MVA White Collar Defense, Investigations, and Regulatory Advice Blog

“The ability of national banks to conduct a multistate business subject to a single uniform set of federal laws, under the supervision of a single regulator, free from visitorial powers of various state authorities, is a major advantage of the national charter.” John D. Hawke Jr., former Comptroller of the Currency (Feb. 12, 2002).[1] “When national banks are unable to operate under uniform, consistent and predictable standards, their business suffers and so does the safety and soundness of the national banking system.” Id. (January 7, 2004).[2]

Neil Bloomfield, Kate Wellman, and Emily Clayton of Moore & Van Allen’s (MVA) Financial Regulatory Advice & Response team co-authored the Law360 article, “NC Banking Brief: Regulatory and Market Update.”

On October 6, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released three bulletins and two proposed rules directed at lessening the regulatory and supervisory burden on community banks (those with up to $30 billion in assets). The OCC’s actions deliver on commitments made by the banking regulators in 2025 to tailor regulation and supervision to account for the risks applicable to, and activities undertaken by, community banks. They follow similar actions taken by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in July to propose updates to regulatory thresholds to reflect historical inflation, as well as multiple bills introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate to tailor regulatory actions, adjust the community bank leverage ratio, facilitate funding sources relied on by community banks, and promote participation by community banks in bank mergers and acquisitions of failed banks. 

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Litigation Members Jenny Sugar and Tanisha Palvia co-authored the Bloomberg Law article titled “False Claims Act Expands Scope to Immigration in Federal Work.”

Following up and consistent with public statements earlier this summer, FinCEN has formally proposed a two year delay of the effective date of its 2024 final rule that subjects certain investment advisers to the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (the “IA Final Rule”).  Originally scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2026, the FinCEN proposal would extend the effective date to January 1, 2028.  FinCEN noted the delayed effectiveness was necessary to allow it additional time to review the rule to consider whether it had been effectively tailored to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens. 

Kate Wellman and John Stoker of Moore & Van Allen’s Financial Regulatory Advice & Response team wrote a follow-up to their recent Law360 article titled, “Federal Reserve Board Hosts Capital Conference to Further Capital Reform Efforts.”

As anticipated, on August 7^th, the White House published its Executive Order designed to address the “unlawful debanking” of certain individuals and industries. The Executive Order titled Guaranteeing Fair Banking For All Americans was issued to ensure banking decisions are made on the basis of “individualized, objective, and risk-based analyses” and not as a “tool to inhibit...beliefs, affiliations, or political views.” 

John Stoker and Kate Wellman of Moore & Van Allen’s Financial Regulatory Advice & Response team co-authored the Law360 article, “Why Bank Regulators’ Proposed Leverage Tweak Matters.”

July’s “Crypto Week” yielded a landmark piece of legislation – the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (“GENIUS”) Act (referred to herein as the “GENIUS Act” or the “Act”). The Act establishes a comprehensive federal framework for the regulation of payment stablecoins and their issuers.

Moore & Van Allen (MVA) Litigation Member Tanisha Palvia and Litigation Associate Darby Festa co-authored the article, “Diversity, Equity, Indictment? Contractor Risks After Kousisis,” published by Law360.