Eamonn K. Moran
Partner
Overview
Eamonn Moran is a financial services attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office. Mr. Moran leverages his experience as a former counsel in the Office of Regulations at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to guide clients in complying with state and federal consumer protection laws and regulations.
Mr. Moran helps lenders, financial technology (FinTech) and regulatory technology (RegTech) companies, marketplace lending platforms, payments companies and systems, card issuers and networks, banks, investors and other financial services providers navigate issues arising under state and federal financial services laws. At the heart of his work is regulatory compliance. He leverages his experience at the CFPB to assist clients in their engagements with federal and state regulators, including with respect to Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) risk and state licensing issues.
Mr. Moran's FinTech practice constantly evolves and grows as clients adopt new technologies and pursue innovative business lines. He provides extensive and cutting-edge regulatory legal services for innovative companies across the FinTech and financial services industries. He has in-depth experience helping clients with innovative financial platforms and products that comply with existing law, including in the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and earned wage access (EWA) product sectors. Mr. Moran also helps innovative companies adapt and thrive in the evolving payments space. He has extensive experience handling the regulatory aspects of a broad range of payment services and technologies, spanning traditional systems and cutting-edge payments products.
In addition, Mr. Moran counsels clients on all aspects of payments law and related regulatory matters, including on instant payments, debit card interchange, money transmission and consumer protection. He also has handled matters involving mobile banking, mobile payments, mobile wallet products and bank-FinTech partnerships, including marketplace lending, banking as a service (BaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) offerings. Additionally, Mr. Moran advises on novel issues connected to blockchain, digital assets, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. He has crafted pragmatic, business-minded legal solutions to complex issues at the intersection of payments technology and financial regulation.
Mr. Moran is a frequent speaker on consumer financial services and FinTech topics and is often called on by the national media for commentary regarding the CFPB, state regulators and developments in consumer financial services and FinTech.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Moran was a financial services attorney for a global law firm in its Washington, D.C., office.
Early Career Background
As counsel at the CFPB, Mr. Moran played a key role in developing and drafting multiple mortgage originations related rulemakings. He was substantially involved in the CFPB's Truth in Lending Act (TILA)-Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosure (TRID/Know Before You Owe) rulemaking, and the Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage rulemakings. Mr. Moran worked on various CFPB implementation efforts regarding the Dodd-Frank Act Title XIV rulemakings. He also handled guidance for industry and other CFPB offices on legal and regulatory issues arising under TILA, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and RESPA. He was also a member of the CFPB's Small Dollar Lending Working Group.
Prior to joining the CFPB, Mr. Moran spent several years in various roles with the federal government addressing and responding to the financial crisis. He served as a senior attorney advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he worked in the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). In this role, he served as a member of SIGTARP's Office of Chief Counsel and SIGTARP's reporting team, the latter of which was charged with reporting comprehensive information about the agency's investigations and oversight to Congress on a quarterly basis.
Before joining the Treasury Department, Mr. Moran was a counsel for the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a bipartisan panel within the U.S. Senate that was chaired by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Mr. Moran began his career as a real estate finance associate at a New York City law firm, and as a research associate at the Center for Banking and Finance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.
Representative Experience
- Advised a business-to-business (B2B), Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider concerning regulatory compliance and product structure
- Provided counsel to a marketplace platform during the introduction of an international e-commerce payment solution
- Provided counsel to an international company that operates in the mobility sector (i.e., parking solutions, public transportation, etc.) concerning money transmission licensing, money services business registration and ways to structure the platform to mitigate regulatory risk
- Represented a "disruptor" banking services provider in a state regulatory inquiry
- Conducted regulatory due diligence on a number of regional and national consumer financial services providers on behalf of investors, including assessing compliance with U.S. state and federal licensing requirements for marketplace lenders, mortgage lenders, auto lenders, payments intermediaries, student lenders and debt collectors
- Advised an online peer-to-peer (P2P) businesses on U.S. federal and state money services licensing and anti-money laundering requirements
- Advised a provider of gift card and consumer loyalty programs on regulatory compliance issues, including escheatment obligations
- Advised clients on regulatory matters regarding debt-collection practices involving consumer credit products, including credit cards, student and auto loans, deposit accounts and unsecured lines of credit
- Representation of companies in responding to state inquiries regarding unlicensed money transmission
- Representation of numerous engagements to conduct due diligence of prospective money transmitter partners for established companies
- Representation of applicants in various states for money transmitter licenses and U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) registration issues
- Representation of many retailers and program managers for gift card, gift transfer, stored value and related prepaid products and services, including highly sophisticated reloadable products
- Representation of nonbank financial technology (FinTech) firms (e.g., payments intermediaries, online lenders, money transmitters, cryptocurrency providers and exchanges) on Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) regulatory and compliance matters, including customer identification activities
- Counseled a mortgage origination platform on implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) final rule integrating mortgage origination disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), sometimes referred to as the bureau's TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure or "TRID" rule, or the "Know Before You Owe" initiative
- Counseled a federally chartered stock savings bank regarding its federal and state charter options, including analysis of the powers, limits and authorities applicable to national banks and federal savings associations
- Counseled a large retailer regarding its partnership with a financial institution to roll out a prepaid/checking account product available exclusively on the retailer's shelves
- Advised a large national bank in conducting a comprehensive review of its mortgage servicing transfer policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the CFPB's mortgage servicing and asset ownership transfer rules; the review covered all aspects of compliance, including applicable rules, policies and procedures, risk assessment, issues management and training
- Assisted one of the largest nonbank mortgage servicers in identifying and implementing enhancements to its compliance risk management system and conducted similar reviews for a large nonbank mortgage originator and a nonbank originator and servicer of reverse mortgages
- Advised a new platform on structuring its compliance management system to ensure compliance with the ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rules, fair lending and other consumer financial protection laws in marketing loans to subprime borrowers
- Led TILA and RESPA compliance policy reviews for major national banks, preeminent card issuers, large credit unions, mortgage servicers and mortgage originators
- Provided financial institutions and other interested parties with product reviews, including for mobile payment and digital wallet services
- Counseled a large financial institution with respect to the regulatory requirements pertaining to its account opening processes and procedures in different platforms, including in-branch, online and mobile app
- Represented entities in responding to CFPB civil investigative demands (CIDs), including Petitions to Withdraw the CID
- Advised a financial services provider in conducting a comprehensive review of its Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the FCRA and Regulation V requirements; the review covered all aspects of compliance, including applicable rules, policies and procedures, operations, risk assessment, issues management, governance and training
Credentials
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D.
- Georgetown University, B.A., magna cum laude
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- New York
- U.S. Supreme Court
- CFPB Alumni Association
- Georgetown University Alumni Admissions Program
- Georgetown Law Alumni Admissions Interview Program
- The New York City Bar Association Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies, Subcommittee on Digital Technologies Consumer Protection, Co-Chair
- American Bar Association, Consumer Financial Services Committee; Banking Law Committee
- Georgetown University Alumni Association, Board of Governors, 2014-Present
- Georgetown Alumni Club of Metropolitan Washington, DC, Secretary, 2011-2015; President, 2015-2019
- Hoyas Unlimited, Board of Directors, 2015-2021
- Hoya Hoop Club, Board of Directors, 2013-2022
- Rising Star, Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers magazine, Consumer Law, 2015-2021
- Top Author, Finance & Banking, JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards, 2018
- Recognized, Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2018, 2020