CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
On May 6, 2021, the CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs issued its eighth annual report summarizing its activities from January 1 through December 31, 2020. The report discussed the Office’s consumer outreach and educational efforts, servicemember complaint trends, and priorities for 2021.
The Office’s educational outreach focused on specific economic challenges and resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including forbearance programs and emergency grants.… Continue Reading
The CFPB recently issued an update to its Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule FAQs to address a partial exemption added by the Building Up Independent Lives and Dreams Act (BUILD Act) that became law in January 2021.
Before the adoption of the BUILD Act, Regulation Z under TILA already included a partial exemption from the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure requirements of the TRID rule for subordinate housing assistance loans that met certain conditions.… Continue Reading
As part of its Making Ends Meet survey, the CFPB issued a report last week on how consumers use payday, auto title, and pawn loans (“alternative financial services” or “AFS”) and the other sources of credit available to them. Consumers surveyed include only those with a traditional credit record and the sampling focused on consumers with lower credit scores, recent credit delinquencies, or living in rural areas.… Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a charge of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act (Act) against Louis Liberty & Associates, a PLC dba The House Lawyer, Liberty & Associates, a PLC dba The House Lawyer (THL), and owners, employees and agents of THL (collectively, the “Respondents”), one of which was an attorney.… Continue Reading
The Senate Commerce Committee voted yesterday to advance President Biden’s nomination of Lina Khan to serve as FTC Commissioner. Only four Republican Senators voted not to advance Ms. Khan, which is viewed as an indication of bipartisan support for a change in the FTC’s approach to antitrust regulation and enforcement. The nomination now moves to a vote by the full Senate.… Continue Reading
After reviewing the existing types of federal student loans and forgiveness programs, we discuss the current political debate over forgiveness, including the Education Dept.’s upcoming analysis of the President’s forgiveness authority and other analyses of such authority, potential legal sources of such authority, and how courts might respond to challenges to any Presidential action to forgive federal student loans.… Continue Reading
The Fed’s final rule implementing the Durbin Amendment (Regulation II) went into effect in October 2011. Nearly ten years later, the final rule is still provoking controversy in the form of a new lawsuit and proposed amendments to the rule and its official commentary.
The Durbin Amendment (Section 1075 of Dodd-Frank) authorized the Fed to issue regulations to ensure that the amount of any interchange fee received by a large debit card issuer (one with at least $10 billion of assets, together with its affiliates) is reasonable and proportional to the cost incurred by the issuer. … Continue Reading
On April 27, 2021, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing titled, “The Consumer Protection and Recovery Act: Returning Money to Defrauded Consumers.” This hearing was held five days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that § 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “Act”) does not authorize the FTC to seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement. … Continue Reading
Yesterday, by a vote of 52-47, the Senate passed the resolution introduced by Democratic Senators under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the OCC’s “true lender” final rule. The rule addresses when a national bank or federal savings association should be considered the “true lender” in the context of a partnership with a third party. … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the FDIC announced a settlement with Umpqua Bank that involved collection practices connected with commercial equipment financing offered by the bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary. The stipulated Order to Pay Civil Money Penalty requires the bank to pay a $1.8 million CMP.
The practices that the FDIC found to violate Section 5 of the FTC Act consisted of:
