In a significant ruling on March 19, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that the CFPB can proceed with its lawsuit against a group of Delaware student loan trusts rejecting their claims that they are just passive financing entities outside the reach of the Bureau’s authority. Continue Reading Third Circuit Ruling Gives CFPB Green Light to Enforce Against Student Loan Trusts

In its latest campaign against “junk fees,” the CFPB announced that it was requesting consumer feedback on fees incurred as part of the residential home loan closing process, such as title insurance, credit reporting, and origination fees, as well as appraisal costs. Continue Reading CFPB Renews Push on “Junk Fees” with Closing Costs in its Sights

On March 6, the CFPB finalized its credit card late fee rule (previously discussed here) aimed at ensuring that late fees charged on consumer credit card accounts are “reasonable and proportional.” The rule amends Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act, in two key ways:Continue Reading The CFPB Finalizes Credit Card Late Fee Rulemaking

In the latest development to challenges to the CFPB’s 1071 rulemaking, plaintiff trade associations, including the American Bankers Association and the Texas Bankers Association, have filed a motion for summary judgment requesting the court bar enforcement of the Bureau’s Small Business Lending Rule.Continue Reading Trade Groups Continue Fight Against CFPB’s 1071 Small Business Rulemaking

On February 21, a proposed class action lawsuit was filed against an auto finance company in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia alleging various violations of the Military Lending Act (“MLA”). The named plaintiff is a “Covered Borrower” under the MLA, which includes active-duty military servicemembers and their dependents.Continue Reading Auto Finance Company Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Targeting Military Families

On February 29, the CFPB issued a circular warning digital comparison-shopping websites and lead generators that practices that steer customers to certain financial products or services based on compensation received from companies that sell such financial products or services can be an abusive act or practice in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act. The Bureau’s guidance will have a major impact on comparison-shopping websites for mortgage, credit cards, and short-term installment lending, among others.Continue Reading The CFPB Takes Aim at Digital Comparison Shopping Websites and Lead Generators

On February 15, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to a leading payment app seeking clarification of its reimbursement policy for victims of imposter scams. Calling its protocol for reporting fraud and scams “unnecessarily complicated,” the Senators asked the payment app to add more categories of scams for which users can be reimbursed, and to streamline its process for reporting fraud, scams, and unauthorized transactions. The Senators noted that the company’s policy did not make clear which types of scams would qualify for reimbursement or what steps consumers needed to take to exercise their rights under its policy. The Senator’s pressed the payment app to make public whether banks and credit unions are required to reimburse customers who are victims of qualifying imposter scams. The Senators asked for responses to their questions by March 13, 2024.Continue Reading Congress Continues to Pressure Payment Apps to Change their Fraud Policies

On February 16, the CFPB issued revised rules updating its internal supervisory appeals process for institutions seeking to appeal a compliance rating or an adverse material finding. The updated rules open up new avenues for financial institutions to challenge supervisory evaluations and reflect a significant evolution from its 2015 updatesContinue Reading CFPB’s Enhanced Supervisory Appeals Process: A Potentially Beneficial Shift for Financial Institutions

In a move to bridge significant data gaps identified through its February 2023 Auto Finance Data Pilot where it sent information requests to nine large auto lenders about their lending portfolios, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is requesting comments for the collection of additional auto financing data. As with its prior requests, the Bureau is issuing these orders under its market monitoring authority which allows it to “gather information from time to time regarding the organization, business conduct, markets, and activities of covered persons and service providers.” 12 U.S.C. C. § 5512(c)(1) & (4). Compliance with the requests is mandatory.Continue Reading CFPB Ramps Up Auto Finance Scrutiny: A Look at the New Data Collection Initiative