2024 Recap

Happy New Year!?While there will likely be considerable changes in 2025, we wanted to recap some of the issues we covered last year and will continue to cover going forward.

?Did you know that Messick Lauer & Smith has a podcast? Be sure to subscribe to “In the CU” to avoid missing an episode.?One of our most popular episodes last year was a roundtable discussion of the impact of the 2024 election on the credit union and CUSO industry.?Another timely podcast covered data security and confidentiality protections that should be considered during due diligence and contract negotiation.?

The new year is also a great time for your credit union to consider the benefits of starting a credit union service organization (CUSO).?If this is on the horizon for your institution, we recommend watching our CUSO 101 webinar, which you can find on our website. In this webinar, we discuss business considerations prior to creating a CUSO, regulatory requirements governing the creation, and documents you’ll need to create a CUSO.??

We continue to provide additional information and opinions on LinkedIn, where we cover proposed and final rules by the regulators.?2024 saw quite a few proposed rules from the CFPB and some movement from the NCUA regarding overdraft and NSF fees.?You can find the articles on those new rules on our LinkedIn page as well as other timely updates.?We encourage you to continue to visit our page as we will likely see changes to some of these rules with the changing of the administration.?One reason for this is the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Following elections, where there is a change in administration and the resulting Congress is controlled by the same party in the White House, the CRA provides the new president an expedited procedure to review, and potentially block, rules and regulations completed by the previous administration, so long as the rules were finalized within a certain “lookback” window, which began August 2, 2024. This would include the CFPB’s final rules on open banking, limiting overdraft fees to $5, reporting medical information to credit reporting agencies, and a final rule requiring oversight of large non-bank payment companies.?In addition, much of the guidance from the CFPB in the form of circulars, supervisory highlights and other guidance documents may no longer be valid. Be sure to follow our LinkedIn page for updates.

One piece of legislation we covered extensively in 2024 was the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).?Over the holiday season, courts were busy grappling with challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Back on December 3, 2024, the Fifth Circuit district court granted a preliminary injunction halting the enforcement of the CTA. This injunction was lifted when the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the Department of Justice’s emergency motion to lift the stay. This panel held that the government was likely to succeed on the merits of defending the CTA. Then, on December 26, 2024, a separate Fifth Circuit panel reinstated the nationwide injunction. So, after some twists and turns, the government is still enjoined from enforcing the CTA. During this injunction, Reporting Companies may still submit the appropriate information to FinCEN. Non-Exempt Reporting Companies should use this time to gather all the appropriate information in the event the injunction is lifted, the CTA is found constitutional, and the reporting requirements are in effect.

Finally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) reintroduced the Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act, a bill that will repeal CTA. Congressman Warren Davidson (R., Ohio) also reintroduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.?

We also want to hear from you!?If you have any questions or topics you would like to hear discussed on an upcoming podcast or webinar, please email our office at [email protected].?

Messick Lauer & Smith, P.C.

1055 E. Baltimore Pike, Suite 202

Media, PA 19063

?(610) 891-9000