UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`
`
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`
`
`
`U.S. BANCORP
`Petitioner
`
`v.
`
`RETIREMENT CAPITAL ACCESS MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC
` Patent Owner
`
`
`
`
`Case No. CBM2013-00014
`Patent No. 6,625,582
`
`
`
`
`
`DECLARATION OF CASEY L. GRIFFITH
`IN SUPPORT OF PATENT OWNER
`RETIREMENT CAPITAL ACCESS MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC’S
`SUPPLEMENTAL EVIDENCE PURSUANT TO 37 C.F.R. § 42.64(b)(2)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`  
`
`

`
`1, Casey L. Griffith, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, declare under penalty of
`
`perjury, pursuant to the laws of the United States, that the following is true and
`
`correct and within my own personal knowledge.
`
`If called as a witness, I would
`
`testify as follows:
`
`I represent Retirement Capital Access Management Company LLC in
`
`the above captioned Covered Business Method review.
`
`The attached exhibit 2016 is a true and correct copy of Regulators to
`
`Restrict Big Banks’ Payday Lending, Deal Book 1, The New York
`
`Times Company, 2013 WLNR 9953554 (April 23, 2013) that
`
`I
`
`personally obtained from http://next.westlaw.com on November 19,
`
`2013.
`
`Exhibit 2016 continues to be available today on Westlaw.
`
`It can be
`
`accessed by entering the citation 2014 WLNR 9953554 at
`
`the
`
`Westlaw website located at URL http://next.westlaw.com.
`
`Executed on December 9, 2013
`
`

`
`Regulators to Restrict Big Banks' Payday Lending, 2013 WLNR 9953554
`
`4/23/13 DealBook 1
`2013 WLNR 9953554
`
`DealBook
`Copyright (c) 2013 The New York Times Company
`
`April 23, 2013
`
`Section: dealbook
`
`Regulators to Restrict Big Banks' Payday Lending
`DealBook
`
`JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG
`
`Federal regulators are expected to crack down on short-term, high-cost credit offered by large banks like Wells Fargo and U.S.
`Bank.
`
`April 23, 2013
`
`8:53 p.m. | Updated
`
`Federal regulators are poised to crack down on payday loans — the short-term, high-cost credit that can mire borrowers in
`debt.But instead of taking aim at storefront payday lenders, the banking authorities are focusing on the small operations' big
`bank rivals, likeWells Fargoand U.S. Bank, according to several people briefed on the matter.
`
`A handful of banks offer the loans tied to checking accounts, with the understanding that the lender can automatically withdraw
`the loan amount, plus the origination fee, when it is due.
`
`Regulators from theOffice of the Comptroller of theCurrencyand theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporationare expected to
`clamp down on the loans, which carry interest rates that can soar above 300 percent, by the end of the week, these people said.
`
`The F.D.I.C. and the comptroller's office declined to comment.
`
`The regulators are expected to impose more stringent requirements on the loans.Before making a loan, for example, banks will
`have to assess a consumer's ability to repay the money.
`
`Banking authorities are also expected to institute a mandatory cooling-off period of 30 days between loans — a reform intended
`to halt what consumer advocates call a debt spiral of borrowers taking out fresh loans to cover their outstanding debt.As part
`of that, banks will not be able to extend a new loan until a borrower has paid off any previous ones.
`
`Another requirement, the people said, will address marketing.Because the advances are not typically described as loans, the
`interest rates are largely opaque to borrowers.Wells Fargo, for example, charges $1.50 for every $20 borrowed.While the bank's
`
` © 2013 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
`
`1
`
`RCAMC EXHIBIT 2016
`
`

`
`Regulators to Restrict Big Banks' Payday Lending, 2013 WLNR 9953554
`
`Web site warns that the products are "expensive," there is no calculation of an interest rate.The banking regulators will require
`that banks disclose the interest rates, according to the people familiar with the guidance.
`
`Some of the guidelines would hew closely to mortgage rules already required under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul
`law.Under the law, lenders have to calculate a customer's ability to shoulder the principal and interest payments over the life
`of a mortgage.
`
`The loans have proliferated since the financial crisis, according to consumer advocates — spurred in part by banks' aggressive
`search for fresh revenue after losing billions of dollars in income from regulations that restrict fees on debit and credit cards.
`
`Banks deny that the loans are predatory and point out that lenders are simply catering to demand from consumers.
`
`"Checking Account Advance gives customers access to funds for use in case of an emergency, with transparent pricing and
`safeguards and cooling-off periods built in to help customers avoid becoming overextended," said Teri Charest, a spokeswoman
`for U.S. Bank.
`
`Richele J. Messick, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman, echoed that position. "The loan is designed to help customers through an
`emergency situation," she said.
`
`For low-income consumers, the loans can result in a torrent of overdraft charges and fees.Borrowers who take out payday loans
`are roughly two times as likely to be hit with overdraft fees, according to a March report by the Center for Responsible Lending,
`an advocacy group.
`
`The impact of the loans can be devastating for seniors, according to the report, becauseSocial Securityand disability payments
`deposited directly into checking accounts can be siphoned to satisfy fees incurred by the loan.
`
`Annette Smith, 69, a retired caretaker in Rocklin, Calif., said she had been ensnared by the loans since she borrowed $500 more
`than five years ago against her Wells Fargo checking account.
`
`She vows every month to never take out the high-cost credit again, she said, but each month a slew of bills undermines that
`promise.To cover the cost of the loan, the bank draws from Ms. Smith's Social Security income after her benefits of about
`$1,200 a month are deposited in her account.
`
`"This is predatory lending, plain and simple," Ms. Smith said.
`
`The move by regulators is the latest salvo in a push against the loans.On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
`issued a report that found the payday and direct-deposit loans could transform from short-term credit into a long-term burden.
`"For too many consumers, payday and deposit advance loans are debt traps," Richard Cordray, the agency's director, said in
`a statement.
`
`Last May, the F.D.I.C. said the agency was "deeply concerned" about payday lending.The comptroller's office said in June
`2011 that the loans increased "operational and credit risks and supervisory concerns."Lawmakers, led by SenatorJeff Merkley,
`Democrat of Oregon, are also looking to rein in payday loans.In July, he introduced a bill that would force payday lenders to
`abide by state usury caps where the borrower lives.
`
`"Payday lending and other predatory loans strip wealth from working families," Mr. Merkley said.
`
`---- Index References ----
`
` © 2013 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
`
`2
`
`RCAMC EXHIBIT 2016
`
`

`
`Regulators to Restrict Big Banks' Payday Lending, 2013 WLNR 9953554
`
`Company: US BANCORP; WELLS FARGO AND CO
`
`News Subject: (Major Corporations (1MA93))
`
`Industry: (Banking (1BA20); Consumer Finance (1CO55); Financial Services (1FI37); Loans (1LO12); Mortgage Banking
`(1MO85); Retail Banking Services (1RE38); Subprime Lending (1SU05))
`
`Language: EN
`
`Other Indexing: (Richard Cordray; Annette Smith; Annette Smith; Merkley; Richele Messick; Teri Charest)
`
`Word Count: 826
`
`End of Document
`
`© 2013 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
`
` © 2013 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
`
`3
`
`RCAMC EXHIBIT 2016