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Is High Noon Coming for Fintech Regulation? State Regulators Prepare to Do Battle Over the OCC's Special Charter Proposal
In the wild west of fintech, state banking regulators have been called to act as the keepers of the peace and the primary enforcers of the law. That is, until the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) offered to become the new sheriff in town....
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How Does Washington's New Power of Attorney Statute Impact Banks?
Washington has adopted the Washington Uniform Power of Attorney Act (“The Act”) which becomes effective on January 1, 2017 (ESSB 5635). The Act completely replaces Washington’s current law and has some key differences that need to be considered when...
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OCC Invites Fintech Companies to Become Special Purpose National Banks
Last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) officially opened its doors to financial technology companies and encouraged them to apply to become "special purpose" national banks. The premise is simple—become a national bank, abide...
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Non-Payee Indorsement Triggers One-Year Limitations Period, Washington Supreme Court Holds
Banks have long been a favorite target for lawsuits when their customers don’t take basic steps to oversee their employees who later bilk the customer for millions of dollars over the course of untold years. Customers often try to hold the bank liabl...
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Cyber-Insurance Tips for an Evolving Risk Landscape
Seth is editor of The Northwest Policyholder, the firm's insurance coverage blog, where portions of this article previously appeared.
Surveys of C-suite executives continually rank cyber-related risks near the top of risk-management concerns. "Phis...
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Straight Talk About Community Banks
Context
As many of you know, I spent six years as a bank regulator in the Securities Disclosure Division of the OCC. Since moving out to the Northwest, I have had the privilege of being involved with several hundred community banks ranging from de no...
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