Theodore R. Flo

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On April 23, 2019, the CFPB announced that it will provide more transparency to recipients of Civil Investigative Demands (“CIDs”) on what the investigation is about. The CFPB’s press release stated that “CIDs will provide more information about the potentially applicable provisions of law that may have been violated. CIDs will also typically specify the business activities subject to the Bureau’s authority.”… Continue Reading

On April 2, 2019, the FDIC issued Financial Institution Letter FIL-19-2019 (the “Letter”) to remind financial institutions about certain contractual provisions and other requirements pertaining to technology service provider contracts. Apparently, during recent routine examinations, the FDIC found several technology service provider contracts that were inadequate under existing guidance. These contracts were missing or inadequately addressed key terms, such as:

  1. Requiring the service provider to maintain a business continuity plan,
  2. Establishing recovery standards,
  3. Specifying the institution’s remedies if the service provider misses a recovery standard,
  4. Requiring the service provider to respond to security incidents by, among other things, notifying the institution, and
  5. Defining key terms in the contracts relevant to business continuity and/or incident response.As
… Continue Reading

On November 15, 2018, in response to a November 7, 2018 letter from Republican Senators, FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams announced that the FDIC has engaged outside counsel to investigate the Obama-era Operation Choke Point, under which the FDIC and other government agencies pressured banks not to do business with payday lenders.… Continue Reading

On September 17, 2018, four Amici filed briefs in the CFPB’s case against All American Check Cashing, which is now before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court is considering whether the structure of the CFPB is constitutional and what impact its structure, right or wrong, has on its ability to continue to prosecute claims against regulated entities.… Continue Reading

The BCPB has historically taken the position that it can use investigations to conduct compliance “sweeps” of entire industries. Indeed, a version of the BCFP’s Enforcement Policies and Procedures Manual made available to the public through a FOIA request in 2016 stated that: “It is not necessary to have evidence that a law has in fact been violated before opening a formal investigation.… Continue Reading

It appears that Acting Director Mulvaney’s BCFP is about to settle a case that former Director Cordray’s CFPB filed in 2015 against D&D Marketing, which allegedly engages in lead generation for payday, tribal, and offshore lenders under the name T3 Leads.  Based on the docket, the case appears to have been in active, heated litigation from the time it was filed until just recently. … Continue Reading

On June 21, 2018, Judge Preska of the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) issued a decision finding that the CFPB’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause structure is unconstitutional.  In doing so, the SDNY held that Title X of Dodd-Frank—the title that created the CFPB and established its regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement authority—should be stricken in its entirety.… Continue Reading

On May 7, 2018, at the Practicing Law Institute’s 23rd Annual Consumer Financial Services Institute in Chicago, panel members Kristen Donoghue, the CFPB’s top enforcement official, and Allison Brown, from the Bureau’s Office of Supervision Policy, discussed how the Bureau has changed under Acting Director Mulvaney’s leadership, and how it has not changed. … Continue Reading

On January 31, 2018, the en banc D.C. Circuit handed down its opinion in the PHH v. CFPB case, which we’ve discussed at length. It held, 7 to 3, that the CFPB’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause structure is constitutional but that the CFPB’s interpretation of RESPA was wrong.

En Banc Court Reinstates Panel’s RESPA Ruling

The en banc Court reinstated the RESPA-related portions of the D.C.… Continue Reading

On January 30, 2018, the federal district court hearing Leandra English’s action seeking a declaration that she is the lawful Acting CFPB Director granted the parties joint motion to stay further proceedings pending a decision from the D.C. Circuit in her appeal of the district court’s denial of her preliminary injunction motion.… Continue Reading