In a letter to Director Chopra, five banking trade groups address the CFPB’s obligation to comply with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA) before proposing a rule on credit card late fees and late payments. The groups are the American Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, and National Bankers Association.… Continue Reading
HUD Addresses Use of Revised Fannie/Freddie Loan Documents with FHA Loans
By Richard J. Andreano, Jr. on
In Mortgagee Letter 2023-01, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) addressed the use of the revised Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family loan documents with FHA Title II forward mortgage loans. As previously reported, in July 2021 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released revised versions of their notes and security instruments for single-family loans. … Continue Reading
Third Circuit rejects TCPA claim in “junk fax” putative class action
By Michael Fausey on
Posted in Litigation and Court Decisions, TCPA
On January 19, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act claim arising from allegedly illegal faxes about a free educational seminar.
Appellee Millennium Health LLC operated a laboratory providing drug testing and medication monitoring services to healthcare professionals, including Appellant Dr.… Continue Reading
CFPB Hosts Hearing On Appraisal Bias
By Loran Kilson on
The CFPB recently hosted the first hearing of the Appraisal Subcommittee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“ASC”) on appraisal bias. The hearing was led by CFPB Deputy Director Zixta Martinez and ASC Executive Director Jim Park. HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, and FHFA Director Sandra Thompson also participated in the hearing.… Continue Reading
This week’s podcast episode: How the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the threat to the CFPB’s funding and structure: Part II, with Adam J. White, a renowned expert on Separation of Powers and the Appropriations Clause and a close follower of the Supreme Court
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
The eyes of the consumer finance world are now on the Supreme Court as it decides whether to grant the CFPB’s certiorari petition in Consumer Financial Services Association Ltd. v. CFPB. In the decision, a Fifth Circuit panel held the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S.… Continue Reading
CFPB issues request for information on consumer credit card market
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
The CFPB has issued a new request for information (RFI) to inform its biennial review of the credit card market mandated by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act). Comments on the RFI must be received by April 24, 2023.
The CFPB’s first CARD Act report was published in October 2013, its second report was published in December 2015, its third report was published in December 2017, its fourth report was published in August 2019, and its fifth report was published in September 2021.… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve Board final rule on benchmark replacements for contracts that use LIBOR published in Federal Register; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instruct servicers on LIBOR replacement indices
The final rule issued by the Federal Reserve Board to implement the LIBOR Act by establishing default rules for benchmark replacements in certain contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate was published in today’s Federal Register and will become effective on February 27, 2023.
Yesterday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued instructions to servicers on replacement indices for their legacy single-family mortgage loans with 1-month, 6-month, and 1-year LIBOR indices. … Continue Reading
Tenth Circuit dismisses FDCPA claim for lack of standing where third party mail vendor sent collection letters
By Brian Turetsky & Abigail S. Pressler on
Posted in Debt Collection, Litigation and Court Decisions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently joined the Eleventh Circuit (and a growing majority of courts) in rejecting the “Hunstein theory” of liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In Shields v. Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, Inc., the Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of FDCPA claims for lack of standing, confirming that a debt collector’s use of an outside mail vendor does not constitute an actionable, concrete injury.… Continue Reading
Bank trade groups seek more time to comment on FDIC proposed signage and advertising rule
By Mindy Harris on
Posted in FDIC, Regulatory and Enforcement
In a letter sent earlier this month, the Bank Policy Institute, the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America (the “trade groups”) have asked the FDIC for more time to comment on the agency’s proposal, published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2022, to update its existing regulations governing use and misuse of the FDIC’s name, logo and official sign, and adding further detail to rules regarding misrepresentation of insured status.… Continue Reading
NYDFS releases guidance focusing on custody of customers’ virtual currency in the event of insolvency
By John Georgievski & John D. Socknat on
On January 23, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services released guidance with the stated goal of helping to protect customers of virtual currency businesses in the event of an insolvency or similar proceeding by imposing new custody and disclosure requirements on virtual currency entities that act as custodians. Specifically, the guidance focuses on four areas for virtual currency entities acting as custodians (or “VCE Custodians”):
- Segregation of and Separate Accounting for Customer Virtual Currency: A VCE Custodian is expected to (1) separately account for and segregate customer virtual currency from the corporate assets of the VCE Custodian and its affiliated entities, both on-chain and on the VCE Custodian’s internal ledger accounts; (2) avoid comingling customer virtual currency with any of the VCE Custodian’s own virtual currency or with any other non-customer virtual currency; and (3) clearly and prominently disclose the manner in which the VCE Custodian segregates and accounts for customer virtual currency.