Rene T. McNulty

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On January 4, 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) published an Interpretive Letter clarifying the authority of national banks and federal savings associations to participate in independent node verification networks (“INVN”) and use stablecoins to conduct payment activities and other bank-permissible functions.

A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that is backed by an asset, such as a fiat currency or a commodity, which is designed to have a stable value as compared with other types of cryptocurrency. … Continue Reading

Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consent order against a New Jersey debt buyer accused of threatening and suing consumers to collect debts in states where it did not have a legally required license.

Specifically, the Bureau alleged that RAB Performance Recoveries, LLC’s (RAB) purchased consumer debt accounts from debt brokers and placed the accounts for collection with collections law firms in the states where the consumers were located. … Continue Reading

Last week, the CFPB filed a lawsuit in a California federal district court against Performance SLC LLC, Performance Settlement, and Daniel Crenshaw, the owner and CEO of the two companies.  Performance SLC is a debt-settlement company focused on federal student loan debt, and Performance Settlement is also a debt-settlement company.

The complaint alleges that Performance SLC and Crenshaw violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by charging illegal advance fees to student loan borrowers seeking to obtain loan consolidation, loan forgiveness, or income-driven repayment plans for their federal student loans. … Continue Reading

On November 13, 2020, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET, we will present a webinar on the CFPB’s final collection rule.  Click here for more information and to register.

Among the items proposed in the CFPB’s NPRM that were adopted in its final collections rule are restrictions on call attempts and a limited content message definition. … Continue Reading

It appears that the final chapter of the ITT Educational Services, Inc. (“ITT”) story was written last week with the CFPB’s announcement that it entered into a stipulated settlement with PEAKS Trust 2009-1 (“PEAKS”), a special purpose entity created in 2009 to purchase, own, and manage certain private student loans with students enrolled at ITT.… Continue Reading

The CFPB announced on August 14, 2019 that, subject to the approval of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the Bureau and the Arkansas Attorney General have entered into a proposed settlement with Andrew Gamber, Voyager Financial Group, LLC, BAIC, Inc., and SoBell Corp. to resolve the Bureau’s allegations that the defendants violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act while brokering contracts that offered high-interest credit to veterans and other consumers, through which these consumers received lump-sum payments in exchange for assigning their monthly pension or disability payments to investors.… Continue Reading

The Department of Education has announced the new federal student loan interest rates for 2019-2020.  For the first time in three years, interest rates on federal student loans will decrease.  Rates for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans (for undergraduate students) will fall to 4.53 percent, down from 5.05 percent for the 2018-2019 academic year.  … Continue Reading