VA: Letter to Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, Urging to Veto SB 1252

The Honorable Glenn Youngkin
Governor of Virginia
Patrick Henry Building
1111 East Broad Street, 3rd Floor
Richmond, VA 23219

Dear Governor Youngkin:

I am writing on behalf of the American Fintech Council (AFC) to urge you to veto Senate Bill 1252 (SB 1252) when it arrives on your desk for signature. This bill will severely limit access to responsible credit for Virginian families and harm Virgina community banks.  

AFC is the premier trade association representing the largest financial technology (Fintech) companies and innovative banks. We are a standards-based organization, and our mission is to promote a transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system by supporting responsible innovation in financial services and encouraging sound public policy. AFC members foster competition in consumer finance and pioneer products to better serve underserved consumer segments and geographies.

Responsible fintech companies partnering with regulated financial institutions have created safe, transparent, and affordable credit options for Virginia families long abandoned by traditional financial institutions. Our members are committed to advocating for a regulatory gold standard that offers access to credit without compromising on consumer protection or regulatory compliance. In the responsible partner model, community banks originate safe, transparent and affordable loans and are fully responsible for compliance with all applicable rules and regulations expected of a bank.

AFC represents responsible fintech lending companies of all sizes as well as their innovative partner banks that are currently serving millions of consumers nationwide. Specifically in 2024, AFC members provided responsible credit to more than 235,000 Virginians, totaling over $800 million in responsible credit. These loans offer significant benefit to Virginians by affording them opportunities to consolidate debts and make crucial purchases to improve their lives and those of their families. Unfortunately, if SB 1252 is signed into law, many of the Virginians who sought out and received critical access to credit from AFC members would no longer have access to these responsible lending options.

AFC strongly believes that clarity in policy and regulation is key for responsible providers to offer their products, to provide consumers with the protection they need, and to hold irresponsible actors accountable. In addition to the detrimental impact that SB 1252 will have on Virginians, it would also create legally tenuous and unclear statutory requirements. As passed, we believe that SB 1252 creates an unclear policy structure for responsible fintech companies seeking to offer loans in the state through bank-fintech partnerships. As such, SB 1252 could cost significant taxpayer dollars and government resources for the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions to implement and enforce SB 1252 as passed.

As noted above, if signed into law, SB 1252 presents significant costs to Virginians and the commonwealth’s government. The limitation of Virginians’ access to responsible credit, curtailment responsible innovators from operating in the commonwealth, and expense to the commonwealth’s government resources that would occur if SB 1252 is signed into law are all factors AFC seeks to avoid. Therefore, AFC respectfully requests that you veto this bill when it arrives on your desk.

Sincerely,

Ian P. Moloney
SVP, Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs
American Fintech Council

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