On December 8, 2021, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael J. Hsu, gave remarks before the Consumer Federation of America’s 34th Annual Financial Services Conference where he expressed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) push for bank overdraft reform to benefit financially vulnerable consumers. Hsu opined…
On December 21, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it reached an agreement with a California-based fintech company that would require the company to cease “(1) making new loans; (2) collecting on outstanding loans to harmed consumers; (3) selling consumer information; and (4) making misrepresentations when providing loans or collecting debt or helping…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced this week that it is opening an inquiry into “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services, which have become increasingly popular with online consumers. In a December 16, 2021 statement, the CFPB said that it is looking to “collect information on the risks and…
On December 17, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a proposed settlement with a Maryland company that offers lump sum payouts to consumers with structured settlements. The settlement resolves a 2016 complaint filed by the CFPB in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleging that the…
In response to recent changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including the appointment of Director Rohit Chopra, Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Industry practice created a CFPB Hub to serve as a resource for companies in the consumer financial services space as they navigate regulatory developments. With specific regard to…
On December 14, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DPFI) announced that it entered what it described as a “novel” consent order with a Los Angeles-based automobile title loan lender prohibiting the company from marketing or servicing title loans under $10,000 with interest rates above 36 percent within the state of California for the next…
On December 13, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it reached a settlement with a group of South Carolina-based debt collection companies to resolve allegations that the companies violated the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FTC’s complaint, originally filed in July…
On November 30, the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office (DC AG) announced a settlement with an online lender targeting consumers with below-average credit, under which the lender agreed to pay $1.5 million in refunds to consumers and $250,000 to the District, and to waive over $640,000 in interest. Further, the agreement obligates the lender to reduce its interest…
On November 23, 2021, the New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) announced an agreement shutting down a Buffalo, NY based debt collection firm that the NYAG alleges violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), and various provisions of the New York General Business Laws. …
On November 8, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Consumer Credit Fairness Act (the Act) into law. The Act will likely have substantial impact on debt collection lawsuits filed by creditors or debt collectors in New York. The Act not only reduces the statute of limitations for filing…
The CFPB, federal banking agencies, and state regulators are returning to pre-pandemic norms with respect to enforcement and supervision of the mortgage servicing industry. On November 10, 2021, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union…
On November 12, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas against two pawnshop lenders, alleging violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA), 10 U.S.C. § 987. Under the MLA, consumer credit extended to military servicemembers may…
On November 8, 2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it entered into a stipulated order with a payment processor, resolving allegations that the payment processor violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by facilitating payments related to an unlawful student…
On November 5, 2021, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office (Illinois AG) announced a settlement with three online payday lending lead generators to resolve allegations that the companies violated Illinois state lending laws. The Illinois AG alleged that the lead generators violated state lending laws by generating payday loan leads without a license…
On October 15, 2021, Judge William G. Young of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts approved a $14 million settlement in a national class action lawsuit against meal-kit delivery service company, HelloFresh, for purported violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). See Murray v. Grocery…
On October 21, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has issued orders to collect information about the business plans and practices of multiple large technology companies operating payment systems in the United States. Notably, these orders were issued pursuant to the CFPB’s rulemaking authority under Dodd-Frank Section 1022, rather than its…
On October 22, 2021, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that the CFPB, Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) collectively reached a joint settlement with a national bank that resolved allegations of mortgage lending discrimination in the Memphis metropolitan area in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA),…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its first in-depth report analyzing consumer complaint submission patterns by demographic characteristics. The CFPB’s findings were based on nearly 1 million consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB between 2018 and 2020. The CFPB’s report classified complaints by matching the relevant consumers to U.S….
On October 19, 2021, the CFPB announced that it entered a consent order against a Florida-based financial services company, resolving claims that the company violated the Unfair, Deceptive, Abusive Acts and Practices (UDAAP) provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. § 5536(a) by charging unlawful fees, and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act,…
On October 8, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced the filing of a complaint and proposed consent order against a reverse mortgage lender in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In the complaint, the CFPB alleged the lender engaged in deceptive advertising practices in violation of the Consumer Financial…