The CFPB has issued a new advisory opinion “to affirm that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B protect those actively seeking credit and those who sought and received credit.”

The ECOA defines an “applicant” to mean “any person who applies to a creditor directly for an extension, renewal, or continuation of credit, or applies to a creditor indirectly by use of an existing credit plan for an amount exceeding a previously established credit limit.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB and the FTC recently filed an amicus brief in an appeal to the Second Circuit, arguing that the Court should reject the District Court’s “unduly narrow” interpretation of the FCRA requirement that consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) follow reasonable procedures to assure accuracy of information included in consumer reports.

In Sessa v.… Continue Reading

The Eighth Circuit reiterated in a decision last month that trial courts must distinguish between FCRA plaintiffs who have suffered concrete harm and plaintiffs who merely seek to collect statutorily allowed damages as a way to ensure compliance with the law.  Under the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo, the former have Article III standing to assert FCRA claims but the latter do not.… Continue Reading

Our Consumer Finance Monitor podcast continues to cover the most important industry issues.  In anticipation of the American Law Institute (“ALI”) considering the Restatement of the Law, Consumer Contracts (the “Restatement”) at its Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on Tuesday, May 17, we plan to release an episode about the Restatement with guest Steven Weise, a member of ALI’s Council on Monday, May 16. … Continue Reading

The Fourth Circuit heard argument earlier this week on whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields on-line data aggregator, PublicData.com, from FCRA liability in a putative class action dismissed last year by a federal judge in Virginia.  We previously blogged about the amicus brief filed in the appeal by the CFPB, FTC, and North Carolina Department of Justice.… Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission issued two notices this week concerning the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)—an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) and a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR).  Both notices address the TSR’s exemption of business-to-business (B2B) telemarketing calls.  The FTC issued the new notices following its review of comments received in response to the regulatory review of the TSR it initiated in 2014. … Continue Reading

The en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the CFPB’s enforcement action against All American Check Cashing can proceed despite the unconstitutionality of the CFPB’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause-structure at the time the enforcement action was filed.  However, in a concurring opinion, five judges expressed their agreement with All American’s argument that the unconstitutionality of the CFPB’s funding mechanism requires dismissal of the enforcement action.… Continue Reading

We discuss the industries and practices that have been the subject of recent FTC enforcement focus, including: marketing, servicing, and collection practices involving small business financing such as merchant cash advances; auto add-on product sales practices; product endorsements and reviews; dark patterns; marketing practices of for-profit schools; lead generation; and COVID-related fraud. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has released the Spring 2022 edition of its Supervisory Highlights.  The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations in the areas of auto servicing, consumer reporting, credit card account management, debt collection, deposits, mortgage origination, prepaid accounts, remittance transfers, and student loan servicing that were completed between July 2021 and December 2021. … Continue Reading

Connecticut is the next in a growing list of states to pass comprehensive data privacy legislation.  Last Friday, the Connecticut legislature passed, by large margins, Senate Bill 6 — which we are referring to as the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA).  The law now awaits the Governor’s signature.

The CTDPA follows the form and content of other privacy laws passed in the prior year, including the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), and Utah Privacy Act (UPA). … Continue Reading