In a blog post that appeared last week, the CFPB reported on research into various factors considered significant in explaining current credit card interest rates.  The CFPB reported that over 175 million Americans have at least one credit card, half of which carry a balance that continues to accrue increasingly high interest rates. … Continue Reading

A new report by the CFPB uses over five million credit records from one of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies to examine how credit card companies have used credit line decreases throughout the Great Recession and the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As a general trend, the report found issuers used credit line decreases during broad economic downturns as a way to decrease overall risk.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has taken the first formal step towards a new rulemaking on credit card late fees by issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR).  Comments on the ANPR must be received by July 22, 2022.

The issuance of the ANPR follows the CFPB’s release of a report on late fees in March 2022. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has sent letters to the chief executive officers of six major credit card issuers regarding their companies’ payment furnishing practices.

In the letters, the CFPB cites a 2020 report in which it provided data showing a decline in the share of credit card tradelines containing actual payment data since 2012. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has released the Spring 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, prepaid accounts, remittance transfers, and student loan servicing that were completed between July 2021 and December 2021. … Continue Reading

The CFPB recently published a final rule regarding various annual adjustments it is required to make under provisions of Regulation Z (TILA) that implement the CARD Act, HOEPA, and the ability to repay/qualified mortgage provisions of Dodd-Frank.  The adjustments reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index in effect on June 1, 2021 and will take effect January 1, 2022.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued an approval order through its Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy (CAS Policy) to Synchrony Bank in connection with a proposed “dual-feature” credit card (DFCC) program.

The CFPB instituted the CAS Policy in 2019 in an attempt to encourage innovation through the testing of financial products that could benefit consumers but might pose regulatory uncertainty. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a new request for information about the credit card market that seeks comment on two related, but separate, reviews.  One review is a review of CARD Act rules pursuant to Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which requires the CFPB to review certain rules within 10 years of their publication and consider the rules’ effect on small entities.   … Continue Reading

On July 16, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an updated 2020 Complaint Bulletin and again focused on complaints related to COVID-19.

The Complaint Bulletin reflects 2020 consumer complaint data through June 15, 2020, and focuses on complaints filed through May 31, 2020 that mention COVID-19 keywords. Of the 187,547 complaints received in 2020, 8,357 included a COVID-19 keyword.… Continue Reading