What Is Happening at the Federal Agencies (Other Than the CFPB) That is Relevant to the Consumer Financial Services Industry

We are releasing today on our podcast show a repurposed webinar which we produced on May 13, 2025 entitled “What is happening at the federal agencies (other than the CFPB) that is relevant to the consumer financial services industry.”

During this podcast, we will inform you about recent developments at those other agencies, including the FTC, OCC, FDIC, FRB and DOJ (collectively, the “Agencies”) and the White House (through the issuance of Executive Orders). Some of the issues we consider are:

•        What are the strategic priorities of the Agencies, including cryptocurrency (OCC, FRB and DOJ); reducing regulatory burden, promoting financial inclusion, embracing bank-fintech partnerships and expanding responsible bank activities involving digital assets (OCC); adopt a more open-minded approach to innovation and technology adoption (FDIC); public inquiry into anti-competitive regulations (FTC and DOJ); and regulation of AI technology, boosting protections for children and teens online and strengthening enforcement against companies that sell, transfer, or disclose Americans’ geolocation information and other sensitive data to foreign adversaries, more emphasis on antitrust enforcement and less on consumer protection (FTC).

•        What is the status of proposed or final regulations of the Agencies? (e.g., FTC CARS Rule, Click-to-Cancel Rule, Junk Fees Rule, and Rule banning Noncompetes; FDIC advertisement and brokered-deposit rules, OCC rule on bank mergers; and the Community Reinvestment Act final rule)?

•        What is the status of enforcement investigations and litigation of the Agencies?

•        What impact will staff cuts have on supervisory examinations?

•        What is the impact of President Trump’s executive order requiring the Agencies to obtain approval from the White House of all proposed and final regulations?

•        Will the Supreme Court approve of President Donald Trump’s firing of the Democratic members of the FTC and NCUA and other federal agencies (who have subsequently sued Trump to challenge the firings) and, if so, what are its implications?

•        What is the significance of the FDIC and OCC agreeing to eliminate “reputation risk” as a basis for evaluating risks to banks?

•        Will the OCC adopt a regulation or other guidance, or will Congress enact legislation pertaining to debanking/fair access?

•        Will the OCC and/or FDIC issue any guidance or regulations pertaining to federal preemption of state law in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion last term in Cantero and the impending Courts of Appeal decisions in Cantero, Kivett and Conti?

•        What is the significance of the FDIC withdrawing its amicus brief in support of the Colorado Attorney General in the 10th Circuit in the lawsuit brought by industry against him challenging a Colorado statute which purported to opt out of Section 521 of DIDMCA?

•        Will there continue to be fair lending and disparate impact enforcement at any of the Agencies?

Alan Kaplinsky, former chair and now senior counsel of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, moderated the presentations of the following other members of the Consumer Financial Services Group:  Scott Coleman, Ronald Vaske and Kristen Larson.