Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

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CFPB to Announce Small-dollar Lending Rule on June 2

By Anthony Sharett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Announces Proposed Ban to Mandatory Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements

By Consumer Financial Services Team on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Announces $2.5 Million Fine, Compliance Monitoring for Deceptive Debt Collection Practices

Photo of Joel D. GottesmanBy Joel D. Gottesman on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Cannot Force For-Profit College Group to Comply With Investigative Demand

Photo of Douglas A. VonderhaarBy Douglas A. Vonderhaar on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Announces May 5 Field Hearing on Arbitration

By Anthony Sharett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Identifies Hidden Costs and Fees Associated With Online Payday Loans

Photo of Keesha N. WarmsbyBy Keesha N. Warmsby on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion Publishes Annual Report

By Anthony Sharett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

D.C. Circuit Judge Expresses Concern That CFPB Concentrates “Huge Power” in Single Director

Photo of Patrick T. LewisBy Patrick T. Lewis on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

Latest CFPB Report Highlights Consumer Debt Collection Complaints

By Andrew A. Wood on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

Disparate Impact Continues to be a Viable Discrimination Theory for the CFPB under the ECOA

By Melonia A. Bennett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Director Cordray Touts Success and Future Agenda

By Andrew A. Wood on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Returns Millions to Consumers Using Supervisory Authority

By Anthony Sharett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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 CFPB Joins Privacy and Security Enforcement Arena With Action Against Dwolla

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman and David M. Brown on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Issues TRID Revision

Photo of Keesha N. WarmsbyBy Keesha N. Warmsby on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Encourages Financial Institutions to Improve Checking Account Access

Photo of Patrick T. LewisBy Patrick T. Lewis on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Releases Guidance on Construction Loan Disclosures

Photo of Douglas A. VonderhaarBy Douglas A. Vonderhaar on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Issues RFI for HMDA Data Resubmission Final Rule

By Melonia A. Bennett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Settles With Debt-Collection “Mill” That Filed 350,000+ Lawsuits Over Four Years

By Andrew A. Wood on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Releases Bulletin Outlining Automatic Debit Requirements for Financial Entities

By Melonia A. Bennett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB’s Fall 2015 Rulemaking Agenda Includes Student Loan Servicing

By Melonia A. Bennett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Releases Fall 2015 Report Touting Recovery of Millions Through Supervisory Actions

By Anthony Sharett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Publishes List of Rural Counties and Underserved Areas

By Andrew A. Wood on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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

CFPB Finalizes New HMDA Reporting Requirements

By Anthony Sharett on Posted in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Real Estate
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
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