Earlier this week, a group of consumer advocate organizations filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the CFPB that would prohibit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts in favor of arbitration clauses that would permit consumers to choose between arbitration and litigation only after a dispute has arisen. There are numerous compelling reasons why the CFPB should not engage in such rulemaking.… Continue Reading

On September 8, 2023, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an alert regarding a notorious virtual currency scam called “pig butchering,” because, unfortunately, it resembles the “fattening a hog before slaughter.” These scams are primarily perpetrated by criminal organizations in Southeast Asia where these scams are also called “Sha Zhu Pan.”… Continue Reading

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra recently addressed The Mortgage Collaborative National Conference recounting the Congressional response to the mortgage industry crisis that began in 2008 that resulted in the creation of the CFPB. Mr. Chopra emphasized that challenges to the validity and authority of the CFPB could hurt the stability of the U.S.… Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on September 11, 2023, settled a claim against a group of affiliated entities operating a background reporting business, Instant Checkmate, LLC, TruthFinder, LLC, The Control Group Media Company, LLC, Intelicare Direct, LLC, and PubRec LLC (“background report companies” or “companies”) for alleged misrepresentations that deceived consumers about whether they had criminal records and for operating as a consumer reporting agency without following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).… Continue Reading

Alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), approximately 50,000 Samsung customers filed individual arbitration demands with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) pursuant to an arbitration clause in Samsung’s customer agreement. Samsung refused to pay its share of the AAA’s administrative fees, totaling about $4 million, and the AAA closed the matters for lack of payment.… Continue Reading

The CFPB published guidance to remind the mortgage industry of numerous U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) policy statements that were issued before the CFPB assumed authority for enforcing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The CFPB reiterates that official guidance documents issued by other agencies prior to the 2011 transfer would be applied by the CFPB unless they were superseded by law.… Continue Reading

Our special guest is Professor Dan Awrey of Cornell Law School. In July 2023, the Federal Reserve launched FedNow, its instant payments system. After reviewing what FedNow is (and is not), we discuss FedNow’s design features and pricing schedule, the obstacles that currently exist for usage of FedNow by community banks, and what changes can be made to increase FedNow usage by community banks. We… Continue Reading

The Consumer Bankers Association (“CBA”) recently published a letter it sent to the CFPB describing the information that banks typically use for identity verification and fraud prevention and addressing the impact of subjecting such information to the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).

The letter is a response to CFPB Director Chopra’s recent remarks detailing proposed changes to the FCRA.… Continue Reading

Last week, three farm credit trade associations filed the latest in a series of unopposed emergency motions for leave to intervene in the Texas case challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) final small business lending rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act (Rule). The intervenors – the Farm Credit Council, Texas Farm Credit, and Capital Farm Credit (collectively, “Farm Credit Intervenors”) – argue that the Rule imposes substantial burdens on agricultural lenders and the institutions that support them, and that the members they represent will suffer disproportionately, as the majority of their loans go to small businesses, such as farmers, ranches, and agribusinesses, covered by the Rule.… Continue Reading

Yesterday, we blogged about the opinion issued on September 8 by the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in the lawsuit brought last year by several trade associations against the CFPB. In that lawsuit, the trade associations challenged changes made by the CFPB to its UDAAP Exam Manual in March, 2022 to encompass discrimination claims within the “unfairness” prong even when such claims go well beyond the scope of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.… Continue Reading