Michael Guerrero, a partner in Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group and co-leader of the firm’s Fintech and Payment Solutions Team, has authored an article on buy now pay later (BNPL) that will be published in the March—April 2024 issue of ABA Risk and Compliance. 

Titled “Buy Now Pay Later…in an Era of Increased Scrutiny of Economic Headwinds,” the article discusses the evolution of BNPL, regulatory and compliance considerations, and what is ahead for BNPL.… Continue Reading

Our special guest is Richard (“Rick”) Hackett, former Assistant CFPB Director responsible for auto finance regulation and presently a member of the Board of F&I Sentinel, which supports lender compliance in the auto finance and insurance industry.  In December 2023, the FTC announced its final Combatting Auto Retail Scams Rule, otherwise known as the “CARS Rule,” which sets new requirements on the sale, financing, and leasing of new and used vehicles by motor vehicle dealers. … Continue Reading

As previously reported, in 2023 bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 4198) and the U.S. Senate (S. 3502) to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to curtail the practice of trigger leads with mortgage loans. While the goals of the bills are the same, the language of the bills differ.… Continue Reading

The American Bankers Association (ABA) along with 50 state bankers associations, the DC Bankers Association and Puerto Rico Bankers Association sent a letter (the “ABA Letter”) to the Federal Reserve “in strong opposition to the Federal Reserve’s misguided proposal to reduce the regulated interchange cap under Regulation II, and to ask that the proposal be withdrawn pending a rigorous study of this proposal’s impacts and the cumulative impacts of the tsunami of newly finalized and pending regulations from the banking agencies.”… Continue Reading

On February 14, 2024, the Minnesota Bankers Association and Lake Central Bank (the “Plaintiffs”) filed their memorandum in opposition to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) motion to dismiss their challenge to the FDIC’s supervisory guidance on NSF fees.

In June 2023, the Plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) against defendants FDIC and Chairman Martin J.… Continue Reading

The FTC recently sent its annual letter to the CFPB reporting on the FTC’s activities related to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B.  The new letter reports on the FTC’s activities in 2023.  The Bureau includes the FTC’s annual letter in its own annual report to Congress on the ECOA.… Continue Reading

In a new data spotlight issued last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) found that interest rates charged on credit cards issued by large banks are higher than interest rates charged on credit cards issued by smaller banks and credit unions. In a press release about the report, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra states that “the CFPB will be accelerating its efforts to ensure that consumers can access better rates that can save families billions of dollars per year.”… Continue Reading

On February 15, 2024, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to Zelle seeking clarification of its reimbursement policy for victims of imposter scams and urging Zelle to publicize its fraud policies to consumers and clarify whether all participating banks must reimburse eligible victims.… Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a final rule amending its regulations implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to add new provisions addressing how consumers may revoke consent to receive autodialed or prerecorded voice calls or texts and the obligations of callers and texters to honor revocation of consent requests.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently published a notice in the Federal Register indicating that it is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of additional auto finance data pursuant to its authority under the Dodd-Frank Act .

In February 2023, the CFPB announced that it had issued market monitoring orders to nine large auto lenders requesting information about their auto lending portfolios. … Continue Reading