CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
The CFPB has created a student loan infographic to highlight the state of student loans in the pandemic. Among the statistics included in the infographic is that, based on Department of Education data current as of September 2020, 87% of federal student loan borrowers had their federal student loans in administrative forbearance.
The CFPB published…
The Department of Education announced last week that it is changing how it determines relief for borrowers who assert “borrower defense claims.” Such claims allege that the borrower was misled by his or her school or that the school engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain laws. Borrower defense claims only apply to federal…
In its third lawsuit filed under the leadership of Acting Director Uejio, the CFPB, earlier this week, sued Student Loan Pro (SLP), a student loan debt relief company, its owner, and its manager, for alleged violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act. The CFPB’s complaint, which was filed …
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced last week that it has launched an investigation into whether student-loan debt-relief companies operating in California are engaging in illegal conduct under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) and Student Loan Servicing Act (SLSA).
Since the CCFPL became effective on January 1, the DFPI…
In response to directions from the Biden Administration, the following actions have been taken:
Federal student loans. The Acting Secretary of Education has extended the following relief on ED-held federal student loans until September 30, 2021:
Foreclosures and Evictions. HUD…
Without elaborating on its authority for doing so, the Department of Education recently announced the extension, through January 31, 2021, of certain pandemic-related benefits for federal student loan borrowers.
In particular, the administrative forbearance period, the 0% interest rate (pause in interest accrual), and the suspension of administrative wage garnishment and other collection activity will…
The CFPB has issued its final Advisory Opinions Policy, which allows stakeholders to request interpretive guidance “to resolve regulatory uncertainty.” While advisory opinions (AO) may address uncertainty in both statutes and regulations, the Bureau states in the Policy that it “will focus primarily on clarifying ambiguities in its regulations.” The Policy was accompanied by the…
The CFPB Private Education Loan Ombudsman has issued an annual report containing an analysis of approximately 5,000 federal student loan complaints, 1,900 private student loan complaints, and 1,700 debt collection complaints related to private or federal student loans submitted by consumers between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020. The report notes that total student…
Last week, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) announced that it was designating Raghu Kakumanu as the state’s Student Loan Ombudsman. The DOBI opted to fill the role internally, as Kakumanu currently leads the Office of Consumer Finance—the same unit through which student loan inquiries and complaints will be processed.
Kakumanu is…
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law the Student Borrower Bill of Rights, AB 376, as part of a package of consumer protection legislation. He simultaneously signed AB 1864, which creates the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) and the California Consumer Financial Protection Law, and SB 908, which requires…
