On April 23, the White House issued an Executive Order entitled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, directing federal agencies to “eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum...more
On April 17, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that the state has filed a lawsuit against a wholesale mortgage lender, alleging that the company engaged in a statewide scheme to mislead borrowers and inflate mortgage...more
On March 28, the CFPB announced that it will not prioritize enforcement or supervision of the remaining provisions of its Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Regulation, which were set to take...more
On February 14, a divided Second Circuit panel upheld a 2016 jury verdict which found that a mortgage lender violated, among other laws, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) by engaging in “reverse redlining” when it...more
2/24/2025
/ Appeals ,
Borrowers ,
Discrimination ,
ECOA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Lending ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Statute of Limitations
California Assembly Bill 3108 became effective on January 1, 2025 and could conceivably make certain business purpose loans secured by owner-occupied property subject to mortgage fraud claims by the borrowers. The primary...more
On December 16, the CFPB released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights, which detailed findings from the Bureau’s recent examinations of student loan markets. The report identifies a range of violations related to...more
12/24/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
New Guidance ,
Regulation E ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Student Loan Servicers Regulation ,
Student Loans
On December 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule applying standard mortgage protections to Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans. The rule amends Regulation Z to clarify...more
12/24/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
New Rules ,
PACE ,
Regulation Z ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
On December 9, the CFPB entered into a consent order with a debt collection agency for alleged unlawful student loan debt collection practices against defaulted borrowers. The debt collection agency’s allegedly improper...more
On November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a “pilot study” on the small business lending market revealing “significant disparities” in how lenders treat black and white small business owners. As part of...more
On September 20, Governor Newsom signed AB 2424, which establishes a significant set of new foreclosure notification and sale requirements for mortgage lenders. The law is effective as of January 1, 2025....more
On September 12, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a proposed order which, if entered by the court, will ban a student loan servicer from servicing federal student loans and require it to pay $120...more
On August 29, the CFPB issued a consent order against a non-bank direct mortgage lender for misrepresenting the cost of its cash-out refinance loans, which are guaranteed under the VA home loan program, to active-duty...more
9/9/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Military Lending Act ,
Military Service Members ,
Misleading Statements ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing ,
Veterans
On June 18, the CFPB settled enforcement actions against two mortgage servicers who serviced reverse mortgages on behalf of HUD, for their systemic failure to respond to consumer requests for assistance, resulting in...more
On June 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed an order to resolve its 2023 lawsuit against the former CEO of a short-term small dollar lender and his spouse, in connection with a series of fraudulent transfers...more
On May 22, the CFPB announced an interpretive rule confirming that Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) lenders qualify as credit card providers under the Truth in Lending Act, Regulation Z and are required to provide consumers legal...more
On May 17, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a California-based fintech that operates a nationwide website and mobile-application based peer-to-peer lending platform through which consumers can obtain small-dollar, short-term...more
On May 6, 2024, the CFPB resolved an enforcement action against a group of Delaware student loan trusts and a loan servicer (found here and here) for their failures to adequately respond to borrowers’ requests for relief,...more
In an April 16 unpublished opinion, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s earlier decision finding that a mortgage lender not licensed in California violated the state’s usury law...more
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...more
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...more
On February 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its first public decision designating a nonbank lender for supervision based on the institution’s potential risk to consumers....more
On November 15, the CFPB issued an order requiring an Illinois-based fintech lender to pay $15 million in fines. The order additionally prohibits the company from operating in certain lines of business and requires revision...more
11/17/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Informed Consent ,
Lenders ,
Redress Payments ,
Short-Term Loans
On November 1, the OCC issued Bulletin 2023-34 addressing the topic of “venture lending,” referred to as “commercial loans to early-, expansion-, and late-stage companies.” According to the Bulletin, venture lending is often...more
On October 30, the Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles denied the DFPI’s motion for a preliminary injunction to force a Chicago-based fintech company to stop facilitating loans to California borrowers from its...more
11/10/2023
/ Banks ,
Borrowers ,
California ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Interest Rates ,
Loans ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
True Lender
On September 27, the CFPB released its annual report on residential mortgage lending activity and trends for 2022. Under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), the CFPB requires financial institutions to collect and provide...more