On March 11, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is rescinding its January 2020 policy statement (the 2020 Policy) providing guidance into its enforcement of the “abusiveness” standard under the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 103(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the CFPB to bring enforcement actions against…
On March 23, 2021, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) announced that it had issued a report summarizing its findings on the compliance of the underwriting of a technology company’s credit card with fair lending practices and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”). DFS began investigating the credit card’s underwriter, a…
On March 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it approved a settlement with a national mortgage lender concerning allegations that the mortgage lender discriminated against a consumer in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) when it denied the consumer’s mortgage loan application. The consumer filed a complaint with HUD…
On March 16, 2021 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against a California-based student debt relief company, its owner, and manager to resolve alleged violations of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, 15…
On March 1, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report titled “Housing Insecurity and the COVID-19 Pandemic” (the Report), which summarizes some of the relevant data and research on the impact of the pandemic on the mortgage market. The Report warns of widespread foreclosures once federal, state, and…
On February 25, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Kansas issued an opinion granting summary judgment in favor of CardX, LLC (CardX), and found unconstitutional “a Kansas law that prohibits sellers from imposing a ‘surcharge’ at the time of sale on consumers who pay by credit…
On March 8, 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it had approved a conciliation agreement between a national mortgage lender and an African-American woman (the Complainant), resolving allegations that the mortgage lender provided an inaccurate appraisal of the Complainant’s home due to her race in violation of the Fair…
On March 4, 2021, Virginia’s Attorney General (AG) announced that it had reached a settlement with an open-end credit lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the state’s consumer finance statutes. The AG alleged that from September 2013 through July 2017, the lender charged $100 origination fees on loans that were in…
On March 5, 2021, the Washington Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that a Washington State court ruled against a student loan servicer, finding that the servicer violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act by engaging in unfair and deceptive conduct related to its representations related to a “co-signer release” program. The partial summary judgment order…
On March 3, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against a Chicago-based payment processor for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §5531 and 5536(a)(1)(B), the Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (Telemarketing Act), 15…
On March 3, Virginia’s Attorney General announced that the state reached a settlement with a student debt relief company for alleged Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) violations. The simultaneously filed complaint alleged that from February 2015 through August 2018, the company misled nearly 2,200 student borrowers into purchasing student debt relief…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement on February 23, 2021 addressing compliance deadlines associated with qualified mortgage regulations completed under former Director Kathleen Kraninger. In its statement, the CFPB said that it may amend or revoke the Seasoned Qualified Mortgage (QM) Final Rule and expects to issue…
On February 2, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a significant decision holding that a putative class representative does not need to establish an administratively feasible method to identify absent class members as a pre-requisite for class certification under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure…
While it is early in the Biden administration, regulators are signaling that there will be a heightened focus on enforcement of consumer protection regulations. What should financial services companies expect in the year ahead in terms of government regulation and enforcement activity? Goodwin partners Tony Alexis (former CFPB), Bill Harrington…
On February 11, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $114 million settlement with the owners and operators of an alleged tribal payday lending scheme. The settlement resolves allegations concerning defendants’ purported violations of the unfair or deceptive practice provisions (UDAP) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud…
On July 26, 2018, the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced a lawsuit against five Pennsylvania mortgage foreclosure companies and two company owners for cheating consumers into signing contracts to have their mortgage loans modified—but never delivering the services paid for—in violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer…
On February 3, 2021, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it has commenced its first formal enforcement action and launched a separate investigation into student loan debt relief companies. Goodwin previously provided an overview of three new California consumer finance laws that became effective in January 2021,…
To help our clients stay on the cutting edge in this developing legal landscape, we are pleased to present our 2020 Year in Review: Consumer Finance. Here, we use our detailed industry and regulatory knowledge to offer predictions on what the industry might expect in 2021 in the mortgage, fintech,…
On February 10, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will begin distributing over $1.7 million to consumers that it claims lost money as a result of an alleged student loan debt relief scheme. The payments are part of a 2018 settlement with a student debt relief group, previously covered by Enforcement Watch, that resolved…
On February 10, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced settlements with two payment processing companies and two individuals, resolving claims concerning an alleged credit card laundering scheme perpetrated in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), 15 U.S.C. § 53(b), and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Act (Telemarketing Act), 15 U.S.C. §§…