In recent months, debt relief law firms have mailed volumes of cease and desist letters, credit reporting disputes, and debt validation requests to creditors. These mailings, which are typically lacking in credibility, place an undue burden on businesses. We first discuss responsive strategies creditors should consider for each type of mailing, including what obligations, if any, a creditor has to respond and the impact of state law.… Continue Reading
SCOTUS extends briefing schedule in case challenging constitutionality of CFPB’s funding
By Michael Gordon & Alan S. Kaplinsky on
Posted in CFPB, Litigation and Court Decisions
Having 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, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted the parties’ joint request to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits. The Fifth Circuit panel held the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause of the U.S.… Continue Reading
CFPB and DOJ file statement of interest in lawsuit alleging lender violated ECOA and FHA by denying loan based on appraisal alleged to be discriminatory
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have filed a Statement of Interest regarding the application of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to a lender that allegedly denied a loan to the plaintiffs based on a home appraisal alleged to be discriminatory.… Continue Reading
“Life takes Visa” but debt collectors don’t? New debt repayment rules are coming for collection agencies on April 15, 2023
By Abigail S. Pressler on
Posted in Credit Cards, Debt Collection
Move over, Tax Day! This year, April 15 falls on a Saturday so the IRS moved the tax filing deadline to April 18. What will you do with all that extra time? Don’t worry, Visa’s got you covered.
Visa recently notified its business network that new rules for debt repayment are coming on April 15, 2023. … Continue Reading
GAO issues report on fintech products; recommends CFPB clarify when earned wage access products are “credit” under Truth in Lending Act
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a new report entitled “Financial Technology: Products Have Benefits and Risks to Underserved Consumers, and Regulatory Clarity Is Needed.”
The report focuses on the following four types of fintech products:
- Digital deposit accounts offered by fintech companies through partnerships with banks or credit unions.
SEC asks SCOTUS to review Fifth Circuit decision with implications for CFPB’s use of administrative law judges
By Michael Gordon & Alan S. Kaplinsky on
Posted in CFPB, Regulatory and Enforcement
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case with significant implications for the use of administrative law judges (ALJs) by federal agencies, including the CFPB. … Continue Reading
CFPB Seeks Input on Regulatory Flexibility Act Assessment of Mortgage Loan Originator Rules
By Richard J. Andreano, Jr. on
The CFPB recently announced that it is conducting a review of the Regulation Z mortgage loan originator rules under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and is seeking comments on the economic impact of the rules on small entities. The CFPB advises that “[t]hese comments may assist the Bureau in determining whether the Loan Originator Rules should be continued without change or amended or rescinded to minimize any significant economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of such small entities, consistent with the stated objectives of applicable Federal statutes.” … Continue Reading
CFPB Supervisory Highlights Special Edition looks at “junk fees” charged in connection with deposits, auto servicing, mortgage servicing, payday and small-dollar lending, and student loan servicing
Posted in CFPB Supervision
Continuing its (and the White House’s) “junk fees” rhetoric, the CFPB has released a new issue of Supervisory Highlights that carries the title “Junk Fees Special Edition.” The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations involving fees in the areas of deposits, auto servicing, mortgage servicing, payday and small-dollar lending, and student loan servicing that were completed between July 1, 2022 and February 1, 2023.… Continue Reading
CFPB announces Memorandum of Understanding with NLRB for sharing information to further joint efforts to protect workers
By Alan S. Kaplinsky on
Posted in CFPB, Regulatory and Enforcement
The CFPB announced earlier this week that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that is intended to “help to identify and end financial practices that harm workers and to enhance the enforcement of federal consumer financial protection and labor laws and regulations.” … Continue Reading
This week’s podcast episode: A close look at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s credit card late fees proposal, with special guest Todd J. Zywicki, Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
The CFPB has issued a proposal that would make significant changes to the current rules for credit card late fees, including substantially reducing the safe harbor late fee amounts that card issuers can charge and eliminating annual inflation adjustments. After reviewing the legislative and regulatory history of the current rules, we look at the CFPB’s flawed rationale for reducing the safe harbor to a flat $8 for all late payments, identify the serious flaws in its economic analysis of the likely effects of the reduction, and discuss how the proposal relates to the Biden Administration’s junk fees initiative. … Continue Reading