Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING—Other regulatory, legislative, litigation, and industry developments, (Aug 12, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

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

CRIMES AND OFFENSES—A coalition of state attorneys general led by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr have written to Congressional leaders expressing support for the Safe Access to Cash Act (S. 3798/H.R. 1631). The state officials urged passage of the legislation saying that it would “ensur[e] that crimes involving ATMs are subject to appropriate federal penalties, regardless of whether the ATM is located on the physical premises of a financial institution.” They added that the legislation “would provide law enforcement and prosecutors with clearer tools to pursue organized criminal networks that target ATMs and move across jurisdictional boundaries … [and] complement state and local law enforcement.”

EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will no longer pursue claims based on disparate-impact or “unfair discrimination” theories and will not bring antidiscrimination claims under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The policy statement says it does not bind the FTC or the public and that, in any enforcement action, the Commission must prove an existing statutory or regulatory violation. The FTC said it will continue discrimination enforcement in appropriate contexts, including disparate-treatment claims under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), but characterized its prior Section 5 and ECOA disparate-impact enforcement as ultra vires because Section 5 contains no antidiscrimination cause of action and ECOA does not authorize disparate-impact claims. It cited a June 12, 2026, Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion, an April 22, 2026, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Regulation B final rule, major-questions concerns, Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. CFPB, and the absence of appellate authority recognizing ECOA disparate-impact claims. The Commission reviewed past decisions based on statistical analyses and entered agreements modifying compliance-related obligations for Napleton Inc., Passport Auto Group, and an individual previously associated with Coulter Motor Company LLC. The vote was 2-0.

OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATION. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, asked Compass, Inc., and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) for information by August 21, 2026, on their private listing network (PLN) partnership through MRED’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Her letter to Compass CEO Robert Reffkin and MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen asked the companies to explain steps taken or planned to mitigate potential antitrust, consumer-protection, and fair-housing harms from the April 2026 partnership, which Warren said expanded PLNs through one of the country’s largest MLSs and the largest brokerage firm. The legislator warned the partnership it could create a “two-tiered housing market” and reduce transparency, citing concerns that pocket listings hide inventory, inflate commissions, disadvantage buyers and sellers, and may worsen fair housing disparities—particularly in majority-White neighborhoods. Warren said the network restricts broader agent access to agents and brokerages that buy into the PLN, hides listings from the broader market, and can obscure data used in mortgage appraisals, including days on market and price history.

Companies: Compass, Inc.; Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC

IndustryNews: BankingOperations CFPB ChecksElectronicTransfers ConsumerCredit CrimesOffenses EqualCreditOpportunity Loans Mortgages OversightInvestigations