Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING—Other regulatory, legislative, litigation, and industry developments, (Jan 30, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

A weekly roundup of other items of interest to the banking and finance law community.

CONSUMER CREDIT—6th Cir.: In reviewing a case in which an online entity, LowerMyBills.com, referred a consumer to Rocket Mortgage, LLC, for potential mortgage refinancing services, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit framed the issue on appeal: “This case requires us to consider what actions qualify as valid “offers” and “acceptances” to form contracts in the online world,” and “we must consider that question under California contract law.” As observed by the court, LowerMyBills.com’s website “tells users that they will agree to its hyperlinked ‘Terms of Use’—including a mandatory arbitration provision—if they click on a particular button.” The plaintiff-consumer “visited this website three times, inputted his information, and clicked the critical buttons.” LowerMyBills referred the consumer to Rocket Mortgage, and the consume filed a lawsuit, claiming, among other things, that had not agreed to receive “unwanted” telephone calls from Rocket Mortgage. In response to the complaint, Rocket Mortgage invoked LowerMyBills’ arbitration provision. Although the federal district court determined that no enforceable agreement had been created online by the consumer’s “clicking the button,” the Sixth Circuit disagreed. In reversing the lower court, the Sixth Circuit stated, “Under the significant body of circuit precedent interpreting California law, LowerMyBills gave Dahdah sufficiently conspicuous notice that he would accept the proposed terms by clicking the button. So, his decision to take this action qualified as a valid ‘acceptance’ of LowerMyBills’ ‘offer’ to contract.” Along these lines, the lower court “should have granted Rocket’s motion to compel arbitration,” the Sixth Circuit ruled (Dahdah v. Rocket Mortgage, LLC, No. 24-1910 (6th Cir. Jan. 26, 2026)).

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU—The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is providing an additional 30-day comment period beginning January 30 on the renewal of its data collection authorization for the Consumer Response Intake Form. The notice comes after the CFPB solicited comments for 60-days beginning Nov. 28, 2025 (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Dec. 5, 2025), with the latest comment period offering the opportunity, through March 2, to respond to those comments, as well as original topics such as the applicability of the survey to purported goals and the accuracy of its estimated annual burden of 1,123,334 hours among six million respondents.

CRIMES AND OFFENSES—6th Cir.: In an unpublished opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling striking defendants’ claim that they were entitled to over $100,000 in cryptocurrency seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The seizure stemmed from a fraud investigation that led agents to three cryptocurrency wallets that belonged to or were associated with the defendants. Finding the claim untimely and unverified, the district court had struck the claim, denied defendants’ motion to extend the time to file the claim, and granted the government summary judgment (U.S. v. 0.40401694 Bitcoin, No. 25-5611 (6th Cir. Jan. 28, 2026)).

ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS—The Federal Trade Commission has permanently banned the operators of Growth Cave from marketing business opportunities and credit repair programs under a settlement resolving allegations that their scheme defrauded consumers of nearly $50 million, according to a January 27 announcement. The orders, filed January 23, bar co-CEOs Lucas Lee-Tyson and Osmany Batte from making deceptive earnings claims or assisting other is marketing such claims. A roughly $48 million judgment against defendants was partially suspended for inability to pay, but requires liquidation of high value assets—including Lee-Tyson’s multi-million dollar home, and a Rolls Royce and Ferrari owned by Batte—to fund consumer redress. The new orders, filed in the U.S. Central District of California, also prohibit misleading claims involving testimonials and artificial intelligence. The settlement comes following an FTC lawsuit against the company in 2025, alleging Growth Cave lured buyers with false promises of substantial income while providing little support. A prior settlement with operations manager Jordan Marksberry imposed similar bans. The latest orders, which settle all FTC claims in the case, also include a $43,000 judgment against Friendly Solar for their role in profiting from Growth Cave’s conduct.

EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY—U.S.: The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by pro se petitioner M. Miller, who asked the High Court to review Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) issues. In the underlying case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled against Miller and in favor of Legacy Bank. Miller, a Black male, alleged that Legacy Bank had engaged in discriminatory lending practices when he approached the bank about a potential loan. Ultimately, in an unpublished decision, the Tenth Circuit held that Miller could not bring his ECOA claim because he “did not formally submit a loan application” and “did not qualify as an ‘applicant’ under the statute.” In his U.S. Supreme Court petition, Miller had contended that the Tenth Circuit’s interpretation of ECOA created a circuit split with the Seventh Circuit (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Dec. 5, 2025). In response, Legacy Bank argued, among other things, that: (i) “no circuit conflict” was truly present, seeking to distinguish the Seventh Circuit’s decision from the Tenth Circuit’s decision; (ii) Congress clearly intended that only actual applicants, and not prospective applicants, are entitled to maintain a private right of action under ECOA; and (iii) an individual must provide a creditor with a completed application to maintain a private right of action under ECOA (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Jan. 9, 2026). (Miller v. Legacy Bank, No. 25-6137 (U.S. Jan. 26, 2026)).

FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY—Laser Digital announced that it has filed a de novo application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form Laser Digital National Trust Bank, a proposed federally regulated institution that would provide digital asset custody, integrated spot trading, and staking services for institutional clients, as well as custody of U.S. government securities. Affirm Holdings, Inc. reported that it has submitted applications to the Nevada Financial Institutions Division and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish Affirm Bank, a proposed Nevadachartered industrial loan company aimed at supporting the company’s continued growth through an FDIC-insured institution. Nu Holdings announced that it has received conditional approval from the OCC to form a de novo national bank, Nubank, N.A., which would ultimately allow it to offer deposit accounts, credit cards, lending products, and digital asset custody under a federal regulatory framework. The conditional approval moves Nu into the bank-organization phase, requiring it to meet OCC conditions and secure further approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Board before opening the institution.

GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISES—On January 23, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued an unmodified audit opinion on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s fiscal 2025 financial statements. While the GAO report concluded that the agency’s books were presented fairly and complied with applicable laws—including effective internal control over financial reporting—auditors identified a significant deficiency in the agency’s review of its own statements. At the same time, the GAO report noted that a prior weakness involving accounts payable accruals was resolved. Meanwhile, the FHFA highlighted the GAO’s “clean opinion” with the release of its own 2025 Performance and Accountability Report. According to a release by the FHFA, the GAO’s findings reflect the agency’s commitment to transparency and sound oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Attorneys: James S. Wertheim (The HQ Firm) for Michael Dahdah. William M. Jay (Goodwin Procter LLP) for Rocket Mortgage, LLC. Daniel Nugent, Office of the U.S. Attorney, for the U.S. Akeem Olatunji Odutayo (Odutayo and Associates) for 0.40401694 Bitcoin [BTC] Seized From Binance User Id 36895141, 59,911.36 Tether [USDT], Seized From Binance User Id 20891886, 9,128.847 Tether [USDT], Seized From Binance User Id 18211927, 1,346.37 Decentraland [MANA], Seized From Binance User Id 18211927, 1,039.6163 Curvedao [CRY], Seized From Binance User Id 18211927, 14,690.894 Zillqa [ZIL], Seized From Binance User Id 18211927, 5.5550225 Avalanche [AVAX], Seized From Binance User Id 18211927, 14,534,916 Shiba Inu [SHIB], Seized From Binance User Id 18211927, Martins Iyere, Moses Sokale and Olawumi Stephen Adewale.

Companies: Affirm Bank; Affirm Holdings, Inc.; Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac; Growth Cave; Laser Digital; Laser Digital National Trust Bank; Legacy Bank; Nu Holdings; Nubank, N.A.; Rocket Mortgage, LLC

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