Legal issues and news

JPMorgan Chase will have to face claims that it made 160 unwanted calls to a cardholder in violation of federal law, a federal judge in Pennsylvania said.

Wells Fargo won an early round in a lawsuit accusing the bank of running a predatory mortgage lending scheme in the Atlanta area before the 2008 financial crisis and continuing to discriminate against minorities for more than a decade afterward.

Banks must comply quickly with fast-moving sanctions against the Kremlin and have to spot questionable Russian companies and wealthy individuals. At the same time, some need to deal with settlement risk of trades that involve rubles. Sophisticated data sharing and analysis are making it easier to do the job.

The White House's $5.8 trillion spending proposal to Congress includes more dollars for anti-money-laundering enforcement, Small Business Administration loan guarantee programs and affordable housing financed by community development financial institutions.

A bet on gambling payments, a step for open banking and more in banking news this week.

The suspects, ages 16 to 21, were apprehended in connection with an investigation into a hacking group called Lapsus$, which has said it’s responsible for a rash of recent cyberattacks against companies including Microsoft and Nvidia.

The identity management company, which has many bank clients, said it learned the extent of a January breach five days before hackers told the world about it.

A $1.9 billion lawsuit against Bank of Montreal — which is accused of lying to a judge after a predecessor bank destroyed documents — may go to trial late this year. The legal imbroglio is coming to a head as regulators examine the Canadian banking giant’s proposed acquisition of Bank of the West.

The cybercriminal group N4ughtySecTU claimed to have stolen 54 million personal records from the credit bureau and demanded $15 million.

When the U.S. announced sanctions against Russia two weeks ago, many feared U.S. banks would bear the brunt of a payback cyberattack. Experts disagree on why that hasn't happened and whether the danger has passed.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency slammed the San Antonio bank for anti-money-laundering violations. The penalty is the latest in a series of regulatory problems for USAA.

Four of five bills aimed at countering Russian aggression in Europe won significant bipartisan support from the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday. But the panel adopted a bill intended to expand the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's ability to hunt down Russian assets over fierce Republican opposition.

Lake Shore Savings Bank said in a regulatory filing that during the incident, employees temporarily lost access to internal systems and data. It is one of several financial institutions that have disclosed cybersecurity attacks in 2022.

Prosecutors say Rafael Martinez and his company, MBE Capital, used false information to reap more than $71 million in fees from loans made under the Paycheck Protection Program.

The company has filed a lawsuit against the banking commissioner for threatening to end its partnership with a bank that enables consumer loans to exceed the state’s 36% interest rate cap. OppFi’s argument: Its bank partner is the true lender.

Chicago Title Insurance Co. and Chicago Title Co. LLC agreed to the payment to resolve a lawsuit brought by the bank, which said the firms had helped orchestrate a borrowing scam involving liquor licenses, according to a regulatory filing.

U.S. credit unions that serve Ukrainian immigrants are coordinating efforts to provide aid in Ukraine while bracing for cyberattacks at home.

A judge’s decision puts new pressure on the brokerage industry watchdog and the SEC.

The impact of U.S. sanctions against Russia on U.S. banks has so far been limited. But further escalation could lead to anti-money-laundering compliance challenges and invite cyberattacks, among other consequences.

With tensions high between Russia and the West, Synechron is looking to develop a real-time kill switch that can shut down a malware threat. The company’s PayTech Accelerator is also focusing on the opportunity for banks in buy now/pay later lending.