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Earned Wage Access Products Are Not Loans, According to the AG of Montana

CFPB Monitor

On December 22, 2023, the Attorney General of Montana released an opinion (the “Opinion”) concluding that certain earned wage access (EWA) products are not “consumer loans” or “deferred deposit loans” under Montana law and do not, therefore, require licensure by the Montana Division of Banking and Financial Institutions.

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Figure CEO: Figure Pay, National Bank Charter Will Boost Financial Inclusion

PYMNTS

While many digital-first companies springboard from payments into lending, Figure Technologies , a FinTech focused on home improvement, debt consolidation and retirement products that leverage blockchain protocols, is branching out from lending into payments. Blockchain and a bank charter might do much to boost financial inclusion.

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The top-performing community banks of 2021

Independent Banker

Bank of Montana. In order to compete as a small bank, we have been forced to keep higher-than-peer capital levels, so that our lending limit allows us to service local borrowers’ needs. Tom Swenson, CEO and chairman of the board, Bank of Montana. Bank of Montana. First Security Bank of Deer Lodge. Deer Lodge. Rapid City.

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Best Community Banks to Work For 2022

Independent Banker

.; Bank of Montana, Missoula, Mont.; Bank of Montana: Breaking the mold. Bank of Montana: Breaking the mold. Bank of Montana. When a community bank’s employees refer to it as “a second family,” it speaks volumes, and that’s exactly what we heard from the team at Bank of Montana in Missoula, Mont. Missoula, Mont.

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Colorado passes 36% payday loan rate cap

CFPB Monitor

As described on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website , Proposition 111 “would restrict the charges on payday loans to a yearly rate of 36 percent and would eliminate all other finance charges and fees associated with payday lending.”. The other states to have done so are South Dakota, Ohio, Arizona, and Montana.

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Rebeca Romero Rainey: You are the backbone of our nation’s financing

Independent Banker

When I think about how the lending market has changed over the past decade, there is one consistent theme—community banks have been, and continue to be, the backbone of our nation’s financing. Despite regulatory hurdles and increased competition from nonbank providers, community banks thrive in both consumer and commercial lending.

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Rebeca Romero Rainey: We make every day better

Independent Banker

I’ll be speaking at the community banking program at Montana State University, visiting TCM Bank in Tampa, Fla., So, as you browse this month’s Independent Banker , I hope you’ll take note of new strategies for payments, opportunities for engaging fintechs, possibilities around digital lending and developments in compliance.