On March 2, 2023, the CFPB published a new report analyzing the financial profiles of Buy Now, Pay Later borrowers. The report finds that consumers using Buy Now, Pay Later were more likely to be using credit cards, payday loans, and other high-interest financial services. The report also indicates that they are also more likely to exhibit measures of financial distress than non-borrowers.

On March 1, 2023, the CFPB released a new issue spotlight examining how the financial products used to deliver public benefits, like Social Security and unemployment compensation, affect individuals’ ability to fully access the assistance provided through those programs. The issue spotlight outlines how governments often choose to deliver public benefits through financial products, particularly prepaid cards, that may subject recipients to high fees and cut into the amount of funds the consumer receives. 

On February 27, 2023, the CFPB issued a request for public comment regarding consumer disclosures of a loan that finances both a construction phase and the permanent purchase of a home. The proposal seeks to adjust the existing mortgage disclosures to facilitate the offering of construction and construction-to-permanent loans.

On February 16, 2023, the NCUA approved the final rule on cyber incident reporting requirements during its second open meeting of 2023. The final rule requires a federally insured credit union  (FICU) to notify the NCUA as soon as possible, within 72 hours, after it reasonably believes that a reportable cyber incident has occurred.

On February 16, 2023, the CFPB published a summary of its key findings after the Bureau requested information from the largest credit card companies in the U.S. regarding their practices around suppressing actual payment information from the nationwide consumer reporting system. These companies included JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Capital One, Discover, and American Express.

On February 7, 2023, the OCC published the revised “Branch Closings” booklet of the Comptroller’s Licensing Manual. The revised booklet replaces the June 2017 version where the OCC  made corrections where necessary, and contains updated guidance.

On February 14, 2023, the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched an awareness campaign to educate the public on dangers associated with online romance scams and how individuals can protect themselves and loved ones.