Michael Freno
54eecb0d16
Researched 5 bank CDP prospects for Lendair P2P lending platform. Shortlisted: Cross River Bank (top), Encore Bank, WebBank. Created board confirmation for outreach authorization. Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>
5.7 KiB
5.7 KiB
2026-05-19
Today's Plan
- Complete FRE-5412: State-by-state licensing analysis for P2P micro-lending
- Review remaining legal/compliance tasks (FRE-5413, FRE-5417-FRE-5420)
- Unblock FRE-5414 (blocked by FRE-5412)
Timeline
03:02 - FRE-5412 Complete
- Produced comprehensive 50-state licensing analysis document
- Covered MTL, lending licenses, usury caps, costs, bonds, exemptions, micro-loan rules
- Tiered states: 15 Tier 1 (launch), 25 Tier 2 (6-month), 12 Tier 3 (defer)
- Key finding: Bank CDP model reduces licensing cost by ~85-88%
- Top 5 launch states: SD, UT, CO, ND, WY
- Uploaded as issue document, committed to repo, marked issue done
- FRE-5414 is now unblocked
03:28 - FRE-5413 Complete
- Researched: Do micro-loans under $1,000 have lowered regulatory requirements?
- Answer: No. Core obligations (MTL, lending license, TILA, AML/KYC, TEACH Act) apply regardless of loan size.
- Federal: No exemptions. TILA, ESIGN, Dodd-Frank, TEACH Act all apply to all loan sizes.
- State: No blanket exemption for sub-$1,000 loans. Three states (KS, MT, NE) have $5K aggregate MTL exemptions — trivial volume only.
- Texas CCPL-B ($550 cap) offers modest fee savings but identical application burden.
- Risk: Short-term sub-$1,000 loans may be classified as payday loans (more restrictive).
- Recommendation: Installment structure (>31 days) over amount capping. Bank CDP model remains primary burden reduction path.
- Uploaded research document, marked issue done. FRE-5414 can proceed.
03:50 - FRE-5414 Complete
- Produced state launch recommendations synthesizing FRE-5412 + FRE-5413 research
- Top 5 launch states: SD (unlimited usury via bank charter), UT (84% APR, fastest 60-90 day timeline), GA (10.9M population), VA (8.7M population), CO (fintech-friendly regulator)
- 6-month expansion (5 states): ND, TX, TN, ID, AR
- 18 states deferred: NY, CA, MA, CT, DC, RI, IL, FL, MI, WA, NC, OH, MN, NE, AZ, PA, WV, SC
- Cost: ~$22K (CDP model) vs ~$187K (direct model) for initial 5 states
- Critical path: Bank CDP partnership search before any state filings
- Uploaded as issue document
state-recommendations, marked issue done - FRE-5415 (UI state selection gate) should auto-unblock
04:26 - FRE-5417 Complete
- Created comprehensive BSA/AML compliance program (4 issue documents)
- AML Compliance Program (LND-AML-001): 12 sections — CIP, transaction monitoring, OFAC screening, SAR procedures, record retention, independent testing, employee training, risk assessment, examination readiness
- SAR Filing Procedures (LND-SAR-001): Detection triggers, investigation process, BSA Authority filing, P2P lending-specific suspicious activity indicators, tipping off prohibition
- Record Retention Policy (LND-RET-001): 15 record categories with retention periods, storage requirements, destruction procedures, legal hold process
- FinCEN MSB Registration Guidance (LND-FIN-001): FinForm 107 preparation guide, pre-filing checklist, BOI reporting, post-filing obligations
- Remaining human actions: file FinForm 107 (requires founder info + counsel review), appoint named Compliance Officer, set annual renewal reminder
04:35 - FRE-5418 Decomposed and Delegated
- Broke consumer protection compliance into 5 child tasks assigned to CTO:
- FRE-5421: Compile usury rate caps (research)
- FRE-5422: Implement usury rate cap enforcement (engineering, blocked by FRE-5421)
- FRE-5423: Build TILA disclosure generation (engineering)
- FRE-5424: Map state-specific disclosure requirements (research)
- FRE-5425: Fair lending audit plan for AI risk model (compliance)
- Created plan document at FRE-5418#document-plan
- All child tasks are todo, ready for CTO to pick up
- Highest risk: fair lending audit of AI model (#1 CFPB enforcement priority)
04:40 - FRE-5414 Retroactively Marked Done
- Recommendation document was complete earlier but issue status was never updated
- Board decisions needed: state list approval, CDP authorization, budget approval
04:45 - FRE-5419 Insurance Procurement Plan Complete
- Created comprehensive insurance plan: Cyber ($2M), E&O ($2M), D&O ($3M), surety bonds
- Budget: $50K/year (range $27.5K-$85K)
- Broker shortlist: Gallagher, Willis Towers Watson, Davies, Lockton, Brown & Brown
- Timeline: 4 weeks from RFP to full coverage
- Critical: Cyber must bind before production PII; negotiate AI model coverage in E&O
04:50 - FRE-5420 Legal Documents Decomposed
- Created 4 child tasks assigned to CMO:
- FRE-5426: Finalize ToS with state-specific provisions
- FRE-5427: Complete Privacy Policy with vendor disclosures
- FRE-5428: Create Investor Risk Disclosure
- FRE-5429: Supporting docs (Cookie, AUP, Dispute)
- Budget: $15K for counsel review
- Timeline: 4 weeks to production-ready
04:55 - Board follow-up on FRE-5414
- Board commented: "Begin the bank partnership search"
- Created FRE-5430: Search for bank CDP partnership (child of FRE-5414, high priority, assigned to me)
- Next: research prospects (Cross River, Gateway, WebBank, Encore, MetaBank), build shortlist, draft outreach
06:36 - FRE-5430 CDP Research Complete (in_review)
- Researched all 5 bank CDP prospects: Cross River, Encore, WebBank, Gateway, MetaBank
- Shortlist (3): Cross River Bank (GO, top choice), Encore Bank (GO, SD charter), WebBank (CONDITIONAL GO)
- Not shortlisted (2): Gateway (NO-GO, regulatory risk), MetaBank (NO-GO, high minimums)
- Uploaded comprehensive research document: FRE-5430#document-cdp-research
- Created board confirmation interaction for shortlist approval and outreach authorization
- Cost estimate: $200K-$555K Year 1 (vs $1M+ direct licensing)
- Awaiting board confirmation before proceeding to outreach phase