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 August 21, a group of trade organizations filed an amicus brief in support of a motion to dismiss filed by a subprime auto lender that is the target of a joint enforcement action brought by the CFPB and the New York State...more
On August 8, the CFPB filed a proposed order to resolve its 2021 lawsuit (previously discussed here) against a California-based software company and its CEO for their role in helping credit repair businesses charge illegal...more
On July 29, the FTC filed a stipulated order settling claims against an online career-training company on the grounds that it engaged in deceptive advertising. In addition to injunctive relief barring the company from...more
On July 11, the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the FTC’s request for a temporary restraining order against operators of a debt relief enterprise that unlawfully charged consumers illegal...more
On July 22, a Texas-based lease-to-own company filed suit against the CFPB in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that its “illegal and unconstitutional investigation” into the company’s business...more
An Oklahoma-based bank has been hit with a consent order from the FDIC after posting significant losses in its first year of operation. On June 28, the FDIC announced that it took an enforcement action against the bank...more
On June 18, the CFPB filed a proposed final judgment that would require a Florida-based nonbank mortgage originator and servicer to pay a $3.95 million civil money penalty and implement corrective actions requiring the...more
6/24/2024
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fines ,
HMDA ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Statutory Violations
On May 31, the CFPB filed suit in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania against a Pennsylvania-based student loan servicer accusing it of illegally pursuing student loan debts discharged in bankruptcy and...more
On June 3, the CFPB issued its final rule codifying its “repeat offender registry.” The registry will require certain nonbank entities subject to agency or court orders issued in connection with the provision of a consumer...more
On May 16, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, held that the CFPB’s funding mechanism does not violate the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution. As we previously discussed in greater detail, under the...more
On May 9, the CFPB issued a new report highlighting the issues consumers encounter with credit card rewards programs. The report was released in conjunction with a hearing co-hosted with the Department of Transportation and...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
On March 27, the CFPB issued Circular 2024-02, which warns that remittance providers may be liable under the CFPA for certain deceptive marketing practices related to the speed or cost of sending a remittance transfer. Under...more
On March 7, the FTC announced it had finalized substantial revisions to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (the proposed rule was discussed here). Since promulgated in 1995, the TSR has been amended four times, most recently in...more
3/18/2024
/ B2B Organizations ,
Do Not Call List ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Misleading Statements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Robocalling ,
Scams ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule
On February 21, the Minnesota Attorney General settled an action against executives of a Montana-based tribal lender for alleged predatory lending practices. In its complaint, filed in October 2023, the AG alleged the company...more
On March 5, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against a network of over 30 lending companies and their officers alleging their involvement in a predatory “merchant cash advance” lending scheme that exploited New...more
On February 22, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed Jonathan Mayer as the Justice Department’s inaugural Chief Science and Technology Advisor and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. Mayer will sit in the Justice...more
On February 6, the FTC announced that it had reached proposed settlements with several defendants in a pending action where the parties were accused of operating a fraudulent student debt relief scheme and collecting...more
In December, the CFPB brought a series of three separate enforcement actions against several financial services companies alleging a range of violations of federal consumer protections laws....more
1/29/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Damages ,
Debt Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EFTA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
ILSFDA ,
Popular
On January 10, the CFPB and the attorneys generals of Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin sued a New York-based debt relief company and its founders in the U.S. District Court for...more
On January 23, the FTC entered into a settlement agreement with a cash-advance fintech app for $3 million over violations of the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), and ECOA....more
1/29/2024
/ Bank Service Providers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Disclosure ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FTC Act ,
Refunds ,
ROSCA ,
Settlement Agreements
On November 21, the FTC voted 3-0 to approve the omnibus resolution authorizing the use of compulsory process in nonpublic investigations involving products and services that use or claim to be produced using artificial...more
12/11/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Competition ,
COPPA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Investigations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UDAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 21, a Washington-based bank confirmed through a public filing that it entered into a consent order with the FDIC alleging that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound banking practices, primarily related to products...more