Law and regulation

Having a single set of generally accepted c​ybersecurity incident rules would reduce costs to banks, but software industry leaders say this would serve their interests, too.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., the House Small Business Committee's ranking Democrat, said she'd like to see the Small Business Administration delay opening its flagship loan guarantee program to more nondepository lenders until it sorted out growing concerns about Paycheck Protection Program fraud.

The agency's blueprint calls for giving lenders added underwriting flexibility, as well as upping the number of for-profit nondepository small-business lending companies, which has been capped at 14 since the early 1980s

The small businesses said in a lawsuit that the bank used "misleading marketing and business practices" to rake in processing fees from oversized Paycheck Protection Program loans. A bank spokesperson placed responsibility on PPP borrowers for the representations they made in loan applications.

Some lenders to companies owned by women, minorities and veterans say they'd prefer that the Small Business Administration strengthen its Community Advantage program rather than bring them into the agency's flagship loan-guarantee program.

In an appeals court filing, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wrote that a federal judge "ignored regulatory text, history and context" when she ruled against a PNC customer. The consumer argues that the bank shouldn't have pulled funds from his checking account after he was tardy in making payments on his home equity line of credit.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating whether the cryptocurrency lender Nexo Financial is abiding by consumer protection laws, according to documents released this week. The CFPB rejected the company's argument that the agency has no authority to conduct the probe.

A recent mini-tender offer to shareholders in Truist Financial serves as a cautionary tale. "They're trolling around for investors that aren't paying attention," one lawyer said.

In a joint letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, three industry groups challenged the legal basis for a recent information request and accused the agency of unfairly disparaging the quality of customer service that banks provide.

The National Credit Union Administration voted to raise the asset threshold for credit unions falling under its Office of National Examinations and Supervision to $15 billion, making sure that office remains focused on only the biggest institutions.