The CFPB has issued a policy statement concerning COVID-19 considerations that will be relevant to how the CFPB chooses to exercise its supervisory and enforcement authority regarding compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V, especially in light of the CARES Act.

The CFPB states that it “understands that the current crisis impacts the financial well-being of consumers and poses operational challenges for consumer reporting agencies and furnishers, including staffing challenges, that could temporarily impede their ability to timely comply with their statutory and regulatory consumer reporting obligations.” … Continue Reading

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) includes the following provisions of particular interest to members of the consumer financial services industry:

Credit Reporting.  Section 4021 (Credit Protection During COVID-2019) amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to impose new COVID-19 related reporting requirements on furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights that focuses on compliance with the FCRA and Regulation V.  The report contains two main sections, with one devoted to supervisory observations at furnishers and the other devoted to supervisory observations at consumer reporting companies (CRCs).  (The report was published in yesterday’s Federal Register.)… Continue Reading

Recently, the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) and the Metro 2 Taskforce approved a new Special Comment Code in FAQ 69.  According to CDIA’s press release , the new code, “DE = Debt Extinguished Under State Law,” applies—as the code suggests—to debts that have become extinguished under applicable law.

Under most state laws, the running of a statute of limitation period precludes only the use of certain legal mechanisms (for example, filing a lawsuit, arbitration, or garnishment action) in an effort to the collect the underlying debt. … Continue Reading

Three more bills dealing with credit reporting were passed on Tuesday by the House Financial Services Committee.  Like the four bills passed by the Committee last week, none of the bills passed yesterday received any Republican votes.

The bills, which are listed below, would make various amendments to the FCRA, including those described below:

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Four bills dealing with credit reporting were passed last Thursday by the House Financial Services Committee.  While there has been bipartisan support for credit reporting reform, none of the bills received any Republican votes.

The bills, which are listed below, would make various amendments to the FCRA, including those described below:

  • The “Improving Credit Reporting for All Consumers Act” would impose new requirements for conducting reinvestigations of consumer disputes and related standards, require consumer reporting agencies to create a webpage providing information about consumer dispute rights, require furnishers to retain records necessary to substantiate the accuracy and completeness of furnished information, create a right for consumers to appeal the results of a reinvestigation, prohibit automatic renewals of consumer reporting and credit scoring products and services, and require a credit scoring model to treat multiple inquiries for a credit report or credit score made in connection with certain consumer credit products within a 120-period as a single inquiry.
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Earlier this week, the CFPB’s Office of Research released its third “Data Point” report on Americans who are “credit invisible” – that is, those without an established credit history with the three national credit reporting agencies – and who therefore cannot be scored by most traditional credit scoring models.  The report, entitled “The Geography of Credit Invisibility,” focuses on the geographic concentrations of credit invisible consumers, to determine whether there are “credit deserts” in which access to credit is largely absent, leading to consumers in those areas being unable to become “credit visible” by establishing a credit history.… Continue Reading

Consumer advocacy groups are questioning the purported benefits of H.R. 435 the “Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2017,” a bill that passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives in June, and is currently under consideration by the Senate. The new law would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) to allow landlords (including the Department of Housing and Urban Development), utility companies, and telecommunications providers to provide consumer credit information to consumer credit reporting agencies.… Continue Reading

The New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) has adopted a regulation that requires “consumer credit reporting agencies” (“CCRAs”) to register with the NYDFS, prohibits CCRAs from engaging in certain practices, and requires CCRAs to comply with certain provisions of the NYDFS cybersecurity regulation.

The new regulation became effective upon the publication of a Notice of Adoption by the NYDFS in the State Register on July 3, 2018. … Continue Reading

Politico has reported that on July 19, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on President Trump’s nomination of Kathy Kraninger to serve as CFPB Director.  While we find this surprising, we continue to believe that she will not be confirmed by the full Senate until after the mid-term elections.… Continue Reading