Identical bills have been introduced in the New York Assembly (A08938) and Senate (S07294) that would direct the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) to issue a report on online lending by July 1, 2018.

The bills are intended to amend legislation signed into law by New York Governor Cuomo on December 29, 2017 (S6593A) that created a seven-person task force to study online lending and issue a report by April 15, 2018 containing specified information.  The task-force members are to consist of three individuals appointed by the Governor, two members appointed by the Temporary President of the Senate, and two members appointed by the Speaker of the Senate.

The bills would eliminate the task force and provide that the report is to be prepared by the DFS “in consultation with stakeholders, including online lenders, consumers and small businesses.”  The information in the DFS report must include the following:

• An analysis of online lenders presently operating in New York, including “the common means and methods of their operations, and business,” lending practices of the online lending industry, including disclosure practices, interest rates and costs charged, the primary differences between online lending products and services and those offered by traditional lending institutions, the risks and benefits of products offered by online lenders, and the forms of credit that would be available to borrowers in the absence of online lending opportunities;
• The types and availability of credit products for individuals and businesses;
• An analysis of  available data regarding complaints, actions and investigations related to online lenders; and
• A survey of existing state and federal laws and regulations that apply to online lending and the impact of such laws and regulations on consumers and access to online lenders.