[author: Alan S. Kaplinsky]

The CFPB has announced that it will be holding a field hearing on debt collection in Seattle on October 24. Since Director Cordray is slated to make remarks, there is considerable speculation that release of the CFPB’s final larger participant rule for the debt collection market is imminent and could be announced by Director Cordray at the hearing. The CFPB has indicated there will also be testimony at the hearing from consumer groups, industry representatives, and members of the public.

It is expected that the release of the final debt collection rule will quickly be followed by the release of the CFPB’s debt collection examination procedures. The CFPB will then begin examining debt collectors and debt buyers who qualify as “larger participants.” We are currently conducting compliance reviews for debt collectors and debt buyers in anticipation of their first CFPB examinations.

On a related note, on October 18, my partner Chris Willis and I will be speaking at the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys’ convention about the CFPB’s supervision and enforcement efforts as they relate to attorneys who handle debt collection