Kate Berry

In a new survey of bank executives from IntraFi, 90% of respondents said instances of check fraud have increased in recent years and half want law enforcement to make check fraud a bigger priority to stop criminals from stealing checks in the mail.

A rising number of check fraud cases involving counterfeit checks is compounding the already-serious problem of fraud in one of the oldest payment methods widely available.

With the government contract for Direct Express, Bank of New York would gain a free liquidity source of more than $3 billion in deposits a month and expand its burgeoning offerings to the underbanked.

Shares in the Dallas bank fell sharply after it disclosed that it expects to lose its contract for the Direct Express program, which would wipe out more than $3 billion in non-interest bearing deposits. Comerica's involvement with the Treasury Department's prepaid card program has been marred by controversy.

The $22 billion-dollar earned wage access industry is vigorously opposing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's plan to classify paycheck advances as consumer loans requiring disclosures of fees and costs, and says it will fight the rule in court.

Payroll advances would be considered consumer loans under an interpretive rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would require disclosures of annual percentage rates and fees under the Truth in Lending Act.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to eliminate medical debts from credit reports is under attack from debt collectors, which claim the rule will drive up litigation costs and drive doctors out of business.

A federal appeals court ruled that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits not just outright discrimination but also the discouragement of prospective applicants for credit.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed requiring that mortgage servicers exhaust all efforts at assisting struggling borrowers before moving ahead with a foreclosure.

The Cincinnati bank has agreed to pay a total of $20 million to settle a lawsuit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over fake bank accounts and to resolve separate violations involving force-placed auto insurance.

Silvergate's former CEO and onetime chief risk officer settled allegations that they misled investors about the strength of the bank's anti-money laundering compliance program. Meanwhile, Silvergate's former CFO denied separate allegations by the SEC and vowed to defend himself in court.

Ficklin has been the CFPB's only fair lending director since 2011, establishing the office under Elizabeth Warren and pushing fair lending enforcement beyond mortgages into other financial products such as credit cards.

The high court's much-anticipated ruling gives federal courts — rather than executive agencies — the power to interpret ambiguous statutes. The decision is expected to facilitate an increase in litigation over banking regulations.

Banks and financial institutions face a barrage of lawsuits from consumers alleging they failed to investigate inaccurate information on a credit report. Industry blames the uptick in litigation on social media sites and the proliferation of credit repair companies.

Last year, the CFPB referred 18 matters to the Department of Justice and initiated 28 fair lending examinations or targeted reviews, the highest number of such actions by the agency ever.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau extended the deadline for lenders with the highest volume of small-business loans to July 18, 2025, and will not assess penalties for reporting errors for a year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants feedback on how the Federal Home Loan banks can improve their affordable housing programs, including efficiencies in the application process.

In a win for credit card issuers, a lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule will remain in a Texas court and not be transferred to Washington, D.C.

Payday lenders want an appeals court to rehear a novel claim about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding despite a Supreme Court ruling last month that upheld the agency's funding as constitutional.

PNC has cut its credit card late fees to $8, and Wells Fargo has eliminated the charges on one new card. The moves signal that issuers are already adjusting to a CFPB rule that's currently on hold amid a court challenge.