The Biden transition has announced the members of its agency review teams.

The team leaders include the following individuals:

CFPB.  The team will be led by Leandra English, who is currently with the New York Department of Financial Services.  As our blog readers may recall, Ms. English was appointed CFPB Deputy Director by former CFPB Director Cordray upon his departure from the Bureau. … Continue Reading

We take a close look at the role of the new Office of SEFL Policy and Strategy to be created by the plan and how the plan would change the CFPB’s current enforcement decision-making process.  We also look at how the plan aligns with the approach of federal banking regulators, share our reactions to criticism of the plan by Democratic lawmakers and thoughts on the new Office’s expected leadership, and discuss the Presidential election’s potential impact.… Continue Reading

Last week, the CFPB filed a lawsuit in a California federal district court against Performance SLC LLC, Performance Settlement, and Daniel Crenshaw, the owner and CEO of the two companies.  Performance SLC is a debt-settlement company focused on federal student loan debt, and Performance Settlement is also a debt-settlement company.

The complaint alleges that Performance SLC and Crenshaw violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by charging illegal advance fees to student loan borrowers seeking to obtain loan consolidation, loan forgiveness, or income-driven repayment plans for their federal student loans. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a no-action letter (NAL) to a bank to facilitate the bank’s ability to offer a small-dollar loan product.

In May 2020, the CFPB issued a No-Action Letter Template for small-dollar loan products (Template) offered by insured depository institutions or credit unions subject to the Bureau’s supervisory and enforcement jurisdiction (i.e.,… Continue Reading

On November 13, 2020, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET, we will present a webinar on the CFPB’s final collection rule.  Click here for more information and to register.

Our blog post series has detailed a number of ways in which the CFPB’s final debt collection rule departs from last year’s NPRM. … Continue Reading

The National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, represented by Public Citizen and the Center for Responsible Lending, filed a lawsuit against the CFPB in D.C. federal district court seeking to overturn the CFPB’s July 2020 final rule (2020 Rule) that rescinded the ability-to-repay provisions in its 2017 final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule (2017 Rule). … Continue Reading

In last week’s election, Nebraska voters passed Initiative 428, a ballot measure that places a 36 percent APR cap on payday loans. The question presented to voters was:

Shall Nebraska statutes be amended to: (1) reduce the amount that delayed deposit services licensees, also known as payday lenders, can charge to a maximum annual percentage rate of thirty-six percent; (2) prohibit payday lenders from evading this rate cap; and (3) deem void and uncollectable any delayed deposit transaction made in violation of this rate cap?… Continue Reading

On November 13, 2020, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET, we will present a webinar on the CFPB’s final collection rule.  Click here for more information and to register.

The CFPB’s debt collection final rule will significantly impact the operations of mortgage servicers.  Not surprisingly, the CFPB declined to generally exempt mortgage servicers from the definition of a “debt collector” under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). … Continue Reading

On November 9, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in a press release that it had reached a settlement with Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (Zoom) to resolve allegations that Zoom had engaged in unfair and deceptive acts with regard to its video conferencing services.  Financial institutions and other companies that allowed remote workers to utilize this platform should carefully assess what impact this consent order may have and what changes may need to be made to protect virtual business meetings going forward.… Continue Reading

The Fed, FDIC, and OCC have issued a “Statement on Reference Rates for Loans” that addresses replacement rates for the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR).  LIBOR, which many creditors currently use as the index for calculating the interest rate on credit cards and other variable-rate consumer credit products, is expected to be discontinued sometime after 2021.… Continue Reading