The CFPB has issued a new small entity compliance guide: “Payday, Vehicle Title and High-Cost Installment Lending Rule: Payment-Related Provisions.”

The CFPB has proposed to revise its final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule to rescind the rule’s ability-to-repay (ATR) provisions in their entirety and to delay the compliance date for the ATR provisions until November 19, 2020. … Continue Reading

The CFPB is proposing to rescind the ability-to-repay provisions of its payday loan rule and delay the provisions’ compliance date while leaving in place the rule’s troublesome payment provisions and their August 19 compliance date.  In this week’s podcast, we look at the CFPB’s rationale for rescinding the ATR provisions, what the payment provisions require and the implementation challenges they present, how industry input could improve the final outcome, the potential impact of the pending litigation challenging the rule, and possible legal challenges to the proposals.… Continue Reading

The CFPB announced that it has entered into a settlement with the owners of payday loan retail outlets that operated under the name “Cash Tyme” in seven states to resolve alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act/ Regulation P, and the Truth in Lending Act/ Regulation Z. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has entered into a proposed settlement with a group of corporate and individual defendants who were alleged to have engaged in unlawful conduct in connection with offering “short-term loans to consumers located in the United States through a network of affiliated companies located in Canada and Malta.”

The settlement is intended to resolve a lawsuit filed by the CFPB against the defendants in 2015 in a New York federal district court that alleged the defendants made payday loans to residents of states in which the loans were void under state law because the defendants charged interest rates that exceeded state usury limits or the defendants failed to acquire required licenses. … Continue Reading

A Minnesota federal district court recently ruled that lead generators for a payday lender could be liable for punitive damages in a class action filed on behalf of all Minnesota residents who used the lender’s website to obtain a payday loan during a specified time period.  An important takeaway from the decision is that a company receiving a letter from a regulator or state attorney general that asserts the company’s conduct violates or may violate state law should consult with outside counsel as to the applicability of such law and whether a response is required or would be beneficial.… Continue Reading

This afternoon, Pew Charitable Trusts will host an event in Washington, D.C. focusing on Ohio’s Fairness in Lending Act.  Enacted in July 2018, the Act places new limitations on payday loans including an interest rate cap, a limit on the total cost of a loan, and other structural restrictions.  The Act is viewed as a significant victory for consumer advocates with the potential to be followed through legislation in other states or through ballot initiatives. … Continue Reading

By an overwhelming vote (approximately 1,4270,000 million to 433,000), Colorado voters passed Proposition 111, a ballot initiative that places a 36 percent APR cap on payday loans.  The question presented to voters was:

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning limitations on payday lenders, and, in connection therewith, reducing allowable charges on payday loans to an annual percentage rate of no more than thirty-six percent?… Continue Reading

Yesterday, the court reversed course in the lawsuit filed by two industry trade groups challenging the CFPB’s final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule (Payday Rule).  On its own initiative, the Texas federal district court granted a stay of the Payday Rule’s August 19, 2019 compliance date and continued in force its stay of the lawsuit. … Continue Reading

Earlier today, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection released a Public Statement Regarding Payday Rule Reconsideration and Delay of Compliance Date. Echoing rumors that have been circulating in the industry for several weeks (which we had agreed not to address in our blog), the Statement reads in full as follows:

The Bureau expects to issue proposed rules in January 2019 that will reconsider the Bureau’s rule regarding Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans and address the rule’s compliance date.… Continue Reading

Four consumer advocacy groups have filed a motion seeking leave to file an amicus memorandum opposing the joint motion filed by the CFPB and two trade groups that seeks a stay of the compliance date for the CFPB’s final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule (Payday Rule).  The joint motion, which was filed in the trade groups’ April 2018 lawsuit challenging the Payday Rule, also seeks a stay of the litigation for the duration of the CFPB’s rulemaking to reconsider the Payday Rule.… Continue Reading