Fair Credit

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The consumer reporting system is undergoing rapid change, raising important questions for financial institutions, consumer reporting agencies, data furnishers, and consumers. In this week’s episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast, our host Alan Kaplinsky (founder, former practice group leader for 25 years and now Senior Counsel of our Consumer Financial Services Group) is joined by Dan Smith, President and CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA), and Adam Maarec, a member of our Consumer Financial Services Group, for an in-depth discussion of the legal, regulatory, and technological developments reshaping the consumer reporting ecosystem.… Continue Reading

Introduction

Illinois has joined a growing number of states that are expanding fair lending obligations at the state level even as the federal government moves in the opposite direction. On July 31, 2026, SB 3777 became Public Act 104-0744, amending the Illinois Human Rights Act (Act) to prohibit not only intentional discrimination in lending and credit card issuance, but also the use of facially neutral underwriting criteria or methodologies that produce discriminatory effects.… Continue Reading

On May 12, 2026, we produced a 90-minute webinar in which we explored one of the most important and rapidly developing issues in consumer financial services law: coerced debt and the emerging legislative efforts designed to address it. The webinar has been re-purposed into a two-part podcast series, the first of which was released this past Thursday, June 11th, and the second of which is being released today, Thursday, June 18th.… Continue Reading

In today’s episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Show, our host, Ballard Spahr’s Alan Kaplinsky, was joined by colleagues Steven Burt and Melanie Vartabedian to explore a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex area of consumer financial services: residential solar finance.

Building on prior discussions of the broader solar finance landscape, this episode zeroes in on the regulatory and litigation developments that are reshaping the residential solar market in real time.… Continue Reading

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) recently sent a letter to Fair Isaac Corporation announcing that as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and as a member of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, he is investigating the company’s pricing practices in the mortgage credit scoring market.

Fair Isaac generates a consumer credit score known as FICO, which the Senator notes “dominates the credit scoring market with a product used by 90% of lenders, potentially commanding an even larger market share for first-time home buyers.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB is considering proposing amendments to Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), to address concerns related to information furnished to consumer reporting agencies regarding coerced debt. This follows the CFPB’s issuance of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on December 13, 2024 to solicit information on amending the definitions of “identity theft” and “identity theft report,” as well as other related amendments to Regulation V.… Continue Reading

Seventeen financial services trade groups are calling on the CFPB to abandon its plan to amend rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to vastly expand the scope of the FCRA by redefining what a “consumer report” is and who is a “consumer reporting agency.” As previously reported, while the CFPB touts the proposal as one to cover data brokers, it is much broader than that.… Continue Reading

In today’s episode, we discuss the CFPB’s recent proposed data broker rule—a proposal that would greatly expand the reach of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

On December 3, the CFPB issued a proposed rule promoted as one that would require companies that sell data about income or financial tier, credit history, credit score or debt payments to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.… Continue Reading

As previously reported, bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 7297) and U.S. Senate (S. 3502) to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to curtail the practice of trigger leads with mortgage loans. Recently, a diverse group sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs expressing support for the bills.… Continue Reading

As previously reported, in 2023 bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 4198) and the U.S. Senate (S. 3502) to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to curtail the practice of trigger leads with mortgage loans. While the goals of the bills are the same, the language of the bills differ.… Continue Reading