Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

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On January 11, the CFPB proposed a rule requiring nonbanks subject to its supervisory authority, with limited exceptions, to annually register with the CFPB regarding their use of certain terms and conditions in form contracts for products and services that pose risks to consumers. Nonbanks would be required to register if they use specific terms and conditions defined in the proposed rule that attempt to waive consumers’ legal protections, to limit how consumers enforce their rights, or to restrict consumers’ ability to file complaints or post reviews. Key parts of the rule do the following:…

Continue Reading CFPB Proposes Registry of Terms and Conditions for Nonbanks

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released a report titled “Assessing Impacts of New Entrant Non-bank Firms on Competition in Consumer Finance Markets,” a product of the Biden administration’s effort to assess competition in different aspects of the economy. The report focuses primarily on FinTechs and other new entrant non-bank firms, including the consequences of their participation with insured depository institutions in core consumer finance markets (e.g., credit, deposits, and payments) and recommendations to enhance oversight of non-bank financial institutions.
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Continue Reading Treasury Report Sets Guidelines For Oversight on FinTech Participation in Core Finance Markets

On November 15, the FTC announced a six month extension to the deadline for companies to comply with the Safeguards Rule. The Safeguards Rule requires non-banking financial institutions, such as mortgage brokers, motor vehicle dealers, and payday lenders, to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive security program to keep their customers’ information safe (we discussed the Safeguards Rule in a previous blog post here). The deadline for complying with some of the updated requirements of the Safeguards Rule is now June 9, 2023.
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Continue Reading FTC Extends Deadline for Safeguards Rule Compliance to June 9, 2023

Recently, the CFPB released an outline of proposed measures related to the Bureau’s Dodd-Frank Section 1033 rulemaking efforts that would allow consumers the rights over their personal financial data. The outline discusses proposed regulations that would require covered data providers to make consumer financial data available directly to a consumer and to any third parties authorized by the consumer. Under these proposed regulations, consumers would be able to easily switch financial providers and transfer their account history to a new provider. In a high-level summary of the proposed regulations, the CFPB discusses the regulatory provisions it is considering proposing, including the following:
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Continue Reading CFPB Issues Proposed Rulemaking on Data Access and Portability

On October 26, the CFPB issued guidance to help banks avoid charging illegal overdraft fees on consumer deposit accounts. In its Circular 2022-06, the Bureau stated that overdraft fees assessed by financial institutions on transactions that a consumer would not reasonably anticipate likely violate the CFPA. The CFPB further highlighted two particular categories of so-called “junk fees” that likely qualify as unfair and unlawful under the CFPA (we covered the CFPB’s focus on junk fees in previous blogs here and here):
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Continue Reading CFPB Issues Latest Crack Down on Junk Fees

On September 29, the CFPB released a special edition of Supervisory Highlights on student loan servicing practices of loan servicers and schools lending to students directly. The report highlights three notable findings related to transcript-withholding practices: Federal Student Loan transfers, and Federal Student Loan payment relief and cancellation programs:
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Continue Reading CFPB Supervisory Examinations Find Violations by Student Loan Servicers and University-Owned Lenders

On September 22, the CFPB released its annual report providing an overview of the residential mortgage trends and activity in 2021 based on data collected from thousands of U.S. lending institutions under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Some of the key findings in the report include:
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Continue Reading 2021 CFPB Annual Report Shows Increase in Home Purchase Loans, Decrease in Refinancing

On August 30, the Commissioner of the California DFPI issued a notice of rulemaking proposing new regulations and amendments to current regulations implementing the state’s student loan servicing laws. The proposed regulations aim to implement the provisions of the Student Loan Servicing Act and the Student Loans: Borrower Rights law by:
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Continue Reading California Regulator Proposes Changes to Student Loan Servicing Laws

Recently, the CFPB released a report outlining the challenges and risks inherent in the rapid evolution of the payment ecosystem, with a particular focus on emerging uses cases involving “super apps,” buy now, pay later (BNPL), and embedded payments, as well as their implications for consumers. The report notes that these changes create more opportunities for companies to aggregate and monetize consumer financial data, and for large players to dominate consumers’ financial and commercial lives.
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Continue Reading CFPB Warns of Consumer Risk Over New Payment Products, Foreshadows Supervision of BNPLs

On July 29, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) released Draft Amendments to its Part 500 Cybersecurity Rules that would impose new obligations on financial institutions on reporting, governance, testing, access management, risk assessment, business continuity plans, among others.
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Continue Reading New York Proposes Cybersecurity Rules for Financial Institutions

On August 10, the CFPB issued an interpretive rule stating that digital marketing providers that are involved in the identification or selection of prospective customers or the selection or placement of content to affect consumer engagement including purchase or adoption behavior, are subject to the CFPB’s jurisdiction. The rule ostensibly clarifies the scope of companies that are “service providers” under the CFPA to include digital marketing providers, and thereby subjecting them to the CFPB’s authority to prohibit UDAAPs.
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Continue Reading CFPB’s New Interpretive Rule Sets Sights on Digital Marketing Vendors