On May 15, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, Regulators), proposed a new final interim rule “that temporarily revises the supplementary leverage ratio calculation for depository institutions,” in order to “strengthen…
The sudden financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers has led to calls for loan servicers and other interested parties to provide temporary or permanent relief for borrowers who are unable to continue making loan payments. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), guidance in the…
On May 6, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in ACA International v. Healey, Case No. 1:20-cv-10767-RGS, enjoined Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (AG Healey) from enforcing provisions of the emergency regulation, 940 CMR 35.00, et seq. (Regulation), prohibiting debt collection calls and initiating lawsuits during…
To enhance consumer protections against illegal robocalls, on May 1, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an Order (Order) amending 47 CFR § 1.80 (Section 1.80) of its Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules. The Order: (i) removes the TCPA’s initial warning requirement prior to issuing penalties for illegal…
On May 1, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) held a joint virtual meeting of its four advisory committees: the Consumer Advisory Board, the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council, and the Academic Research Council. The meeting—the Bureau’s first public event since the onset…
A number of state officials and regulators have taken steps to decrease the economic burdens stemming from COVID-19 on consumers in their states, including by placing additional restrictions on debt collection practices. Among the more notable of these efforts took place on March 26, 2020, when Massachusetts Attorney General (AG)…
Passed in response to the impact of COVID-19, section 4021 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R. 748, 116th Cong. (2020)) amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in a variety of ways that impact credit reporting entities. Mainly, it requires a furnisher of credit information…
Early uncertainty and the initial lapse in appropriations for the U.S. CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) set off a wave of litigation by disgruntled small businesses who have been unable to secure PPP loans. PPP loans were made available through various lenders to certain COVID-19-affected businesses meeting specific maximum…
The first wave of class actions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic is here, including a number of cases concerning so-called “gating” eligibility rules that are legitimately applied by many lenders to manage the flow of applications for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We expect these…
This week LenderLaw Watch covers developments related to small-dollar loans in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Every year the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) conducts its Survey of Household Economics & Decision-making, asking households across the country questions related to financial wellbeing and security. According…
Two financial institutions have now been sued in separate putative class action lawsuits concerning their implementation of the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is aimed at assisting small businesses keep employees on their payroll. Plaintiffs in both lawsuits allege that the financial institutions are unlawfully restricting access to…
LenderLaw Watch continues its coverage of the impact COVID-19 has had and will have on various financial services sectors, this week focusing on COVID-19’s impact on credit card issuers. Although the newly enacted CARES Act (H.R. 748, 116th Cong. (2020)), signed by President Trump into law on March 27, 2020,…
As a result of COVID-19’s widespread economic disruption, the student lending industry has been impacted, from financial institutions to borrowers. In the past few weeks, the federal government has sought ways to address the student loan industry and offer protection to borrowers affected by the virus. On March 20, 2020,…
Over the past several weeks, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has sparked a litany of new orders, rules, laws, guidance, and plain asks from federal and state leaders, agencies, and courts. The President and federal and state leaders have all begun to focus on how COVID-19 is likely to impact Americans’…
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court asking the Court to decline review of a case concerning the government’s power to dismiss qui tam–or “whistleblower”–actions under the False Claims Act (FCA). The case in question is…
On February 14, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its Winter 2020 Supervisory Highlights (Report). It summarizes the CFPB’s findings on violations in the areas of debt collection, mortgage servicing, payday lending, and student loan servicing completed between April 2019 and August 2019. The CFPB notes that it…
On March 3, the Supreme Court heard argument in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a case involving two questions about the structure of the CFPB: (1) whether the provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that limits removal of the CFPB Director to…
On January 17, student loan servicer Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) filed a notice of appeal in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenging the decision of Chief Bankruptcy Judge Celelia Morris, which granted summary judgment for a student loan debtor and discharged his…
The Eleventh Circuit joined the growing majority of courts in issuing an opinion that significantly narrows the scope of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and delivers a blow to the plaintiffs’ bar and proponents for an expansive reading of the statue. In addressing a pair of consolidated appeals, Glasser…
On January 24, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a policy statement setting forth guidelines on how it intends to enforce the “abusiveness” standard under the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 103(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the CFPB to bring enforcement actions against “covered persons” engaged in unfair, deceptive,…