United States: Finance and Banking

The FDIC and OCC have proposed yet another overhaul of Community Reinvestment Act regulations, marking the latest attempt to modernize rules that have remained largely unchanged since 1995.

Federal banking regulators propose sweeping changes to mutual holding company rules, insider lending thresholds, and Community Reinvestment Act regulations. Will these modernization efforts reduce compliance burdens while maintaining appropriate safeguards for financial institutions and consumers?

The Federal Reserve Board has proposed the first comprehensive update to mutual holding company regulations since 2011, aiming to improve capital access for mutual banking organizations. The proposal would clarify that mutual capital certificates and special deposits can qualify as regulatory capital, streamline dividend waiver procedures, and eliminate outdated procedural requirements inherited from the former Office of Thrift Supervision.

Debt-for-equity (D4E) exchanges can be part of a structure in a tax-free spin-off transaction. If structured successfully within the confines of commercial, tax, legal and regulatory parameters, D4E exchanges enable a parent company (ParentCo) to complete the spin-off of an entity (SpinCo) on a tax-free basis and de-lever.

The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance has issued a new exemptive order that significantly reduces the minimum offering period for certain tender and exchange offers involving non-convertible debt securities from 20 business days to just five business days. This order supersedes previous guidance and establishes new conditions under which issuers and their wholly-owned subsidiaries can conduct abbreviated debt tender offers.

An Oregon regulator entered a consent order with a Wisconsin debt collector after discovering the company operated without proper state registration while collecting from over 1,500 Oregon consumers. The case began with a single consumer complaint and resulted in allegations of 1,812 violations, demonstrating how state regulators pursue licensing enforcement and the importance of maintaining proper registrations across all operating jurisdictions.

On August 11, 2026, a coalition of ten state attorneys general filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon challenging two OCC rules that preempt certain state laws...

The Massachusetts Appeals Court examined whether demanding default interest at an unlawful rate constitutes an unfair business practice under Chapter 93A, even when the lender believed the rate was permissible based on acquired loan documents. The decision turned on factual findings regarding the lender's knowledge and intent when purchasing and enforcing a mortgage containing a usurious interest provision.

A recent bankruptcy court decision highlights critical lessons for secured creditors about the difference between having access to cash collateral and actually holding it as security. The case demonstrates how inadequate documentation and commingling of funds can result in the complete loss of a substantial secured claim, even when the creditor believed it had proper protections in place.

The SEC has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a comprehensive framework introducing two new offering exemptions and a conditional safe harbor for crypto investment contracts. This regulatory initiative aims to address the challenges of applying traditional securities laws to digital assets while providing clarity on when crypto assets cease to be investment contracts.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has proposed new regulations that would impose Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance requirements on permitted payment stablecoin issuers under its jurisdiction. This rulemaking, coordinated with FinCEN and OFAC, establishes anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and sanctions program standards for stablecoin issuers as part of the broader implementation of the GENIUS Act framework.

For the better part of a decade, every estate planning conversation my colleagues had with a high-net-worth family started with the same clock: the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act exemption was set to sunset at the end of 2025, and attorneys, advisors and trustees were racing to get gift programs, spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs) and irrevocable trusts funded before it reverted to pre-2017 levels.