The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s second annual report to Congress on enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) confirms that debt collection will continue to be a major CFPB focus in 2013....more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued formal guidance to clarify the anti-money laundering obligations of administrators and exchangers of convertible virtual currency.
“Virtual” currency, unlike...more
It seems two major auto dealer trade groups share my doubts about whether the CFPB’s position on dealer rate participation will really help car buyers. In a statement responding to CFPB Bulletin 2013-02, the National...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued guidance on fair lending compliance for indirect auto lenders. The guidance targets the practice of “dealer markups.” This practice involves an auto dealer charging the...more
My colleague, Chris Willis, posted his reaction to CFPB Bulletin 2013-02, which provides guidance as to how the CFPB will apply ECOA and Reg B to dealer rate participation in the auto finance business. Except for Chris’...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a proposal to supervise nonbank servicers of private and federal student loans who qualify as “larger participants” in the student loan servicing market. Comments on the...more
The Staff Report on mobile payments recently issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) focuses on areas of concern discussed at the FTC’s April 2012 workshop. The report does not break much new ground, but it does...more
A collection letter violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because its invitation to call a toll-free number could be read by the “least sophisticated debtor” to permit the debt to be effectively disputed by...more
The National Labor Relations Board announced that it has decided not to seek a rehearing of the D.C. Circuit’s January 2013 decision in Canning v. NLRB. Instead, the NLRB, in consultation with the Department of Justice, plans...more
Not only did the Senate Banking Committee hearing this morning on Richard Cordray’s nomination to be CFPB Director produce no fireworks, there were moments when Committee members seemed to forget he was in the hearing room....more
A nationwide settlement of three class actions involving claims that a creditor’s practice of using “robo-signed” affidavits in debt collection actions violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has been...more
The CFPB’s practice of bringing enforcement attorneys to examinations has been a continuing concern for industry. In particular, supervised entities worry that the participation of enforcement attorneys in examinations...more
Yesterday, we attended the highly anticipated oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Italian Colors Restaurant v. American Express Travel Related Services Co. While no one can predict with certainty how the Court will...more
A prevailing defendant in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) case can recover costs even without a court finding that the plaintiff filed suit in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a putative class action filed against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), its parent company, and 15 financial...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently settled a fair lending lawsuit against Texas Champion Bank. This means that, once again, a DOJ attempt to use disparate impact evidence to establish that a lender engaged in a...more
Director Cordray’s prepared remarks for yesterday’s meeting of the CFPB Consumer Advisory Board contained some particularly ominous signs for student and payday lenders.
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In a letter sent last week to Director Cordray, the Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness suggested several steps “based upon the actual experiences of numerous individual businesses” for the CFPB...more
President Obama’s renomination of Richard Cordray to serve as CFPB Director is now official. On February 13, the White House announced that his nomination was sent to the Senate....more
We have been following the case filed this past summer by the CFPB in a California federal court against an attorney and his law firm that offered mortgage assistance relief services to consumers. In CFPB v. Chance Edward...more
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a final rule that provides that if a practice has a "discriminatory effect," HUD or a private plaintiff can establish liability under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), even...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s continuing focus on the debt collection and debt relief industries was clearly demonstrated by several recently announced lawsuits and settlements....more
While attending this year’s DBA International Annual Conference, I had the opportunity to hear remarks from Kent Markus, the CFPB’s Director of Enforcement, regarding the CFPB’s approach to enforcement actions generally, as...more
A borrower can bring a lawsuit seeking rescission more than three years after loan consummation as long as the borrower has sent a written notice of rescission within the three-year period, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
It is not surprising to me that Director (yes, he is still the Director until a court rules otherwise) Cordray has had difficulty finding a Deputy Director to fill Raj Date’s position....more