STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Indiana General Assembly meets for Organization Day
The Indiana General Assembly convened Tuesday for Organization Day, a traditional and largely ceremonial one-day session. This is the first time lawmakers have officially met since the election. Lawmakers were sworn in, House and Senate leadership provided a broad outlook for the coming session and several changes to the rules structure were announced. The 2025 Indiana legislative session is scheduled to convene Jan. 8.
New Chair of House Financial Services announced
Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, was announced as the new chair of the House Financial Institutions Committee for the 2025 legislative session. Current chair Rep. Mike Speedy, R-Indianapolis, left his Indiana House seat earlier this year to run in the primary for Indiana's 6th Congressional District. Rep. Teshka previously served as vice chair of the committee and was first elected to the Indiana General Assembly in 2020.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
CFPB finalizes rule to regulate nonbank payments providers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule that will allow it to regulate large nonbank firms that provide digital payments services, but excluded services for digital assets.
Bank regulators: No plans to move forward with major rulemakings until next year
Representatives from the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said there are no plans to finalize major rulemakings until next year, when President-elect Trump will likely appoint new leaders to the FDIC and OCC.
NCUA’s Harper asks for ‘flexibility’ if Community Reinvestment Act applied to credit unions
The nation’s top official in charge of supervising credit unions asked for “flexibility” should Congress decide to apply the Community Reinvestment Act to the institutions, saying not all credit unions are the same.
CFPB’s Chopra suggests expanding deposit insurance limits
Congress should remove or “dramatically” increase limits on federal deposit insurance for payroll and other non-interest bearing operating accounts, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said.
Visa, Mastercard: Proposed credit card routing bill would jeopardize security, consumer choice
A proposed bill to impose network routing requirements on banks that issue credit cards would put payments security at risk with no evidence that retailers would pass their cost savings to consumers, representatives from Visa and Mastercard told lawmakers.
Federal court invalidates DOL overtime rule
A federal district court in Texas last Friday invalidated the Department of Labor’s overtime rule, which would have significantly increased the salary level below which an employee is automatically subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and minimum wage requirements.
FHFA outlines 2025 priorities for FHLBanks, housing
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it will continue to prioritize the Federal Home Loan Banks, property insurance and energy efficiency in the housing industry, although whether those issues will remain priorities under the Trump administration is unclear.
CFPB finalizes rule on oversight of digital payment apps
A federal district court in Texas last Friday invalidated the Department of Labor’s overtime rule, which would have significantly increased the salary level below which an employee is automatically subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and minimum wage requirements. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to supervise the largest nonbank companies offering digital funds transfer and payment wallet apps. The CFPB said the rule will help ensure that these companies – specifically those handling more than 50 million transactions per year – follow federal law just like large banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. The final rule will enable the CFPB to supervise companies in areas such as privacy and surveillance, errors and fraud, and debanking, which is when consumers lose access to their app without notice or when their ability to make or receive payments is disrupted. The rule will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
CFPB updates TILA, FCRA thresholds for 2025
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued two annual threshold adjustment final rules under the Truth in Lending Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act, effective Jan. 1, 2025. The CFPB issued a final rule amending the official interpretations for Regulation Z, which implements TILA. Under the final rule:
- The threshold that triggers requirements to disclose minimum interest charges will remain unchanged at $1.
- For Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act loans, the adjusted total loan amount threshold for high-cost mortgages in 2024 will be $26,968.
- The adjusted points-and-fees dollar trigger for high-cost mortgages in 2024 will be $1,348.
- For qualified mortgages, the thresholds for the spread between the annual percentage rate and the average prime offer rate will range from 2.25 to 6.5 percentage points.
The CFPB separately issued the annual adjustment to the maximum amount consumer reporting agencies may charge consumers for making a file disclosure to a consumer under FCRA. The ceiling on allowable charges under Section 612(f) of the FCRA will remain unchanged at $15.50 for 2025.