A bill introduced in Congress that would provide for the OCC to charter and regulate “Federal Financial Services and Credit Companies” (FFSCCs) was recently called a “get out of regulation free card” in a blog post by Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG’s Consumer Program Director.   

H.R. 1909, titled “FFSCC Charter Act of 2011” and introduced in May 2011, would allow a company to qualify as an FFSCC if it satisfies certain requirements that include having “a demonstrated history of experience in providing underbanked persons” with a financial product within one of the following services: (1) extending credit to consumers in any amount or to small businesses in amounts less than $10,000, (2) issuing reloadable stored value cards to consumers or small businesses, (3) providing ancillary services to consumers or small businesses such as money orders, wire transfers and check cashing, and (4) offering other short-term consumer credit services as determined by the OCC. … Continue Reading

The investigation that led to the settlement announced last week among 20 State Attorneys General and QuinStreet, Inc., the owner of a website that markets educational institutions to military servicemembers and their families, was launched as result of the CFPB’s  examination of the website, according to news reports.   The Attorneys General alleged that the websites, including one named  “GIBill.com,”… Continue Reading

Mobile PhoneWe frequently hear that regulations take a long time to catch up with the technology.  On June 29, the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing to determine whether regulations need to catch up to cover consumer payments made using mobile devices. According to written testimony submitted by the CFPB’s Marla Blow, Assistant Director for Card and Payment Markets, the answer seems to be “yes.” … Continue Reading

Based on the CFPB’s recently issued report to Congress on reverse mortgages, the reverse mortgage industry should expect more scrutiny and regulation from the CFPB.  Among the CFPB’s  key findings in the report is that  existing disclosures and available counseling may not sufficiently protect borrowers and  “stronger regulation, supervision of reverse mortgage companies, and enforcement of existing laws may also be necessary.”  … Continue Reading

I have previously blogged about the constitutional issues raised by the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as CFPB Director, both on their own, here and here, and, in connection with lawsuits that have challenged President Obama’s contemporaneous NLRB recess appointments, here, here, and here.  One of the issues flagged in those earlier blogs was that, in contrast to the NLRB actions, there did not yet appear to be a plaintiff that would have standing to challenge the Cordray appointment.… Continue Reading

TransparencyRecall that when the CFPB launched the Consumer Complaint Database, its expressed hope that “the marketplace of ideas” – i.e., the public – would study and analyze the information disclosed in the database in order to “determine what the data show[s].” 77 FR 37559. The CFPB also stated that the purpose of the database is to “provide consumers with timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions and to enhance the credit card market’s ability to operate transparently and efficiently.” … Continue Reading

Earlier this week, we shared the comment letter that was filed jointly by the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association and The Financial Services Roundtable in response to the CFPB’s Request for Information Regarding Scope, Methods, and Data Sources for Conducting Study of Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements.  Ballard Spahr was engaged by the trade groups to assist them in preparing the comment letter. … Continue Reading

Mercedes Kelley-TunstallThe American Bankers Association has invited me to speak at their series of telephone briefings on Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices, or UDAAP. I will be a panelist for two of the briefings—”UDAAP Issues in Operations and Product Design” on July 10, 2012, and “Social Media and the UDAAP Impact” on July 24, 2012.… Continue Reading

The American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association and The Financial Services Roundtable have filed a joint comment letter responding to the CFPB’s Request for Information Regarding Scope, Methods, and Data Sources for Conducting Study of Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements.  Ballard Spahr served as counsel to the trade groups in preparing the comment letter. … Continue Reading

The Township of Mount Holly, New Jersey has filed a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court raising the issue of whether disparate impact claims are available under the Fair Housing Act.  You can see a copy of the petition here.  The petition has been docketed and given case number 11-1507 in the Supreme Court. … Continue Reading