Law Commons^™

The Role Of Rival Litigation In Wilmarth's New Glass-Steagall, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

The role of private enforcement of public law is an uneven one among financial regulators. Private litigation has played an important role in the enforcement of the federal securities laws since the Supreme Court recognized an implied private cause of action for violations of the anti-fraud provisions. In contrast, courts have been unwilling to establish an implied private right of action under the federal banking laws. Private litigation, however, played a significant role in the enforcement of the Glass-Steagall Act, the New-Deal-era restrictions that separated the financial industry into its three traditional roles: commercial banking, investment banking, and insurance underwriting. …

Big Bank Boards: The Case For Heightened Administrative Enforcement, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

This article first considers the possible liability of the JP Morgan board in the London Whale matter. This discussion is not meant to assign liability in that case. Rather, the London Whale episode is considered as a springboard to a broader discussion of big bank officer and director liability. While it may be tempting to shrug off the regulatory implications of the London Whale episode because the losses did not threaten the solvency of JP Morgan, the significance of such management failures should not be ignored. Effective management of large banks is essential to financial stability. The type of poor …

Top-Down Bank Capital Regulation, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

In proposing a top-down system of capital regulation, this Article shares a precautionary attitude toward bank regulation found increasingly in post-Financial Crisis scholarship. The viewpoint is one that favors ex ante financial regulation in which regulators are charged with avoiding public harm. More broadly, this Article rejects the notion that regulation is the enemy of markets and therefore must be minimized. Regulation is viewed neutrally—neither inherently good nor inherently bad—as a co-existing partner in highly complex and ever evolving financial markets.

To develop the case for a top-down system of capital regulation, this Article continues as follows, Part II describes …

Big Banks And Business Method Patents, Megan M. La Belle, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

The banking industry and the patent system are longstanding American institutions whose histories date back to the founding of this country. Historically, however, the paths of these two institutions rarely crossed. Although financial firms have been increasing their innovative output for decades now, until recently they relied on trade secrecy, first mover advantages, and other business mechanisms to protect and monetize their intellectual property — not patents.

Through a convergence of circumstances over the past several years, that pattern has changed. The shift began when the Federal Circuit decided that business methods — banks’ primary mode of innovation — are …

Private Enforcement Of Systemic Risk Regulation, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

The failure of the regulatory system is at least one of the contributing causes to the 2008 Financial Crisis. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) will have a far-reaching impact on the financial services industry particularly in its attempt to regulate systemic risk. The Dodd-Frank Act, however, does not sufficiently address the problem of agency discretion generally, or the problem of an agency’s discretion to forebear, in particular. Under Dodd-Frank, the agencies retain considerable discretion and the effectiveness of the new regime depends on the optimal exercise of such discretion. This Article maintains that an …

Consuming Debt: Structuring The Federal Response To Abuses In Consumer Credit, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

Predatory lending is an avaricious fraud that demands attention. Several states have enacted new laws to combat predatory lending. Moreover, the battle against predatory lending and other abusive practices has focused attention on the overall structure of consumer credit laws. The current structure is dual; both state and federal governments play significant roles in combating credit fraud. The dual structure has been the source of controversy as federal regulators have claimed the power to preempt state law. This article furthers the structural debate and the effort to combat predatory lending by examining the architecture of consumer credit laws within the …

Tila ‘Finance’ And ‘Other’ Charges In Open-End Credit: The Cost-Of Credit Principle Applied To Charges For Optional Products Or Services, Ralph J. Rohner, Thomas Durkin

Scholarly Articles

The thesis of this article is that a more workable approach to characterizing fees for optional products and services is possible by focusing on charges that represent payment for discrete products or services of value to the consumer, freely chosen by consumers as contract options which do not affect the amount of credit available to the consumer, the consumer's access to it, or the allocation of payment responsibility and credit risk in the transaction or plan. In other words, these fees are for separate-or separable-purchases, analogous to subsequent events in closed-end credit that require no new disclosure or adjustment in …

Bank Insolvency Regimes In The United States And The United Kingdom, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

Bank insolvency regimes vary widely. First, many countries maintain separate bank insolvency rules from those that govern insolvency of other firms or individuals. Other countries have no special regime and rely on their general insolvency law for bank closure. Second, some countries rely on an administrative process for bank closure in which the bank supervisor, bank insurer, or other agency has the power to appoint the conservator or receiver, and, in some instances, may appoint itself to the job. Other countries rely on a judicial process in which the bank supervisor (or bank managers or creditors) must apply to the …

The Uniform Consumer Leases Act Arrives In Connecticut, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Central Banks’ Role In Bank Supervision In The United States And United Kingdom, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

Driven in part by the question of bank supervision in euro-area countries, a growing body of literature addresses whether central banking and bank supervision should be combined. This paper address this debate in light of recent legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States. Recent legislation in the United Kingdom stripped the Bank of England of its responsibility for bank supervision and established the Financial Services Authority as an integrated supervisor of financial services. In the United States, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 expanded the regulatory authority of the Federal Reserve. In light of international trends, I consider how …

Secrets Of Bank Regulation: A Reply To Professor Cohen, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Leasing Consumer Goods: The Spotlight Shifts To The Uniform Consumer Leases Act, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

As a participant throughout the drafting process for the Uniform Consumer Leases Act ("U.C.L.A." or "the Act"), I believe that the Act deserves serious consideration in the state legislatures to fill gaps in existing consumer protections for consumer lessees. The Act complements the Uniform Commercial Code ("U.C.C.") Article 2A (Leases), which creates a basic legal framework for all leases of goods, commercial and consumer alike, and the federal Consumer Leasing Act, which prescribes advertising and disclosure rules for consumer leases. The U.C.L.A. is also intended to reinforce, or be reinforced by, certain existing state laws, such as those prohibiting unfair …

United Kingdom And United States Responses To The Regulatory Challenges Of Modern Financial Markets, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

The modernization of world financial markets over the last 20 years has raised profound regulatory challenges. Our article considers whether the United States' Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLB) and the United Kingdom's Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) meet those challenges. We posit that the most compelling regulatory issue is not whether the financial industry should be allowed to consolidate. Rather, we believe that the organization and practices of the regulators, i.e., the question of which agencies regulate which firms and under what set of laws, should be the focal point. We call this an issue of regulatory modernization. …

Popular Images Of Bankers Reflected In Regulation, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Convergence And Competition: The Case Of Bank Regulation In Britain And The United States, Heidi Mandanis Schooner, Michael Taylor

Scholarly Articles

Our article considers whether the existence of a global banking market has resulted in the convergence of bank supervisory policy among different nationally-based regulatory regimes. In particular, we consider whether regulatory authorities in the United States and Great Britain, as providers of regulatory services, compete on the basis of the "net regulatory benefit" (NRB) that they provide to their respective regulatees, i.e., banks. After a detailed examination of the history of bank regulation in the US and UK, we observe that there is no clear trend towards convergence by competition. We find that, while regulatory competition may play an important …

Regulating Risk Not Function, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

This Article examines our current scheme of bank regulation through an analysis of banks' securities activities -- how such activities are currently regulated and how they might be regulated in the future.

Part I summarizes the major restrictions on banks' securities activities, emphasizing recent regulatory initiatives aimed toward expanding banks' participation in the securities business.

Part II examines the application of the federal securities laws to banks' securities activities. (While banks enjoy some exemptions from the federal securities laws, they are subject to many of the most important provisions.) In addition, Part II sets forth the division of responsibility for …

Re-Examining Truth In Lending: Do Borrowers Actually Use Consumer Disclosures?, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Recent Challenges To The Persistent Dual Banking System, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

This essay begins with a brief discussion of the history of the dual banking system in Part I. Part II reviews the justifications for, and criticisms of, the dual banking system. Part III details the recent challenges to the dual banking system. Part IV looks to the future of the dual banking system and concludes that Congress has chosen not to preempt entirely the states' authority despite the continued erosion of states' authority over safety and soundness issues. This leaves the states with a continuing opportunity to serve as laboratories of innovation in bank regulation. If the states seize this …

Who Determines When Enough Is Enough - Refocusing Regulatory Limitations On Banks’ Compensation Practices, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

This article examines the banking agencies' authority-both old and new-to regulate banks' compensation practices. The article considers whether the agencies' implementation of their statutory authority is appropriate. In evaluating the appropriateness of regulation in this area, the regulators' mandate to preserve the safety and soundness of banks is balanced against the banks' need to compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace.' 9 Also, the banking agencies' activities in this area are viewed against the backdrop of considerable legal and management scholarship addressing issues of compensation. Parts I, II and III of the article address the sources of the agencies' authority to …

Whither Truth In Lending?, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Fiduciary Duties’ Demanding Cousin: Bank Director Liability For Unsafe Or Unsound Banking Practices, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

The term "unsafe or unsound banking practices" serves as a statutory trigger for virtually every key administrative sanction available against bank directors. Congress has not defined either the term "unsafe or unsound banking practices" or its counterpart "safety and soundness," leaving the federal banking agencies considerable discretion in the interpretation and application of the term. Given the potential breadth of the term, the banking agencies have the ability to seek administrative remedies in cases covering a broad range of director conducL Thus, "unsafe or unsound banking practices" is a potent source of director liability.

Professor Schooner argues that "unsafe or …

Exporting Bank Credit Card Rates And Charges, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

Banks enjoy virtually unlimited authority to export interest rates, late fees, and over-limit charges across state lines. Open issues include the exportability of other fees, the viability of consumer common law claims such as unconscionability, and the effect of home-state choice-of-law.

Multiple Sources Of Consumer Law And Enforcement (Or: 'Still In Search Of A Uniform Policy'), Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

In 1972 the National Commission on Consumer Finance surveyed and made recommendations for improving the legal and marketplace environments for consumer credit. Twenty years later, industry, consumer groups, government agencies, and the national and state legislatures are still groping for a coherent approach to the regulation of consumer credit. It is time for another national commission, or similar group, to make an objective and informed assessment of appropriately uniform policy for consumer financial services, and to craft a blueprint for future developments.

Banking Affiliate Regulation Under Section 23a Of The Federal Reserve Act, Veryl Victoria Miles

Scholarly Articles

Before committing a bank's financial resources to an affiliate, bankers must be aware of the scope of the term "affiliate" under Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. Section 23A places restrictions on the financial dealings between banks and their affiliate companies. The author analyzes Section 23A and the relevant regulatory and compliance issues that have recently surfaced. The author concludes that in the event of Glass-Steagall repeal, interaffiliate regulation of the financial dealings between banks and securities affiliates, as accomplished by Section 23A, would be a viable method of permitting the merger of investment and commercial banking.

In Search Of A Uniform Policy: State And Federal Sources Of Consumer Financial Services Law, Ralph J. Rohner, Fred H. Miller

Scholarly Articles

Any effort to project the vectors of development in the law affecting consumer financial services for the 1980s must take into account the sources from which the legal ground rules will emanate. Those sources are in one sense bifurcated-i.e., the states have long had a significant role in regulating consumer credit and related consumer transactions, and, since 1968, the federal government has been substantially and increasingly involved in standard setting for consumer financial transactions.

At these two levels of government there is further fragmentation of the lawmaking function. Each of the fifty states, and countless local government entities, enact laws …

1981 Annual Survey Of Consumer Financial Services Law Developments, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

1980 Annual Survey Of Consumer Financial Services Law Developments, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

The 'Most Favored Lender' Doctrine For Federally Insured Financial Institutions: What Are Its Boundaries?, Ralph J. Rohner, Coreen S. Arnold

Scholarly Articles

The legislative history for the DIDMCA amendments is sparse, and agency interpretations have barely begun to explore the possible nuances of a rule that allows one lender to borrow the rate structure authorized for other lenders. Opinions on these issues under the older National Bank Act are limited, and there is little definitive judicial construction of the DIDMCA amendments. Meanwhile, several bills are pending which would completely preempt state usury laws for all consumer credit transactions, thus rendering moot many questions about of the scope of the most favored lender doctrine. But the enactment of such preemptive legislation is speculative, …

Truth In Lending 'Simplified': Simplified?, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

Disclosure of credit terms has been viewed as a primary means of protecting consumers from fraud and deception in credit transactions. To enhance the value of disclosure, Congress enacted the Truth in Lending Simplification and Reform Act of 1980. Professor Rohner analyzes this attempt to simplifij crcdit cost disclosures and finds that the new Act is no more likely to increase consumer protection than the original Truth in Lending Act. The new Act does solve some problems, but does nothing about others and even introduccs further complexities into credit transactions. Among the difficulties left unaddressed by the new Act are …

Problems Of Federalism In The Regulation Of Consumer Financial Services Offered By Commercial Banks: Part Ii, Ralph J. Rohner

Scholarly Articles

The first portion of this article reviewed the array of federal and state consumer protection laws affecting commercial banks and described the many areas of friction created by such multiple lawmaking. This half of the article addresses the question of how these various laws are enforced by the federal and state bank supervisory agencies and concludes with an evaluation of the many options for improving the overall regulatory and enforcement structure for consumer protection.