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Steven M. Kaplan

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Steven Kaplan is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and a member of the Consumer Financial Services group. He concentrates his practice on matters related to consumer financial products and represents clients in federal and state supervisory matters, investigations and enforcement proceedings. He also advises clients on compliance with federal and state laws governing licensing and practices of financial institutions, mortgage lenders, consumer finance companies, loan servicers, prepaid card issuers, payment system providers and secondary market participants. Steven acts as regulatory counsel in connection with investments or acquisitions related to consumer loans and other consumer financial products and performing regulatory compliance due diligence. Additionally, Steven assists with structuring operations and developing compliance management systems and due diligence programs and with litigation involving regulatory compliance matters.

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On May 15, House Democrats passed on the Heroes Act, a $3 trillion package that revives, among other things, many of the severe debt collection-related restrictions House Democrats have been pushing since the start of the pandemic.  Although the Heroes Act has no promise of becoming law, the Act, combined with other federal and state…

A United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court, Western District of New York, today issued his report and recommendation on the defendants’ motion to dismiss in Petersen et al. v. Chase Card Funding, LLC et al., No. 1:19-cv-00741 (W.D.N.Y. June 6, 2019).  The Magistrate Judge recommended dismissal of both the plaintiffs’ usury and unjust enrichment claims on preemption grounds, stating that “the preemption analysis boils down to this: does the application of New York’s usury statutes to these defendants ‘prevent’ or ‘significantly interfere’ with Chase USA’s power to sell or assign the receivables generated by its credit card accounts?”.  The Magistrate Judge answered this question in the affirmative, reasoning that “since applying New York’s usury statutes to defendants would prevent Chase USA’s ability to sell or assign the receivables from its credit card accounts, they are preempted.”
Continue Reading Magistrate Judge Recommends Dismissal in Chase Issuance Trust Usury Lawsuit

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau intends to revise its Qualified Mortgage definition by moving away from a debt-to-income ratio threshold, and instead adopting a different test, such as one based on the loan’s pricing. The CFPB also apparently indicated it may extend, for a short time, the temporary QM…

In this fall edition of our Structured Finance Bulletin, we discuss structuring and legal considerations for multi-jurisdiction trade receivables financing transactions as well as the latest innovations in CLO structures.

We also revisit the European Union securitization regulations and the application in the United Kingdom of the European Union securitization regulations following Brexit and describe the benefits of structuring lending arrangements as repurchase facilities.

Finally, we take a deep dive into the CFPB’s recent proposed debt collection rulemaking and discuss the Japanese risk retention rules and the SEC’s concept release regarding several exemptions from registration under the Securities Act of 1933.Continue Reading Structured finance bulletin – Fall 2019

Congress amended the Truth in Lending Act in May 2018 by directing the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to prescribe ability-to-repay regulations with respect to Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) financing. PACE financing helps homeowners cover the costs of home improvements, which financing results in a tax assessment on the consumer’s property. Ability-to-repay regulations, which TILA…