In a speech last week to the US Chamber of Commerce, CFPB Richard Cordray provided thoughts geared towards fintech companies stating, "One message we are sending to the industry is, you are not going to be able to take advantage through arbitrage of our regulatory system. It's not fair for you to not have to meet the same expectations that banks have to meet. If you're trying to get an advantage by not meeting the same standards, that is not acceptable and we're trying to send that message loud and clear."; Cordray also spoke on finding the right balance of fintech regulation, modernizing regulations and the Bureau's look at debt collectors and payday lenders. Source
While Gensler deepens confusion on The Hill, the EU passes the first comprehensive crypto law spanning all member states.
Patrick McHenry is one of the most proactive advocates for fintech in Congress; at LendIt USA 2017 he provided his insight from Congress on fintech and also spoke with Lend Academy in their podcast; his views are framing many of Washington D.C.'s legislative debates and his legislation, the Financial Services Innovation Act of 2016 (HR 6118), could be a significant factor helping to support future fintech innovation in the US. Source
Chinese regulators raided over 40 companies in China to investigate for illegal activities pertaining to the country's newly disseminated laws; investigators found property agents listing homes that owners had not agreed to sell and providing false information about properties; with a focus on real estate property investing, the investigators also found P2P lenders offering down payment loans after they were recently restricted by regulators. Source
A new report by NextGen Crowdfunding documents increasing use of Reg. A+ as the regulatory umbrella for real estate crowdfunding and other financial offerings; Reg. A+ was finalized in June 2015 as a means for non-accredited investors to access private offerings; companies can raise up to $50 million per year under Reg. A+; across all sectors, 131 companies to date have filed under Reg. A+, with 38% of these filings being by real estate and financial services platforms and many others being IT startups; roughly half of the filers are using "Tier 1" rules for Reg. A+, meaning they will continue to register in individual states as well as at the federal level, and half are filing "Tier 2", seeking national fundraising scope while avoiding the added prudence of vetting against state rules. Source
A group of House Republicans has sent a letter to Comptroller Thomas Curry requesting his agency slowdown its plans for a fintech charter; the letter was signed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling and 33 other House Republicans; it primarily suggests that stakeholders are not receiving an appropriate amount of time to comment on the full details of the fintech charter and that there is potential for the fintech charter to be overturned by Congress. Source
As chancellor in 2020, Sunak requested a review of the UK's fintech sector, also known as the Kalifa Review, published in February 2021.
[Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Ryan Metcalf, Head of Public Policy & Social Impact at Funding Circle.] Fintech...
The Financial Conduct Authority has issued an update on its rules for the crowdfunding market; the update is based on feedback received since July and its authorization process; seems there will be a number of modifications; some of the key areas for new regulation in P2P lending include disclosure, wind-down plans, mortgage lending standards, cross-platform investment, investment limits, operational risk complexity, marketing promotions, provision funds, money handling standards, regulatory arbitrage, maturity mismatching, investment for institutional investors and liquidity risk for IFISA investors. Source
It seems that regulators in Pennsylvania have had some misgivings about p2p lending. So, the PA Securities Commission issued this...