Recent developments about the New York State Department of Financial Services
(Not affiliated with NYDFS; just a blog.)
Here is the NYDFS part — Part II of the article I co-authored with Tony Alexis and Kyle Tayman of Goodwin that discusses the navigation of a NYDFS investigation, especially where there is a parallel CFPB investigation.
The article may be found here: Levine_RBFS_Final — Part Two
A lengthy declination letter: What happens when a regulator conducts an investigation and finds no wrongdoing? For its fair lending inquiry of Goldman Sachs co-branded credit card, the Apple Card, NYDFS issued a report on March 23, 2021 that resembles a lengthy declination letter. The report makes clear after “exhaustive review of documentation and data” NYDFS failed to uncover “evidence of deliberate or disparate impact discrimination.” Other notes:
– The investigation commenced following a viral Tweet from a tech entrepreneur alleging his wife received less favorable terms under the Apple Card.
– Tweets and other social media are increasingly visible sources for investigations (worthy or not)
– NYDFS undertook a massive statistical analysis as part of its investigation, finding no wrongdoing
– Goldman Sachs offered strong cooperation and a consumer-oriented program to assist people with inadequate credit ratings to improve their credit, a program it called “Path to Apple Card”
– 70,000 consumers enrolled in “Path to Apple Card” and about 5,000 of them have been approved for an Apple Card
– The report contains valuable guidance on the agency’s current thinking on fair lending
The report is here: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr202103231
On March 30 2021 NYDFS issued a followup cybercrime alert: “This cybercrime campaign is a serious threat to the personal information of New Yorkers, and we urge all personal lines insurers and other financial services companies to take aggressive action to prevent the further loss of consumer information. All financial services companies should immediately check for any evidence of this cybercrime and ensure that they have implemented [] the robust access controls required by DFS’s cybersecurity regulation, 23 NYCRR 500.”
https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/industry_letters/il20210330_cyber_alert_followup
Matthew Levine joined Trish Sullivan of Deutschebank and Chris Boehing of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison to discuss the new anti-money laundering amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act for theis episode of the International Institute of Banker’s podcast “Bank Talk.” The podcast can be found here: