Goodwin’s Consumer Finance Insights (CFI) monitors, reports, and analyzes the latest legal news, activity, and developments impacting the consumer finance industry. Consumer financial services companies—whether banks, fintechs, nonbank and alternative lenders, payment providers, or industry vendors or service providers, like digital advertisers and lead generators—face a constantly shifting and maturing regulatory and legal landscape. Growing from the Financial Crisis, today more than any time in history the consumer finance industry must confront a robust and growing body of industry legislation and regulation, all while under the microscope of sophisticated enforcers, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state regulators and attorneys general. It is critical for in-house and outside corporate counsel, compliance departments, and business executives to stay informed and aware of these developments to navigate institutional, reputational, and legal risks. Goodwin’s CFI is a singular source of the most recent industry news and latest enforcement activity for you to leverage. Here, you will find links to original enforcement documents, enforcement activity statistics, and reports, analysis, and commentary from Goodwin’s leading Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement practitioners.

CFPB Files Complaint Against Pawnshop Lenders for Alleged Military Lending Act Violations

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…

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FTC Reaches $500,000 Settlement with Payment Processor for Its Role in Alleged Student Loan Debt Relief Scheme

Piggy Bank with a Graduation Cap

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…

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CFPB Issues Orders to Collect Information from Big Tech Companies

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…

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CFPB, DOJ, and OCC Reach Settlement with Bank for Alleged Lending Discrimination

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),…

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CFPB Releases Report Analyzing Consumer Complaint Data By Demographics

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….

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CFPB Reaches $6 Million Settlement with Prison Prepaid Debit Card Provider

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,…

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CFPB Announces Consent Order with Reverse Mortgage Lender Imposing $1.1 Million in Penalties

On October 8, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) a​nnounced  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…

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Minnesota AG Announces Approval of $38 Million in Student Loan Debt Relief and Restitution

On September 30, 2021, the Minnesota Attorney General (“Minnesota AG”) announced that a federal bankruptcy court had approved $23.6 million in student debt relief and $15.8 million in restitution for students of two for-profit universities that allegedly engaged in consumer fraud and illegal lending practices. The settlement​, originally announced in March 2021, resolved allegations that the universities misled students…

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DOJ Reaches $1.5 Million Settlement with Auto Lender Resolving Alleged SCRA Violation

On September 29, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a settlement with a California-based auto lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a simultaneously-filed complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the DOJ…

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Atlanta-Based Debt Collection Company Agrees to Permanent Ban From Debt Collection Industry

​On September 27, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with an Atlanta-based debt collection company and its owners​ that would ban them from the debt collection industry.​ ​The FTC had originally filed suit in ​2020, after which the court issued an ex parte temporary restraining order​ ​prohibiting the company from doing business.  The complaint, filed in September 2020, alleged violations of Section 5(a)…

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West Virginia AG Files Suit to Block New York Debt Collection Company from Doing Business in West Virginia

On September 23, 2021, the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced  that it had filed a complaint  against a New York-based debt collection agency for violations of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WVCCPA) . The complaint alleges that the debt collection agency violated West Virginia law by operating without proper authorization and by using illegal, high-pressure…

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California DFPI Issues $375,000 Sanction Against Debt Collector

​On September 22, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it issued its first enforcement action against a debt collection company for various practices, including threatening to sue consumers and garnish wages, and for submitting negative information to credit bureaus without first providing required notice, in violation…

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CFPB Sues Software Company for Allegedly Supporting Illegal Credit-Repair Fees

On September 20, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California against a California-based software company and its owner.  The complaint alleges that the software company violated the Telemarking Sales Rule (TSR) and Consumer Financial…

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DOJ Reaches $50,000 Settlement with NJ Higher Education Student Assistance Authority

​On September 20, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it rea​ched a settlement with the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), resolving allegations that the state agency unlawfully obtained default judgments against two military servicemembers for student loan debt in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). In a…

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