On May 18, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it will hold a field hearing in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 2 regarding small-dollar lending, commonly referred to as payday lending. It is widely speculated that the CFPB will announce the long-awaited payday lending rules, which would be the first federal regulation for … Continue Reading
On May 5, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking soliciting comments on a proposed rule to prohibit covered institutions from including, in most core consumer contracts, “pre-dispute arbitration agreements” that contain class waivers. The proposed regulations would explicitly require the inclusion of the following disclaimer … Continue Reading
On April 28, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a letter to industry trade members announcing its plan to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to provide further clarification of the Truth in Lending Disclosure Rule (TRID). Since TRID went into effect on October 3, 2015, various industry groups have asked the … Continue Reading
On April 25, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) entered into consent orders with a debt collection law firm, two of the firm’s principal partners, and New Century Financial Services, Inc., a company that purchases and collects consumer debts. The orders resolve allegations by the CFPB that each party violated the Fair Debt Collection … Continue Reading
On April 21, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that due to a lack of authority under existing consumer protection laws, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) cannot require a for-profit college accrediting group to comply with a civil investigative demand (“CID”) to determine the group’s method for accrediting schools. … Continue Reading
The CFPB announced that it is holding a field hearing on May 5, 2016, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on arbitration. Previously, CFPB field hearings have resulted in the announcement of proposed rules. We anticipate that this field hearing could result in the release of the CFPB’s proposed rule on arbitration provisions in some consumer financial … Continue Reading
On April 20, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report regarding online payday lenders’ efforts to debit payments from a borrower’s checking account. Based on an 18-month observation period, the report focused on the hidden costs of online payday and installment loans provided by over 330 lenders. The report is the latest … Continue Reading
The CFPB’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) published its third annual report to Congress highlighting its 2015 activities. Dodd-Frank requires the CFPB and other federal regulators to establish an office of minority and women inclusion, requires each office to gather certain data, and then requires each office to provide Congress with an annual report. Under … Continue Reading
Yesterday’s oral argument in the CFPB v. PHH Corporation appeal included sharp questioning about the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) single-director structure, which the parties agreed had few other precedents in American government. This questioning followed an order issued by the panel on April 4, 2016, raising, sua sponte, these constitutional questions. … Continue Reading
On March 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its monthly report summarizing consumer complaints received through February 2016. Overall to date, the CFPB has received over 834,400 complaints. Nationally, the CFPB noted a 13 percent uptick in credit reporting complaints between January and February 2016. Many complaints concern credit reporting agencies. Most consumer … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, March 16, 2016, the House Financial Services Committee hosted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) Director Richard Cordray for a hearing on “The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.” The purpose of the hearing was to review the CFPB’s eighth semi-annual report to the President and Congress, covering its activities … Continue Reading
On March 9, 2016, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) Director Richard Cordray outlined the CFPB’s progress and future plans to the Consumer Bankers Association (“CBA”). Cordray touted the CFPB’s great success despite pushback from the CBA and others from the financial industry. Cordray was careful, however, to note that the CFPB has taken the CBA’s … Continue Reading
On March 8, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that, through its supervisory authority, it recovered $14.3 million for approximately 228,000 consumers. This recovery spans CFPB work completed in the last three months of 2015. Using its supervisory and examination authority, the CFPB discovered violations in the money transmitter, student lending, and debt … Continue Reading
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on March 2, 2016, that it had entered into a consent order with online payment platform Dwolla to resolve the CFPB’s claims regarding statements made by Dwolla about the privacy and security of customer data. Under the consent order, Dwolla agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and implement, … Continue Reading
On February 10, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a correction in the Federal Register to the Integrated Mortgage Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) final rule (TRID Rule). The final TRID Rule, which went into effect on October 3, 2015, … Continue Reading
In remarks delivered yesterday at a field hearing in Louisville, Kentucky, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray announced three actions the CFPB is taking to encourage financial institutions to expand access to checking accounts to the 10 million households it claims lack access to basic checking or savings accounts. These steps focus on … Continue Reading
On January 12, the CFPB released a Construction Loans Fact Sheet reviewing the basics of construction loan disclosures under the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (“TRID”) Rule. This resource briefly summarizes the TRID requirements for construction loans. Scope As closed-end consumer credit transactions secured by real property, most construction loans are covered by the TRID Rule. Construction … Continue Reading
On January 7, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a request for information (RFI) seeking feedback and additional information on what modifications may be appropriate to the CFPB’s Home Mortage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Resubmissions Guidelines under Regulations C. In October 2015, the CFPB announced its final rule on amended Regulation C, which implements … Continue Reading
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has settled a lawsuit with a Georgia law firm allegedly functioning as a debt-collection mill. As reported by Credit Union Insight, the CFPB and the Georgia law firm agreed on a Stipulated Judgment on December 28. The CFPB’s lawsuit alleges Georgia law firm Frederick J. Hanna & Associates and … Continue Reading
On Monday, November 23, the CFPB released a new Compliance Bulletin to remind financial entities of their requirements when obtaining consumer authorizations for preauthorized electronic fund transfers (EFT). Mortgage servicers, student loan servicers, debt collectors, and short-term, small-dollar lenders are specifically highlighted in the Compliance Bulletin as entities engaged in preauthorized EFT transactions. These entities … Continue Reading
On Friday, November 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it will consider writing new marketwide federal standards for student loan servicers. This marks the first time that the CFPB’s rulemaking agenda has included student loan servicing. This announcement comes on the heels of the CFPB’s September 2015 148-page report titled Student Loan Servicing … Continue Reading
On November 3, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its fall 2015 supervisory report concerning enforcement actions from May 2015 through August 2015. The Bureau highlights violations in the mortgage lending and servicing, student loan servicing, consumer reporting, and debt collection segments. The 45-page report indicates that the CFPB collected $107 million in relief … Continue Reading
We have an update to our September 23 post regarding the CFPB’s expanded definition of “small creditors” and “rural areas” for purposes of meeting the requirements of qualified mortgages. As first reported by Housing Wire, the CFPB has now published an updated list of places the CFPB has determined qualify as “rural counties” and “underserved … Continue Reading
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule yesterday aimed at providing the public and regulators with meaningful information concerning the lending practices of financial institutions. The rule updates the reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), typically known as Regulation C, which requires lenders to report information about home loan applications, loans originated, … Continue Reading