On March 15, the CFPB issued a Request for Information (RFI) about data broker business practices to inform planned rulemaking under the FCRA and provide the CFPB with insight into the full scope of the data broker industry. In particular, CFPB is seeking information about (i) new business models that sell consumer data and (ii) consumer harm and market abuses.
Continue Reading CFPB Launches Inquiry into the Business Practices of Data Brokers
On February 28, 2023, the FTC and the CFPB issued a joint request for information (“RFI”) seeking public comment on background checks used to screen potential tenants for rental housing. As part of the RFI, the FTC and the CFPB are asking current tenants, prospective tenants, advocacy groups, commercial and individual landlords, property managers, background screening companies, other consumer reporting agencies, and others to weigh in on a wide array of issues that affect tenant screening, such as:
Continue Reading CFPB, FTC Seek Public Comment on Tenant Background Checks
On March 2, the CFPB published a report analyzing the financial profiles of consumers who borrow through buy now, pay later (BNPL) lending products. The report found that BNPL borrowers on average are more likely to be active users of other credit products such as credit cards and alternative financial services such as payday loans. The report also found that BNPL borrowers are more likely to exhibit signs of financial distress, for example, high levels of indebtedness and revolving balances or delinquencies on their credit cards. In announcing the report’s publication, the CFPB highlighted several other noteworthy findings:
Continue Reading CFPB Report Details Financial Profiles of BNPL Borrowers
On March 7, the CFPB and the NLRB announced that they entered into an information sharing agreement to better protect consumers and address practices that harm workers in specific labor markets. The agreement further supports both agencies’ collaborated efforts to protect consumers and worders under both consumer financial protection laws and the NLRA. This follows upon the CFPB’s prior efforts to investigate consumer risks in the workforce, specifically from employers. These efforts unveiled specific issues consumers could face in the work force, including:
Continue Reading CFPB and NLRB Enter Information Sharing Agreement
On February 23, the CFPB issued market-monitoring orders to nine large auto lenders to provide information about their auto lending portfolios. According to the CFPB, auto finance market has seen significant change in recent years, resulting in larger loan amounts and higher monthly payments for consumers. As part of monitoring the auto loan market for consumer risks, the CFPB is collecting auto lending data, and issued these orders to the auto lenders to provide certain information about their lending portfolios as part of collecting such data.
Continue Reading CFPB Provides Guidance on Auto Finance Data Pilot
On February 23, the CFPB issued a consent order penalizing an auto finance company for allegedly violating the financial rights of military families and other consumers in providing auto title loans. The CFPB found that the company violated the Military Lending Act by extending prohibited title loans and charging interests rates nearly three times greater than the 36% annual interest rate cap. Pursuant to the consent order, the company is required to provide redress payments to consumer in the amount of $5.5 million, implement and maintain robust internal controls to prevent repeat offenses, and pay a $10 million fine.
Continue Reading Recent CFPB Actions Focus on Protecting Military Families
On February 9, the FTC provided the CFPB and the Federal Reserve Board with its annual letter that summarizes its activities enforcing the ECOA and its implementing regulation, Regulation B, in the prior year. The FTC is in charge of ECOA enforcement for financial service providers that are not banks, thrifts, or federal credit unions. In accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB has rulemaking and enforcement authority over ECOA, and the FTC retains its authority to enforce ECOA, as well as authority to enforce any CFPB rules applicable to entities within the FTC’s jurisdiction. As set forth in full in the letter, the FTC describes its work in areas such as enforcement, research, and policy development, including:
On February 7, the CFPB issued an Advisory Opinion to address the applicability of RESPA section 8 to operators of certain digital technology platforms that enable consumers to comparison shop for mortgages and other real estate settlement services, including platforms that generate potential leads for the platform participants through consumers’ interaction with the platform.
On February 3, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an opinion and order dismissing with prejudice the CFPB’s complaint for violations of the ECOA against a mortgage lender and its owner violated for engaging in discriminatory marketing and applicant outreach practices. In particular, the CFPB alleged fair lending violations based on comments made by the company on a local radio station that the CFPB alleged discouraged prospective minority applicants from submitting mortgage loan applications to the lender. The Bureau’s allegations relied on the ECOA’s implementing regulation, Regulation B, which prohibits creditors from making any statements “to applicants or prospective applicants that would discourage on a prohibited basis a reasonable person from making or pursuing an application.”
Continue Reading District Court Dismisses CFPB Redlining Action Against Nonbank, Limits ECOA’s Reach
The FDIC recently announced a consent order with an Oregon regional bank for violations of Section 8 of RESPA, the FTC Act, and the FRCA, resulting in a civil monetary penalty totaling $425,000. After conducting its investigation, the FDIC found:
Continue Reading FDIC Settles with Bank for Repeat RESPA Violations, Doubling Previous Fine