Two federal judges recently said that the Education Department lacked the power to reduce or cancel federal student loans under the SAVE program; an appeals court subsequently lifted the injunction in one case....more
With federal student loans approaching $1.7 trillion, private student loans approaching $129 billion, strident consumer group advocacy, and national elections on the horizon, student loan origination and servicing continues...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlighted its observations of the resumption of federal student loan payments by consumers after more than three years of a payment moratorium due to COVID-19 in a report released on...more
The White House signaled last week that, with the resumption of federal student loan payments, federal student loan servicers can expect to face increased scrutiny. The Department of Education issued a “Framework for Student...more
11/14/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Education ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
New Guidance ,
Student Loan Servicers Regulation ,
Student Loans
The CFPB recently released a report regarding higher education tuition payment plans that discusses prevailing practices and highlights certain CFPB concerns regarding consumer impact. The CFPB’s report was based upon (a) a...more
9/29/2023
/ Colleges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Education ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Higher Education Act ,
Payment Plans ,
Post-Secondary Institutions ,
Public Information ,
Regulation Z ,
Student Loans ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Tuition
The CFPB has published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on its request for approval by the Office of Management and Budget of a new one-time survey of student loan borrowers. Comments must be received by...more
On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intended to increase transparency regarding the costs and financial outcomes of postsecondary programs. The centerpiece of the...more
Third-party debt collectors, first-party creditors, and debt buyers face an ever-evolving federal and state regulatory landscape as well as ongoing private litigation. We first look at the impact of the CFPB’s most recent...more
The CFPB has issued a new bulletin (2023-01) titled “Unfair Billing and Collection Practices After Bankruptcy Discharges of Certain Student Loan Debts.” The bulletin warns servicers that they risk engaging in a UDAAP...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled that a plaintiff who alleged that Experian had violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by including a discharged student loan debt on his credit report had not...more
On September 9, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) proposed to amend its student loan servicing regulations, which we previously covered here. After reviewing public comments, on...more
The New York state legislature is currently considering a pair of companion bills which would impose detailed notice and records requirements upon student loan servicers. New York Senate bill S5136B, which was passed by the...more
In conjunction with efforts to forgive federal student debt for certain borrowers, President Biden’s Justice Department recently announced new guidance for its attorneys to use when deciding whether to recommend that a...more
On December 22, 2021, New York State Senate Bill 2767A was signed into law. The Bill establishes the Private Student Loan Refinancing Task Force (the “Task Force”), which was charged with “study[ing] and analyz[ing] ways...more
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced final regulations, effective July 1, 2023, designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act. Among other...more
Last week, the CFPB issued a “Student Loan Servicing Special Edition” of Supervisory Highlights. In this blog post, we highlight a stealth expansion of supervisory jurisdiction and focus on the CFPB’s findings in two key...more
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced proposed regulations designed to expand and improve the major student loan discharge programs authorized by the Higher Education Act. Among other things, the proposed...more
The CFPB recently issued its annual fair lending report covering its fair lending activity in 2021. ...more
The CFPB has released the Spring 2022 edition of its Supervisory Highlights. The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations in the areas of auto servicing, consumer reporting, credit card account management, debt collection,...more
On April 19, one day before the release of a highly critical performance audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Department of Education (ED) announced a series of actions it is taking to “address[] historical...more
A recent CFPB blog post endorsed part of U.S. Department of Education Secretary Cardona’s keynote address for the 2021 FSA Training Conference that issued a call to end the longstanding institutional practice of transcript...more
Student loan servicing was the focus of recent CFPB attention in the form of a blog post, “Busting myths about bankruptcy and private student loans,” and a report (labeled a “special issue brief”) titled “Student Loan...more
The CFPB has entered into a consent order with Edfinancial Services, a student loan servicer, to settle the Bureau’s allegations that Edfinancial engaged in deceptive acts and practices in violation of the CFPA UDAAP...more
The CFPB has announced that it will begin examining post-secondary schools, such as for-profit colleges, that extend private loans directly to students and/or parents to fund undergraduate, graduate, and other forms of...more
The CFPB Education Loan Ombudsman has issued his annual report covering the period from September 1, 2020 through August 31, 2021....more