Among the unfortunate consequences of the pandemic has been COVID-19-related scams targeting businesses and consumers.  As real-time payments (RTP) become more popular in the U.S., fraudsters can be expected to increasingly engage in fraudulent RTP transactions.

A new article titled “The Effect of COVID-19 on Real-Time Payments” written by Ballard Spahr Of Counsel Judy Mok and Amy Schwartz and published in the Banking & Financial Services Policy Report discusses the new RTP system, the benefits of RTP, the potential for fraud in connection with RTP, and the laws that may bear on loss allocation.… 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.

Part 1 of the CFPB’s final debt collection rule, which was released October 30, applies only to “debt collectors” as defined by the FDCPA, as was the case with the proposed rule released in May 2019. … Continue Reading

The plaintiffs in Cohen v. Capital One Funding, LLC and Petersen v. Chase Card Funding, LLC have filed appeals with the Second Circuit from the decisions of two New York federal district courts that held the National Bank Act (NBA) preempts their claims that the interest charged on credit card receivables assigned to affiliated securitization trusts violated New York usury law.… Continue Reading

The CFPB, OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, and NCUA have issued a proposed rule on the role of supervisory guidance.

In September 2018, the agencies issued an “Interagency Statement Clarifying the Role of Supervisory Guidance.”  In response to the Statement, the agencies received a petition requesting a formal rulemaking on the subject. … Continue Reading

Less than one month after hearing oral argument in RD Legal Funding, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued a summary order affirming the district court’s holding that the Dodd-Frank Act’s single-director-removable-only-for-cause provision is unconstitutional, reversing its holding that the provision is not severable, and remanding the case to the district court “to consider in the first instance the validity of Director Kraninger’s ratification of this enforcement action.”  … Continue Reading

A New York federal district court has denied the motion filed by two merchant cash advance providers and their chief executive officer and president to dismiss the FTC’s lawsuit alleging they engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The court’s order stated only the following: “Motion denied substantially for reasons stated by Plaintiff.”… Continue Reading

In Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 29682, 2020 WL 5553312 (11th Cir. Sept. 17, 2020), a panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that incentive awards to class representatives are impermissible.

A petition for rehearing en banc has been filed by the plaintiff. … 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.

On October 30, the CFPB released “part one” of its long-awaited final collections rule, which restated and clarified certain prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices by debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). … Continue Reading

The CFPB issued its long-awaited final debt collection rule today.  The final rule is adopted pursuant to the Bureau’s authority under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and not its UDAAP authority under the Dodd-Frank Act.  Accordingly, the final rule only applies to the activities of debt collectors subject to the FDCPA and does not apply to the activities of creditors who are not FDCPA debt collectors. … Continue Reading

In an internal memorandum recently circulated at the CFPB, Bryan Schneider, who leads the Bureau’s Division that houses its supervision, enforcement, and fair-lending functions, announced a major internal reorganization.

The reorganization would take away the Office of Enforcement’s autonomy to open investigations and issue civil investigative demands.  It would also significantly reduce Enforcement’s role in deciding whether potential violations uncovered during examinations should be transferred to enforcement attorneys. … Continue Reading