On September 29, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with more than 50 federal and state law enforcement partners, announced a nationwide law enforcement and outreach initiative designed to protect consumers from phantom debt collection, and abusive and threatening debt collection practices….
On September 17, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Eleventh Circuit) issued an important decision regarding incentive payments in class-action settlements in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) cases. In Johnson v. NPAS Solutions, LLC, Case No. 9:17-cv-80393 (11th Cir. 2020) (Johnson), a TCPA case, the Eleventh Circuit held that…
On September 14, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a settlement in its eighth case arising out of the CFPB’s “sweep of investigations” of mortgage companies allegedly mailing deceptive advertisements for VA-guaranteed mortgages to servicemembers and veterans. According to the CFPB, the “ongoing sweep of investigations reflects the…
On August 31, 2020, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill No. 1864 (AB-1864), sending the bill to California Governor Gavin Newsom for his expected approval. Below is an overview of some of AB-1864’s key provisions. As LenderLaw Watch reported earlier this year, Governor Newsom’s 2020-2021 Budget Summary proposed expanding the…
On August 24, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release announcing five Notices of Proposed Rulemaking and requesting public comment on their proposed changes to the rules that implement the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The proposed changes correspond to the changes made to the FCRA by…
On August 20, 2020, seven states – California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina – and the District of Columbia (together, the States) filed suit against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit, captioned…
On August 18, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed rule to create a new category of loans known as “seasoned” qualified mortgages (Seasoned QMs). This new category of qualified mortgages would require loans to meet certain performance requirements over a 36-month seasoning period, after which the…
On July 29, 2020, three states – California, Illinois, and New York – filed suit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging the OCC’s Rule on the “valid when made” doctrine. The suit was filed…
On July 29, 2020, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) held a symposium on the use of cost-benefit analysis in consumer financial protection regulation. CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger provided opening remarks, followed by two panels of experts. The first panel focused its discussion on how the CFPB uses cost-benefit analysis…
On July 17, 2020, a federal judge in Guam refused to vacate her ruling in U.S. v. Government of Guam, et al., Case No. 1:17-00113, which held that sovereign immunity prevented the U.S. government from seeking damages under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) for Guam’s alleged violations of housing rights…
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued Final Rules last month in an effort to address the “legal confusion” regarding the impact of the permissible interest when a bank transfers a loan to a third party. These Final Rules are…
During a House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) oversight hearing on June 30, 2020, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hinted that clarification may be coming on whether agents helping small businesses apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans are entitled to automatic fee reimbursements from PPP lenders. This clarification comes on the…
On June 18, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the launch of its pilot advisory opinion (AO) program. The CFPB quickly followed this announcement by publishing a procedural rule implementing the pilot AO program, as well as a proposed procedural rule that would establish a permanent AO program…
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued a joint statement concerning mortgage loan forbearances under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The joint statement signals the types of conduct that may become the focus of CFPB and…
In response to the ongoing impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the financial industry, on June 3, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement (CFPB Statement) announcing that it would provide temporary flexibility for credit card issuers in connection with certain written disclosure requirements. Under Regulation…
Congress has recently updated the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to stabilize the economy in response to the troubling economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lenders should be aware that the federal government’s efforts to provide loans to small businesses in the wake of the pandemic may also result in increased…
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…