The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a final rule replacing the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for newly originated FHA-insured adjustable-rate forward mortgage loans and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), and for existing adjustable-rate forward mortgage loans and HECMs. … Continue Reading
FCC considering new requirements for blocking text messages and new limits on text message senders
By Daniel JT McKenna on
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would impose new requirements for the blocking of text messages by mobile wireless providers and propose new limitations on senders of text messages. The document has been circulated for consideration by the FCC at its March 2023 open meeting and the FCC’s ultimate resolution of the issues is subject to change.… Continue Reading
DFPI releases modified proposed California Consumer Financial Protection Law regulations addressing certain commercial transactions
By John Georgievski & John D. Socknat on
On February 24, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) released a Notice containing modifications to previously proposed regulations addressing the Consumer Financial Protection Law (“CFPL”). The CFPL, in addition to its consumer focused provisions, contains UDAAP and reporting rules regarding certain commercial financial products and services offered to “covered entities,” which is defined to include small businesses, nonprofits, and family farms whose activities are principally directed or managed from California. … Continue Reading
CFPB and FTC issue request for information on background screening in connection with rental housing
By Alan S. Kaplinsky & Roger D. Winston on
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission issued a request for information (RFI) yesterday seeking comment on “background screening issues affecting individuals who seek rental housing in the United States, including how the use of criminal and eviction records and algorithms affect tenant screening decisions and may be driving discriminatory outcomes.” … Continue Reading
SCOTUS hears oral argument in cases challenging Biden Administration student loan forgiveness plan
By Thomas Burke on
Posted in Litigation and Court Decisions, Student Loans
On February 28, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in two separate cases challenging the Biden Administration’s authority to proceed with its plan to forgive approximately $400 billion in federal student loans. In the first case, the Biden Administration seeks to vacate an injunction granted by a three-judge panel of the U.S.… Continue Reading
CFPB finalizes updates to Rules of Practice for Adjudication Proceedings
By Michael Gordon on
Posted in CFPB, Regulatory and Enforcement
The CFPB has finalized a procedural rule that updates its Rules of Practice for Adjudication Proceedings (Rules of Practice). The procedural rule was issued in February 2022 and became effective on February 22, 2022, the date of its publication in the Federal Register. According to the CFPB, because the procedural rule was a rule of agency organization, procedure, and practice, it was exempt from Administrative Procedure Act (APA) notice-and-comment requirements. … Continue Reading
SCOTUS agrees to decide whether CFPB’s funding is unconstitutional but will not hear case until next Term
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the certiorari petition filed by the CFPB seeking review of the Fifth Circuit panel decision in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. v. CFPB. In that decision, the Fifth Circuit panel held the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S.… Continue Reading
CFPB issues orders requesting information to large auto lenders
By Brian Turetsky on
On February 23, 2023, the CFPB announced in a blog post that it had issued orders to nine large auto lenders requesting information about their auto lending portfolios. The orders, which the CFPB says were sent to a cross-section of the auto finance market, represent the latest action taken by the Bureau in its effort to build a new data set that gives better insight into market trends. … Continue Reading
CFPB issues findings on “suppression” of actual payment data by major credit card issuers
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
In May 2022, the CFPB sent letters to the chief executive officers of six major credit card issuers regarding their companies’ payment furnishing practices. On February 16, the CFPB published a blog post about its key findings based on the issuers’ responses to those letters and released the letter it sent to the issuers summarizing its key findings.… Continue Reading
FDIC Keeps Up the Pressure on Misleading Representations about Deposit Insurance
By Mindy Harris on
Earlier this month, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued cease-and-desist letters to a cryptocurrency exchange and a fintech, demanding that each of these entities immediately stop making false and misleading statements about FDIC coverage of their financial products. The FDIC also issued cease and desist letters to two marketing websites, demanding that they remove false and misleading statements about FDIC insurance coverage with respect to the cryptocurrency exchange.… Continue Reading