COVID-19

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During D.C.’s declared State of Public Health Emergency, several financial protections have been put in place, including some that severely limit, among other things, collection activities relating to consumer contracts, repossession, and legal actions on accounts.  On September 1, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the most recent pair of emergency and temporary legislation to land on…

With the U.S. Treasury Department now completing the process of issuing the third round of EIPs, financial institutions must navigate a maze of federal and state garnishment protections.  After looking at the protection provided by the three federal pandemic relief laws, we discuss the actions states have taken to protect EIPs and offer our thoughts…

The CFPB has issued an interim final rule that requires “debt collectors” as defined under the FDCPA who seek to evict tenants for non-payment of rent to provide written notice to tenants of their rights under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Order that establishes an eviction moratorium.  The interim rule also prohibits…

In the federal government’s ongoing effort to revive the U.S. economy and help people harmed by the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, an important detail has gone under-noticed:  the most recent set of federal stimulus payments to individuals are subject to garnishment by creditors.  And this fact is creating legal and operational challenges…

The CFPB was busy last week, issuing a series of measures that impact the mortgage servicing industry.

  • On March 31st, the CFPB rescinded seven policy statements, including statements that provided flexibility from supervisory or enforcement actions for loss mitigation and credit reporting activity in connection with the COVID-19 national emergency.
  • On April

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On April 5, 2021, the CFPB issued a blog post suggesting various communication strategies for mortgage servicers, to handle increased volume associated with the COVID-19 national emergency.  Noting the CFPB’s recent Compliance Bulletin 2021-02 and Mortgage Servicing Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the post encourages mortgage servicers to use all available tools to reach affected…

On April 5, 2021, the CFPB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend Regulation X in various ways related to the COVID-19 national emergency (the “Proposed Rule”).  With the goal of enhancing protections for impacted borrowers, the Proposed Rule amends aspects of the early intervention requirements (12 C.F.R. § 1024.39), and loss mitigation procedures…

On April 1, 2021, the CFPB issued Compliance Bulletin 2021-02 (the “Bulletin”), warning mortgage servicers to “take all necessary steps now to prevent a wave of avoidable foreclosures this fall.”  The Bulletin and associated press release cite industry data suggesting that around 1.7 million borrowers will exit COVID-related forbearances in September 2021 and the following…