Legal issues and news

A federal judge refused to sign a settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and Houston developer Colony Ridge because it failed to provide any consumer relief. DOJ agreed to an out-of-court settlement instead.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has dismissed scores of enforcement attorneys early in President Donald Trump's second term, is staffing up its litigation arm in anticipation of defending its rules in court.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles, who served during President Trump's first term, said members of the Fed board should be removable by the president, but that the decentralized structure of the Fed will ensure that monetary policy decisions remain sound.

The industry reported $275 million in losses from internet crimes last year, a 59% annual increase as losses nationwide surpassed $20 billion.

A trade group representing debt collection agencies alleges that the Golden State is charging unlawfully high licensing fees in an effort to fund an inflated budget. California regulators declined to comment on the suit.

The payments processing firm recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with a nearly $3 million disputed charge owed to a subsidiary of Global Payments.

The Treasury Department Wednesday proposed a set of rules that would require stablecoin issuers to abide by risk-based anti-money-laundering programs similar to those that banks must employ, as well as secondary market monitoring and independent testing by issuers. 

Swiss banking giant UBS tried to get a federal court to reject new allegations that Credit Suisse, which UBS acquired in 2023, had concealed Nazi-linked assets.

Financial institution members of The Knoble will be using AI to monitor transactions around the soccer games for signs of trafficking and share suspicious activity information with each other.  

A federal appeals court has agreed to rehear a challenge to a Colorado law intended to combat "rent-a-bank," arrangements that would impose Colorado's interest rate caps on certain out-of-state banks.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed a $4.5 million fine against Voxbeam Telecommunications, which it accused of facilitating fraud scams. Many of the calls spoofed phone numbers belonging to American banks.

The largest crypto theft of 2026 hit Drift Protocol after attackers exploited a small security council, putting a spotlight on DeFi vulnerabilities.

As the CFPB reconsiders its open banking rule, banks and fintechs are locked in a bitter battle over who will pay for the new digital infrastructure.

The Department of Justice is seeking court approval to immediately fire more than 600 employees, slashing the CFPB's workforce by 53%.

Alessandro DiNello, who served as Flagstar's executive chairman in 2024, said he's leaving in order to enjoy his retirement. Meanwhile, a lawsuit accusing him of various wrongdoings is still pending.

The federal court rejected Flagstar's attempts for both a panel rehearing and an en banc hearing to overturn California's interest on mortgage escrow rule.

The nation's second-largest bank agreed to the massive settlement to avoid a looming trial in May over accusations that it enabled suspicious, multimillion-dollar transactions — including a staggering $170 million payment from the former Apollo CEO Leon Black — to Epstein.

Carter Bankshares in Martinsville, Va., sold more than $200 million of loans made to companies controlled by Sen. Jim Justice and his family, closing out a once close relationship that later descended into rancor and litigation.

A TD Bank expert warned RSAC attendees that criminals use cheap printers, stolen data and AI to bypass identity verification in under five minutes.

New app-based programs resemble payday loans, often trapping users in a pattern of fee-based transactions while demanding "tips" that cost some consumers hundreds of dollars per year.