Among the suite of consumer protection bills signed into law last month by California Governor Gavin Newsom is AB 2524. The bill, as enacted, is a less-expansive version of an assembly bill that would have created an entirely new and broad system of regulation over debt settlement companies through amendments to the Check Sellers,
Regulatory and Enforcement
California expands translation requirement for consumer contracts
By Daniel C. Fanaselle on
Posted in Regulatory and Enforcement, State regulation
On September 25, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed several consumer protection bills, including AB 3254, which extends the right to receive a translated version of certain consumer contracts to nonparty signatories, such as guarantors or cosigners.
Under existing law, a business negotiating a covered contract in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean (the…
CFPB issues Section 1033 ANPR
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in CFPB, Regulatory and Enforcement
The CFPB has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in connection with its rulemaking to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 1033 requires consumer financial services providers to give consumers access to certain financial information. Comments on the ANPR will be due no later than 90 days after the date the ANPR…
FTC Shuts Down Debt Collector as Part of “Operation Corrupt Collector”
By Jason M. Cover on
A Georgia federal district court has entered a temporary restraining order against a Georgia-based debt collection operation in response to a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission.
According to the complaint, the debt collection operation engaged in a variety of illegal debt collection practices, including:
- “Masquerading” as law-enforcement officials, government officials or attorneys.
…
This week’s podcast: A close look at the OCC’s “true lender” proposal
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
After reviewing the legal foundation for federal preemption of state law limits on interest, we discuss the OCC’s proposed approach for determining when a bank is the “true lender” in programs with non-bank agents, our arguments in support of the proposal made in our comment letter to the OCC, key arguments made in support…
Third Circuit rules FTC cannot obtain disgorgement under FTC Act Section 13(b)
By Alan S. Kaplinsky on
Posted in FTC, Regulatory and Enforcement
Last week, in FTC v. AbbVie Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which expressly gives the FTC authority to obtain injunctive relief, does not allow a district court to order disgorgement. In July 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to…
CFPB Finalizes GSE Patch Extension
By Richard J. Andreano, Jr. on
The CFPB recently issued a final rule that amends the Regulation Z ability to repay/qualified mortgage rule by extending the sunset date for the qualified mortgage (QM) based on a loan meeting certain product requirements and being eligible for sale to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The QM often is referred to as the “GSE…
CFPB Releases HMDA 2021 Regulatory and Reporting Reference Chart
By Richard J. Andreano, Jr. on
The CFPB recently released a regulatory and reporting overview reference chart for Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data to be collected in 2021. The CFPB notes that the chart is intended to be used as a reference tool for data points required to be collected, recorded, and reported under the HMDA rules, set forth in…
CFPB settles lawsuit filed against debt collectors and debt buyers for alleged violations of CFPA, FDCPA, and 2015 consent order
By Alan S. Kaplinsky on
The CFPB announced last week that it has entered into a settlement of the lawsuit it filed in September 2020 against Encore Capital Group, Inc., Midland Funding, LLC, Midland Credit Management, Inc., and Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. alleging that the defendants engaged in various unlawful practices in violation of the FDCPA, the CFPA, and a…
Potential regulatory and legislative implications of blue wave on consumer financial services highlighted in Ballard Spahr webinar
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
For our webinar last week, “What a Blue Wave in the November 2020 Elections Could Mean for the Consumer Financial Services Industry,” we were joined by special guest Isaac Boltansky, Director of Policy Research at Compass Point Research & Trading. The webinar examined the potential implications for the consumer financial services industry should Joe Biden…