian Johnson, an aide to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), to assist Mick Mulvaney in his role as the Acting Director of the CFPB. Johnson was a featured speaker at Buckley Sandler’s CFPB Today conference at the end of October.

    As previously covered by InfoBytes, Judge Timothy Kelly, denied CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English’s  request for a temporary restraining order preventing Mulvaney from acting as the Acting Director. English is expected to continue the litigation; a briefing schedule is due in the case by December 1.

    Federal Issues CFPB Trump Courts CFPB Succession English v. Trump

  • Court Denies Restraining Order Preventing Mulvaney’s Appointment

    Federal Issues

    On November 28, Judge Timothy Kelly denied a request by Leandra English, who was appointed Deputy Director of the CFPB by Richard Cordray on the same day as his resignation, for a temporary restraining order preventing the President from appointing anyone other than English as Acting Director and preventing Mick Mulvaney from serving as the Acting Director (see previous InfoBytes coverage for details).

    English’s counsel, in remarks to reporters outside the courtroom, stated they may seek an appeal, may move for a preliminary injunction, or may move for an expedited final decision on the merits.

    Federal Issues CFPB OMB Trump Courts CFPB Succession English v. Trump

  • Legal Battle Begins Over Mulvaney Appointment as Acting Director of CFPB

    Federal Issues

    On November 26, the newly appointed Deputy Director of the CFPB, Leandra English, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against President Trump and Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), seeking declaratory judgments that English is the Acting Director of the CFPB – and Mulvaney is not – as well as emergency temporary restraining orders preventing the President from appointing anyone other than English as Acting Director and preventing Mulvaney from acting as the Acting Director.

    The legal action results from the November 24 resignation of Richard Cordray as the Director of the CFPB and his naming of English as the Bureau’s Deputy Director (previously covered by a Buckley Sandler Special Alert) citing to section 1011(b)(5) of the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA), which provides that the CFPB’s Director may appoint the Deputy Director who “shall…serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director.” Following Cordray’s official resignation, the White House issued an announcement appointing Mulvaney as Acting Director under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA).

    On November 25, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel released a memorandum in support of the President’s authority to designate Mulvaney as the Acting Director of the Bureau under the FVRA. According to the DOJ, while Congress recognized there would be cases in which FVRA was not the “exclusive means” for succession, Congress did not intend for the FVRA to be “unavailable” when another statute provides an alternative for succession. Accordingly, the DOJ asserts that, notwithstanding the succession provision in the DFA, FVRA gives the President the authority to, “rely upon it in designating an acting official in a manner that differs from the order of succession otherwise provided by an office-specific statute.” In her complaint, English argues that the succession provision in the DFA controls over the FVRA and that the appointment of a White House official is inconsistent with the CFPB’s independent structure.

    Similarly, on November 25, the General Counsel for the CFPB, Mary Mcleod, issued a statement to the senior leaders of the Bureau concurring with the DOJ’s conclusion that “the President may use the [FVRA] to designate an acting official, even when there is a succession statute under which another official may serve as acting.” Mcleod concluded that Mulvaney is the Acting Director of the CFPB and encouraged all Bureau staff to act consistently with that conclusion.

    Oral arguments on English’s emergency motion were held on November 27 by Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee. Judge Kelly did not rule on the motion and granted the government’s request to file papers responding to English’s arguments.

    Federal Issues Courts CFPB Trump Dodd-Frank DOJ OMB CFPB Succession English v. Trump

  • Trump to Select Mulvaney as Interim CFPB Director

    Federal Issues

    According to media sources, President Trump is expected to select Mick Mulvaney, the current Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to serve as the interim Director of the CFPB upon Richard Cordray’s resignation at the end of this month. Mulvaney would keep his current position and serve as both the Director of OMB and Acting Director of the CFPB throughout the interim term.

    Federal Issues CFPB OMB Trump CFPB Succession

  • House Passes Flood Insurance Bill Reforming and Reauthorizing National Flood Insurance Program

    Federal Issues

    On November 14, the House voted 237-189 to pass legislation reforming and reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years before it expires next month. As previously covered in InfoBytes, President Trump signed a three-month extension to the NFIP at the beginning of September in order to provide Congress additional time to establish a long-term financial solution for the program. The 21st Century Flood Reform Act (H.R. 2874) is designed to better facilitate compliance and clarify guidance for lenders and borrowers, and will, among other things, (i) change annual limits on premium increases for insurance obtained through the NFIP; (ii) require FEMA to consider the differences in flood risk between coastal and inland flood hazards when establishing premium rates; (iii) require FEMA to clearly communicate to policyholders the full flood risk to, and flood claims history of their property, and the effect of filing any additional claims; (iv) allow private insurers to continue selling policies on behalf of the NFIP, while also being allowed to sell their own private flood coverage; (v) revise federal flood mapping requirements, establish premium rates based on applicable flood insurance rate maps, and revise and clarify aspects of the appeals process; (vi) amend the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to clarify the time periods within which communities may consult with FEMA regarding mapping changes and submit data for consideration by the agency; (vii) revise the Flood Mitigation Assistance program to provide assistance for additional multiple loss properties; and (viii) amend the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to increase penalties against lenders and GSEs for violations of the mandatory purchase requirement from $2,000 to a maximum of $5,000 per violation.

    H.R. 2874 now heads to the Senate.

    Federal Issues U.S. House Flood Insurance National Flood Insurance Program Federal Legislation Disaster Relief Trump

  • President Trump Signs Law to Prevent Elder Abuse and Exploitation

    Federal Issues

    On October 18, President Trump signed the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act, which establishes new requirements aimed at improving the DOJ’s response to elder abuse crimes. Among other things, S 178 expands data collection and information sharing provisions to prevent financial crimes committed against seniors. The law also broadens the federal criminal code to include “email marketing” fraud, such as marketing measures designed to induce the commitment to a loan. Other notable provisions include enhanced penalties for fraud and increased training for federal investigators and prosecutors. Further, the law requires the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and the DOJ to appoint elder justice coordinators to oversee enforcement, consumer education efforts, and policy activities related to elder justice issues.

    Federal Issues Federal Legislation Consumer Finance FTC DOJ Elder Financial Exploitation Trump

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