Law and legal issues

A coalition of consumer groups sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and acting Director Russell Vought for refusing to implement a statutorily mandated small-business data collection rule that is already tied up in litigation.

The Department of Justice has filed a notice that it will appeal a D.C. District Court ruling that reinstated two democratic members of the National Credit Union Administration who had been fired by President Trump earlier this year.

A Wells Fargo customer was surprised to receive a "cryptic notice" and a cashier's check from the firm compensating him for float fees charged more than a decade ago. A lawsuit followed.

Supreme Court rulings and provisions in the recently passed budget bill are bolstering the legality of the administration's effort to fire more than 1,000 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Government officials confirmed the California Democrat is under scrutiny over a long-held Maryland property he designated as a second home in 2020.

Foisted on the banking industry decades ago, with no formal rulemaking process, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Manual should be eliminated in favor of new rules crafted with the input of relevant stakeholders.

First Northwest Bancorp is parting ways with CEO Matt Deines "by mutual agreement," the Port Angeles, Washington-based company said. Deines' departure comes a month after a hedge fund sued, alleging the lender was complicit in a Ponzi scheme.

The union representing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in their suit against mass firings at the agency said the Supreme Court's ruling allowing President Trump to proceed with mass reductions-in-force elsewhere does not impact the union's lawsuit.

A district court judge this week has denied allowing four groups — the American Fintech Council, Financial Data and Technology Association, Financial Health Network and Public Citizen — to file legal briefs in support of a rule on financial data rights.

The show business-themed restaurant, which benefited from a federal loan near the start of the pandemic, says it now owes millions thanks to the Miami-based bank's "fraud, negligence, and misrepresentations." A BankUnited spokesperson declined to comment.

Navy Federal Credit Union will not pay a $15 million fine or $80 million in restitution to service members who were illegally charged surprise overdraft fees when their accounts had sufficient funds.

The Financial Technology Association — which had been granted the right to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's open banking rule after the bureau declined to defend it — filed a motion Sunday to preserve the rule.

Banking has long been overseen by independent agencies, though that independence has been waning for years. With the Supreme Court poised to weigh in, experts are questioning where — and whether — to redraw the line between politics and policy.

New York's attorney general announces MoneyGram will pay a civil fine to settle a lawsuit over its handling of remittance payments; Swedish buy now/pay later lender Klarna is getting into the telecom business; Truist Financial has hired Charles Alston to lead its new nonprofit hospital, higher education and government banking team; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Buy now/pay later provider Sezzle has filed a lawsuit against Shopify, alleging that the e-commerce giant engaged in antitrust practices by making it difficult for merchants to integrate Sezzle's BNPL offering into their websites.

Opposition is growing to the Trump administration's efforts to roll back fair lending requirements for lenders imposed by Biden-era prosecutors.

The House and Senate will need to resolve a slight difference between their versions of the bill before sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

A Trump-appointed judge refused to dismiss a settlement between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a Chicago mortgage lender over lending practices that an appeals court already said violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

A class action lawsuit against the bank's top executives and its auditor in connection with its 2023 failure was dismissed by a federal judge, who said the court did not have the authority to hear the case.

The Trump administration's plan to fire 90% of the staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has raised constitutional questions about whether courts can decide whether a president is taking "care that the Laws be faithfully executed."