Jo Ann Barefoot joins RegFi hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt for a conversation about the challenges in modernizing financial regulation and the potential for technology to facilitate a more fair, inclusive, and resilient financial system. Jo Ann, founder and CEO of the non-profit Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR), shares her insights from a distinguished career that also includes roles in government, the private sector and academia. The discussion covers a number of topics, including structural hurdles for government agencies adopting new technologies, the importance of cross-sector and international collaboration, and opportunities to accelerate innovation through initiatives like TechSprints and regulatory sandboxes.

Links:

• “Financial Regulators' Dilemma: Administrative and Regulatory Hurdles to Innovation”
• “Financial Technology: Agencies Can Better Support Workforce Expertise and Measure the Performance of Innovation Offices” (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
• Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR)
• Barefoot Innovation Podcast
• Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory Practice
• RegFiPodcast.com

Join us for this bonus episode where the RegFi hosts share their initial reactions to the CFPB’s proposed rule on Personal Financial Data Rights. The proposed rule, which implements Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, promises to have wide-ranging effects on banks, credit unions, credit card issuers, fintechs offering open banking services and consumers. Our team discusses the history behind the rule, its key provisions and how the rule will affect the industry, and expectations for the coming year as the CFPB seeks to bring this rule into effect.

Links:

• Open Banking: What Financial Institutions Should Know About the CFPB’s Proposed 1033 Rule (Orrick Alert)
• Text of the Proposed Personal Financial Data Rights Rule
• CFPB Press Release for the Proposed Personal Financial Data Rights Rule
• CFPB Director Chopra’s Remarks on the Proposed Personal Financial Data Rights Rule
• Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory Practice
• RegFiPodcast.com

Delicia Hand, Director of Financial Fairness Advocacy at Consumer Reports, joins RegFi hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk for a conversation about new Consumer Reports initiatives to provide data and tools that empower consumers to make informed financial decisions. Delicia shares insights from the initial evaluation of peer-to-peer platforms, BNPL services, and other financial services apps and identifies opportunities to improve fairness and transparency in fintech offerings.

Links:

• Consumer Reports Permission Slip
• Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory Practice
• RegFiPodcast.com

Phil Goldfeder, CEO of the American Fintech Council, joins hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt to discuss the Federal Reserve’s Novel Activities Supervision Program and the challenges fintech companies face in navigating financial regulation. The conversation covers the need for regulatory clarity and unity at both the federal and state levels to facilitate responsible fintech innovation while ensuring consumer protection. Phil also touches on the prospects for bipartisan cooperation in Congress to accommodate rapidly developing financial technology.

Links mentioned:

• Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory Practice
• American Fintech Council Website

In this episode, Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton welcome guest Melissa Koide, CEO of FinRegLab. Melissa discusses her organization’s work in evaluating the explainability of complex machine learning algorithms in credit underwriting, model governance and adverse action notices. The conversation covers the CFPB’s recent guidance on credit denial by lenders using artificial intelligence as well as the role explainability plays in promoting fairness and inclusion in lending, methods and tools emerging for lenders to explain credit-related decisions based on AI models, and the ongoing work required to adapt to the digital economy and evolving regulatory landscape. Links:

• FinRegLab Website
• FinRegLab Report: “Explainability and Fairness in Machine Learning for Credit Underwriting”
• “BankThink: AI could make underwriting a collaboration between bank and borrower” by Jerry Buckley (American Banker)
• Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory Practice
• RegFiPodcast.com

The hosts of RegFi – Orrick partners Jerry Buckley, Sasha Leonhardt, Sherry Safchuk, and Caroline Stapleton – introduce the goals of the podcast and share what they look forward to learning in upcoming conversations with thought leaders at the intersection of financial services, technology and regulation. Links:

• Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory Practice
• RegFiPodcast.com