Legislation to opt out of a 43-year-old federal law allowing FDIC-insured state banks to “export” interest on interstate loans to the same extent as their national bank counterparts is quietly, but swiftly, working its way through the Colorado legislature.  The bill has passed the House and is expected to be the subject of a hearing next week before a Senate Committee.… Continue Reading

On January 4, 2023, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced settlements with two state-chartered credit unions, Bellco Credit Union (“Bellco”) and Canvas Credit Union (“Canvas”), over Guaranteed Automobile Protection (commonly referred to as Guaranteed Asset Protection, or “GAP”) refunds.  An investigation conducted by the Consumer Protection Section of the Colorado Department of Law found that the credit unions were not refunding GAP fees owed to consumers under state law. … Continue Reading

AG Weiser discusses the areas of consumer financial services that are a current focus of his office’s efforts.  After discussing the role of the newly-created Office of Financial Empowerment in addressing the needs of unbanked consumers, AG Weiser discusses his office’s activities concerning deceptive fees (including the types of fees of primary concern and the requirements of Colorado’s new automatic renewal law), robocalls, and student loans.  … Continue Reading

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser recently announced that three Colorado-chartered credit unions had entered into Assurances of Discontinuance (AODs) with the Colorado Administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) to resolve the issues between the Administrator and credit unions concerning whether the credit unions had failed to make refunds of unearned fees for Guaranteed Automobile Protection (GAP) as required by the Colorado UCCC. … Continue Reading

Colorado’s UCCC Administrator has proposed amendments to the rules implementing the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (CFDCPA).  The Administrator also announced that a Zoom stakeholder meeting will be held on August 25 to discuss the proposed amendments and to solicit topics for rulemaking.

The proposed amendments include the following:

  • The provision regarding the sale of the right to collect accounts would be revised to provide that “[a] licensee who does not own the debt may not sell the right to collect client accounts to another licensee, but only the right for the first licensee to refer the client to the second licensee.”
Continue Reading

A Colorado state district court has ruled that a non-bank assignee of loans made by a state bank cannot charge the same interest rate that the state bank assignor can charge under Section 27(a) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. § 1831d(a)).

The ruling in Martha Fulford, Administrator, Uniform Consumer Credit Code v.Continue Reading

We explore a wide range of topics with AG Weiser including: who are his key staff members and their backgrounds; his office’s actions in response to COVID-19; recent changes to the CO Consumer Protection Act; and his office’s activities concerning student loans, robocalls, payday lending, and data privacy and security and its approach to consumer complaints.… Continue Reading

Colorado and Maryland have each enacted legislation regulating student loan servicers. On May 13, Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) signed into law SB 19-002, and that same day, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) signed HB 594.

The Colorado law, SB19-002, is the more sweeping of the two, establishing a licensing requirement for student loan servicers, similar to what has been enacted in California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Washington, and more recently, New York.… Continue Reading

The “Blue Wave” hit Nevada last November as well, resulting in the election of Democrats to serve as Governor and Attorney General.  More aggressive enforcement and increased legislative activity are expected.  In this week’s podcast, we discuss the new AG’s likely enforcement priorities, the federal and state law enforcement tools available to him, and state legislation of interest to financial institutions that is likely to be considered in the next session.… Continue Reading

Having declared the CFPB eviscerated by President Trump, Colorado’s newly elected Democratic Attorney General, Phil Weiser, is expected to take an active approach to consumer protection.  In this week’s podcast, Ballard Spahr Partner Matt Morr, based in the firm’s Denver office, discusses Mr. Weiser’s background, key appointees, and likely areas of focus.… Continue Reading