Townstone Mortgage (Townstone) has filed its brief in the CFPB’s appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from the district court’s decision in the CFPB’s enforcement action against Townstone.  In the decision, the district court ruled that a redlining claim may not be brought under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) because the statute only applies to applicants.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on its request for approval by the Office of Management and Budget of a new one-time survey of student loan borrowers.  Comments must be received by September 18, 2023.

The survey is intended to allow the CFPB “to understand [student borrowers’] borrowing decisions, their experience managing their loans, and their expectations for the future.” … Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the motion filed by the 27 Republican State Attorney Generals who filed an amicus brief in support of Community Financial Services Association in CFSA v. CFPB asking for leave to participate in oral argument.  No explanation for the denial was given by the Court.  While the Supreme Court almost routinely grants requests by the Solicitor General to participate in oral argument as amicus, it grants requests from State Attorneys General to argue as amici with much less frequency.… Continue Reading

Earlier this month, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (“OFR”) issued guidance (the “Guidance”) to provide clarity on how the OFR views Earned Wage Access (“EWA”) products and describe the requirements entities offering EWA products must adhere to.

Providing some background for the Guidance, EWA is a financial concept that allows employees to access a portion of their earned but unpaid wages before a regular payday. … Continue Reading

Professor Jeff Sovern, who recently joined the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law faculty, has recently blogged about a forthcoming Study by academicians at other institutions that will be published in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.  The Study, titled “TL;DR: The Law and Linguistics of Social Platform Terms-of-Use,” examines the content and readability of online terms of use and, according to Professor Sovern, “illustrates how crazy arbitration opt-outs have become.” … Continue Reading

The CFPB has released an update to the Filing Instructions Guide for Small Business Lending Data. The Guide is intended to serve as a set of resources for entities who will be required to file small business lending data with the CFPB in 2025 covering the period from October 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.… Continue Reading

We recently reported that the Kentucky Bankers Association and several Kentucky banks filed a lawsuit against the CFPB in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky alleging that the CFPB’s final small business lending rule (Rule) is invalid because, among other reasons, the CFPB is unconstitutionally funded.  We expressed surprise that the plaintiffs chose that path instead of seeking leave to intervene in the lawsuit challenging the Rule that was filed by the American Bankers Association (ABA), Texas Bankers Association (TBA) and Rio Grande Bank and is pending in the U.S.… Continue Reading

Rally Credit Union, the Credit Union National Association, and Cornerstone Credit Union League (Credit Union Intervenors) have filed a joinder to the motion for preliminary injunction filed by Texas First Bank, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, and Independent Community Bankers of America (Community Bank Intervenors) in the Texas lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s final small business lending rule (Rule).… Continue Reading

The CFPB’s final rule implementing Section 1071 requires financial institutions to collect and report certain data in connection with credit applications made by small businesses, including women-, minority- or LGBTQI+-owned small businesses.  In this episode, we respond to questions received from attendees of our April 2023 attendance-breaking webinar about the final rule. … Continue Reading

Two new developments occurred yesterday in the Texas lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s final small business lending rule (Rule). 

First, the Texas federal district court granted the unopposed emergency motion of Texas First Bank (Texas First), Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT), and Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) seeking leave to intervene in the lawsuit. … Continue Reading