Banking

February 25, 2025
DC Judge Blocks Trump's Federal Funding Freeze

A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from implementing a federal spending freeze while a group of nonprofits challenge the freeze, calling the measure "ill-conceived from the beginning."
February 25, 2025
Binance Can't Evade Terror Victims' Suit, But It's Trimmed

The New York federal judge overseeing Hamas attack survivors' claims against Binance and its former CEO said on Tuesday that the defendants can't dodge the suit claiming they aided terrorist groups on a jurisdictional basis, but said some of the plaintiffs are not closely related enough to the victims to bring claims under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
February 25, 2025
GreenSky Loan Class Action Certified In Calif. Court

A California federal judge has granted class certification to consumers suing GreenSky Inc. over alleged unlawful loan transaction fees, finding that expert analysis showed merchants likely passed these fees onto borrowers, but also granted summary judgment to the lending company on claims related to performance fees over the lack of evidence that consumers had to pay them.
February 25, 2025
Trump Admin Says 'There Will Continue To Be A CFPB'

The Trump administration denied late Monday that it is planning to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, telling a D.C. federal judge that it had closed the agency's headquarters and benched employees instead partly due to their own "disruptive protests."
February 25, 2025
FDIC Will No Longer Defend In-House Judges In Bank Suit

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has told a Kansas federal judge that it will no longer defend its use of in-house judges in litigation with a Kansas bank after the U.S. Department of Justice determined that "multiple layers of removal restrictions" for the judges are unconstitutional.
February 25, 2025
Block Considers NY Settlement Over Money-Laundering Curbs

Block Inc., the parent company of the peer-to-peer mobile payments platform Cash App and payments platform Square, is working to resolve allegations from New York state's financial regulator touching on its compliance with money-laundering restrictions, the company says.
February 25, 2025
Ga. County Collected Too Late On Theft Claim, Panel Says

The Georgia Court of Appeals has stripped a state county of a nearly $350,000 judgment it won from insurer Old Republic Surety Co. to cover a court employee's theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the public coffers, ruling the county filed its claim well after the statute of limitations had run.
February 25, 2025
Customers Say Doxim Breach Exposed Bank Data To Hackers

Credit union customers claim a data breach at software-as-a-service company Doxim Inc. caused their valuable personal information to be available for sale on the dark web and that they've spent time and money mitigating fraud risk, arguing Monday they have demonstrated sufficient harm to support their class action.
February 25, 2025
Referral Co. Barred From $5.54B Swipe Fee MDL Settlement

A New York federal judge has blocked a referral partner of a claims filing service from any role in the $5.54 billion settlement of long-running multidistrict litigation accusing Visa and Mastercard of charging improper merchant fees, after the referral partner allegedly improperly used class member information to submit claims.
February 24, 2025
FDIC Scraps 10th Circ. Brief Backing Colo.'s Opt-Out Law

In a pivot, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday withdrew a Tenth Circuit brief that had supported Colorado in industry litigation against the state's "opt-out" law aimed at curbing higher-cost online lending.
February 24, 2025
Patent Eligibility Appeals 'Will Not Go Away,' Justices Told

Another plea to hear a patent eligibility case has been lodged at the U.S. Supreme Court, this time in an amicus brief from the owner of two invalidated patents covering medical machinery that warned "the problem will not go away. The problem will get worse and worse."
February 24, 2025
US Was Behind Privatbank Nationalization, Suit Alleges

Two Miami-based associates of the former owners of Ukraine's largest bank have sued the U.S. State Department in Florida, saying officials are wrongly refusing to release records showing that the U.S. — not an alleged $5 billion money laundering scheme — was behind the bank's nationalization in late 2016.
February 24, 2025
DC Judge Wary Of Constitutionality Of Musk's DOGE

A D.C. federal judge on Monday questioned the constitutionality of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency while expressing skepticism that groups challenging the department's access to federal systems housing Americans' sensitive data had established the irreparable harm needed to block access.
February 24, 2025
Comerica Bank Wants Dismissal Of CFPB's Benefits Card Suit

Comerica Bank has urged a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, accusing the bank of multiple failures in administering a government benefits card program, arguing the case overextends the agency's authority, among other things.
February 24, 2025
Investor Settles In $2.1B Danish Tax Fraud Case

A U.S. investor who was among those accused by Denmark's tax agency of participating in a $2.1 billion tax fraud scheme related to fraudulently claiming refunds on tax withheld from stock dividends has reached a settlement, according to New York federal court documents filed Monday.
February 24, 2025
Texas Bank Fights To Keep $28M In Assets In Ginnie Mae Suit

A bank told a Texas federal court that it will lose $28 million worth of collateral assets if Ginnie Mae secures a summary judgment win in a suit over a vacated first-priority lien.
February 24, 2025
Crypto Exchange OKX To Pay $504M For Allowing Illicit Deeds

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX on Monday agreed to pay $504 million in a deal with New York federal prosecutors who said the company ran afoul of U.S. anti-money laundering rules and allowed its platform to be used for more than $5 billion worth of suspicious transactions.
February 24, 2025
High Court Won't Hear Bankruptcy 'Safe Harbor' Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a dispute over what transactions are protected from clawback by a trustee, leaving in place a Second Circuit decision finding that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code's safe harbor provisions trump the trustee's state-law based fraudulent transfer claims.
February 22, 2025
NY Judge Extends Block On DOGE's Treasury Access

A New York federal judge on Friday barred Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing U.S. Treasury Department data, handing a win to 19 state attorneys general who claimed giving the new entity access to citizens' personal information posed a massive cybersecurity risk.
February 21, 2025
CFPB's Data Security In Spotlight After Agency Goes Dark

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's de facto shutdown following the arrival of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is raising concerns that sensitive data inside the agency could be exposed or exploited. Experts say financial institutions should take note.
February 21, 2025
Trump-Targeted CFPB Drops Suit Against Online Lender

The embattled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a California federal judge Friday that it has dropped litigation it filed against online lending platform SoLo Funds, which the watchdog agency had accused of deceiving borrowers about the total cost of loans.
February 21, 2025
Wall Street Groups Back Rescinding Biden Crypto Guidance

Wall Street's top lobbies are backing President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency agenda and have called for the recission of Biden-era federal banking policies and guidance that it says have "hindered" banks' ability to engage in the digital asset industry.
February 21, 2025
CFPB Shutdown Means 'Irreparable Harm,' 23 State AGs Say

Nearly two dozen attorneys general on Friday filed an amicus brief backing the union that represents Consumer Financial Protection Bureau workers in their lawsuit over the agency's shutdown, arguing they will suffer "several forms of irreparable harm" without a preliminary injunction.
February 21, 2025
Energy Transfer Brings $300M Greenpeace Case To Jury

Dakota Access Pipeline builder Energy Transfer LP heads to trial Monday against Greenpeace in a $300 million defamation suit over Greenpeace's role in supporting Standing Rock Indian Reservation protests — a suit the environmental group calls an attempt to stifle free speech. Here, Law360 previews what to watch for in the hotly anticipated trial.
February 21, 2025
GOP Leader Zeros In On Fintech And Enviro Rules For Repeal

An Internal Revenue Service rule targeting digital asset sales and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission guidance on the trading of voluntary carbon credits are among the environmental and financial regulations that Republicans are prioritizing for repeal, according to House Majority Leader Steven Scalise.

Expert Analysis

Impact Of Successful Challenges To SEC's Rulemaking Ability

In 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faced significant legal challenges to its aggressive rulemaking agenda as several of its rules were vacated by the Fifth Circuit, which could hinder the SEC's ability to enact rules extending beyond express statutory authority in the future, say attorneys at Debevoise.
Series

NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

In 2024's final quarter, the New York State Department of Financial Services published guidance on mitigating the rising cybersecurity risks of artificial intelligence and remote technology workers with North Korean ties, and the state attorney general launched an antitrust investigation into Capital One's proposed Discover merger, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
Series

Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.
How To Manage During A Trade Dispute With USMCA Partners

Companies can try to minimize the potential impacts of future tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, and uncertainty about future trade relations, by evaluating supply chains, considering how they may be modified, and engaging with the new administration over exemptions and the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
Series

In The CFPB Playbook: A Sprint To The Finish Line

The fourth quarter of 2024 was an impressive demonstration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to regulate, enforce and supervise, even on borrowed time following the election results, and we should expect the current bureau to run nonstop until Jan. 20, say attorneys at Covington.
Predicting What's Next For SEC By Looking At Past Dissents

While Paul Atkins' nomination to be the next chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken center stage, an analysis of Republican Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda's past votes and dissents provides a preview of where enforcement may shift in the new administration, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
What 2024's Noncompete Turmoil Means For Banks In 2025

A look back at the most significant legal challenges to the enforceability of various restrictive covenants like noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements in 2024 can help financial institutions address the use of these critical tools this year, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.
New Year, New Risks: 8 Top Cyber Issues For Finance In 2025

As financial institutions forge ahead in 2025, they must strike a delicate balance between embracing technological innovation and guarding against its darker threats, which this year could include everything from supply chain vulnerabilities to deepfakes, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.
The Securities Litigation Trends That Will Matter Most In 2025

2025 is shaping up to be a significant year for securities litigation, as plaintiffs and defendants alike navigate shifting standards for omission theories of liability, class certification, risk disclosure claims and more, say attorneys at Willkie.
Predicting The Lasting Changes CFPB May Face In 2025

President-elect Donald Trump and the incoming Republican-controlled Congress' likely attempts to reshape the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could significantly alter its rulemaking, supervisory and enforcement abilities for years to come, says Jim Sandy at McGlinchey Stafford.
How White Collar Enforcement May Shift In Trump's 2nd Term

After President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month, the administration’s emphasis on immigration laws, drug offenses and violent crime will likely reduce the focus on white collar crime overall, but certain areas within the white collar world may see increased activity, say attorneys at Keker Van Nest.