CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office recently published licensing applications for entities that are engaged in servicing student loans owed by Colorado residents.
There are two types of applications available: (1) a short “form” for “Federal Contractors” who hold a contract awarded by the U.S. Secretary of Education to service federal student loans; and (2) a…
A group of 22 state Attorneys General have sent a letter to the Department of Education seeking information “to determine whether the [ED] is providing relief to thousands of former ITT Tech students as required by federal law.” The use of the seals of the Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Oregon AGs on the first page of…
Final regulations adopted by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to implement the state’s new student loan servicing law became effective on October 16, 2019 upon the publication by the NYDFS of a Notice of Adoption in the State Register. The new law, known as Article 14-A, was enacted on April 1,…
Illinois’ Democratic legislature recently passed, and its progressive Democratic Governor, J.B. Pritzker, recently signed into law, the Student Investment Account Act, which establishes a Student Investment Account to be maintained by the state’s Treasurer. Pursuant to the Act, the Treasurer can allocate up to 5% of the state’s Investment Portfolio to that Account, an…
The CFPB Private Education Loan Ombudsman has issued an annual report containing an analysis of approximately 13,900 federal student loan complaints, 6,700 private student loan complaints, and 4,600 debt collection complaints related to private or federal student loans submitted by consumers between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2019. The report is the first annual…
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has announced the creation of a Student Debt Advisory Board to advise on consumer protection, student financial products or services, and communities that have been significantly impacted by student debt. The announcement was made on October 9 to coincide with the effective date of Banking Law Article…
Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown and Patty Murray have sent a letter to Robert Cameron, the CFPB’s new Private Education Loan Ombudsman, in which they set forth their expectations for the Ombudsman’s Office. The Bureau announced Mr. Cameron’s appointment as Ombudsman in August 2019. He replaced Seth Frotman, who has been a vocal critic of the…
The Washington State Department of Financial Institution (DFI) has published proposed revisions to its student loan servicer regulations. This proposal would amend rules that went into effect earlier this year pursuant to Washington’s student loan servicing law.
While most of the proposed amendments relate to mortgage loan origination, and several of the changes…
The FTC announced settlements of two lawsuits filed in a California federal district court alleging similar violations of the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and the Truth in Lending Act by providers of student debt relief services, their principals, and a Minnesota-based company that provided financing to customers of the providers involved in…
In less than a year, pre-dispute arbitration agreements will be clearly permissible again now that the Department of Education has finalized its proposal to rescind the Obama administration’s “Borrower Defense” rule issued in November 2016 and replace it with “Institutional Accountability Regulations.” The final regulations are effective July 1, 2020 and apply to loans disbursed…
