State regulators

California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation is requiring registration by mid-February of debt settlement firms, earned wage access providers, private secondary education financing and student debt relief services.

The memorandum creates channels for sharing information about nonbanks between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Nearly a dozen states are looking to regulate digital payroll advance products, prompting a fintech trade group to ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to conduct a formal rulemaking.

Brandon Milhorn, the new CEO of the Conference of State Banking Supervisors, used the platform offered by his first major speech to sound an alarm against one-size-fits-all solutions emanating from Washington. "The pendulum has swung too far in the direction of federal regulatory uniformity," Milhorn argued.

New York is seeking to procure a supercomputer to run artificial intelligence systems and gain a deeper understanding of the technology for more effective regulation. 

Adrienne Harris, who did stints at the Treasury Department and National Economic Council during the Obama administration, would succeed Linda Lacewell as superintendent of the state's Department of Financial Services.

The measure bans banks that discriminate against gunmakers from entering into government contracts. Citigroup, which supporters of the law were targeting, has lost market share while Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have gained ground.

Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell said she will step down Aug. 24, the same day Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to leave following a sexual harassment investigation. The state’s attorney general found that Lacewell helped with the governor’s public relations response to the allegations.

States have the option of adopting the oversight framework issued by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, which resembles capital and liquidity plan proposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Manny Alvarez, the head of California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, told staff that he plans to leave on June 18. Chief Deputy Commissioner Chris Shultz will be appointed to lead the agency on an interim basis.