CFPB Supervision

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The CFPB  recently issued a policy statement in which it provided a framework for determining what constitutes abusive conduct under the CFPA.  After reviewing the definition of abusive in the CFPA and the historical background of the adoption of an abusive standard in the CFPA, we examine how the policy statement addresses each element of the abusive standard and share our observations as to the policy statement’s implications. … Continue Reading

In a comment letter sent last week to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, a key financial industry trade group raised concerns that a recent edition of the CFPB’s Supervisory Highlights did not provide sufficient details about the facts or analysis behind the Bureau’s conclusions regarding certain exam findings. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has released a new issue of Supervisory Highlights that carries the title “Junk Fees Update Special Edition.”  The report discusses the CFPB’s examinations involving fees in the areas of deposits, auto servicing, and remittances  that were generally completed between February 2023 and August 2023.   The report updates the CFPB’s “Junk Fees Special Edition” of Supervisory Highlights issued in March 2023. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has released the Summer 2023 edition of Supervisory Highlights.  The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations in the areas of auto origination and servicing, consumer reporting, debt collection, deposits, mortgage origination and servicing, and payday and small dollar lending, that were completed from July 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. … Continue Reading

I am very tired of the Biden Administration’s, most notably the CFPB’s, inflammatory rhetoric about “junk fees.”  In its recent “Junk Fees Special Edition” of Supervisory Highlights, the CFPB defined “junk fees” as “unnecessary charges that inflate costs while adding little to no value to the consumer” and stated that “[t]hese unavoidable or surprise charges are often hidden or disclosed only at a later stage in the consumer’s purchasing process or sometimes not at all.”… Continue Reading

Continuing its (and the White House’s) “junk fees” rhetoric, the CFPB has released a new issue of Supervisory Highlights that carries the title “Junk Fees Special Edition.”  The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations involving fees in the areas of deposits, auto servicing, mortgage servicing, payday and small-dollar lending, and student loan servicing that were completed between July 1, 2022 and February 1, 2023.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has released the Fall 2022 edition of its Supervisory Highlights.  The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations in the areas of auto servicing, consumer reporting, credit card account management, debt collection, deposits, mortgage origination, mortgage servicing, and payday lending that were completed between January 1, 2022 and June 31, 2022. … Continue Reading

Last week, the CFPB issued a “Student Loan Servicing Special Edition” of Supervisory Highlights.  In this blog post, we highlight a stealth expansion of supervisory jurisdiction and focus on the CFPB’s findings in two key areas:

  • Transcript withholding policies at institutional lenders (e.g. for-profit colleges that make private loans directly to student); and
  • Administration by servicers of Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Driven Repayment (IDR), and Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF).
… Continue Reading

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) have filed a joint petition with the CFPB that urges the Bureau to engage in rulemaking to define larger participants in the market for personal loans.  In February 2022, the CFPB established a new procedure for members of the public to submit petitions for rulemaking (including amendments to or repeals of existing rules). … Continue Reading

Ms. Twohig, a recognized consumer finance expert, shares her insights regarding the CFPB’s supervisory program.  Our discussion topics include: the differences between the CFPB’s supervisory program and the programs of the federal and state banking regulators; the CFPB’s approach to allocating resources, conducting exams, and examiner training; the origins and objectives of Supervisory Highlights; how the CFPB’s supervisory focus has changed over time and the impact of leadership changes; and the CFPB’s recent announcements regarding use of its risk-based supervisory authority for nonbanks and use of UDAAP to combat non-credit discrimination.… Continue Reading