Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ruled in favor of the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) 2022 rule, which allows retirement fund managers to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions. The judge rejected the states’ argument that the Administrative Procedure Act precluded the DOL’s proposed rule.

n a speech on September 11, CPFB Director Rohit Chopra addressed the CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association of America case, which deals with the constitutionality of the agency’s funding structure. In his remarks, Chopra argued that an adverse ruling could be destabilizing and call into question a decade of CFPB rulemakings, most specifically around housing finance regulations.

On August 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision in Kirschner v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., ruling that bank loans are not classified as securities. The court’s latest decision supports previous regulatory practice that syndicated loans are not subject to state and federal securities laws.

A federal judge in New York has dismissed a case brought forward by a pension fund, which accused Ocwen Financial Group and Wells Fargo of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The judge ruled in favor of Ocwen and Wells Fargo, stating that the mortgage-backed securities in question did not qualify as plan assets under ERISA.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has scheduled oral arguments in the case of the CFPB v. NCSLT for May 17, 2023, after being previously scheduled for March. The court’s ruling will play a critical role in determining whether securitization Trusts will be classified as “covered persons” under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and whether they will be subject to CFPB enforcement.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit is expected to hear arguments for an appeal in early 2023 in the Kirschner, v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. court case. The 2020 case held that syndicated term loans are not securities, and therefore are not subject to securities laws.

On November 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed their brief in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the ongoing case against the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts (NCSLT). In the brief, the CFPB defends their position that the Trusts are “covered persons” under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and thereby under the enforcement authority of the CFPB.

On October 19, A federal appeals court ruled that the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the design of the CFPB violated the Constitution because it receives funding through the Federal Reserve, rather than appropriations legislation passed by Congress.

On May 3, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted an appeal in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) v. The National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trusts filed by the Trust and two intervenors – Ambac, an insurer on certain Trust securities, and Transworld Systems, Inc., a servicer to the Trust who successfully intervened in the case – to review two legal findings regarding whether the Trusts are “covered persons” for the purposes of this action, and whether the CFPB failed to ratify the enforcement action before reaching the three-year statute of limitations

A new report from Moody’s Investor Service discusses the drastic effects of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trust lawsuit on the securitization industry.