The Federal Trade Commission on August 14 announced a final trade regulation rule intended to fight fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their purchase or sale and by allowing the agency to seek civil penalties...more
8/21/2024
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Social Media ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The FTC has shut down Michigan-based Financial Education Services, a credit repair company that the agency says actually was a large pyramid scheme...more
On July 30, 2024, Heights Finance Holding Co. f/k/a Southern Management Corporation and a group of its wholly-owned, state-licensed subsidiaries (collectively, “Southern”) filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings (the...more
8/15/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Borrowers ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
Statute of Limitations ,
UDAAP
On August 12, 2024, the plaintiffs filed their brief in opposition to the CFPB’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce (Fort Worth Chamber) for lack of standing and if granted, transfer the case to the...more
8/14/2024
/ Article III ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion to Dissolve ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Standing
Career Step LLC, an online career training company has been ordered to pay $43.5 million in cash and debt cancellation to resolve FTC charges that the company “lured consumers, specifically servicemembers and their families,...more
8/14/2024
/ Cancellation of Debt (COD) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Military Service Members ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Education ,
Redress Payments ,
Students
Many financial services providers would be required to allow consumers seeking assistance to be connected to a “real person” by clicking on one button, under a new Biden Administration “Time is Money” initiative....more
8/14/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Customer Service Standard ,
FCC ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Telecommunications
The plaintiffs challenging the CFPB payday lending rule should not be entitled to an en banc rehearing because the issues they cite already have become final and the time for rehearing has lapsed, the CFPB said last week...more
8/13/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Dodd-Frank ,
En Banc Review ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Payday Loans ,
SCOTUS ,
UDAAP
CarShield, a company that sells vehicle service contracts (VSCs), will pay $10 million to settle FTC allegations that its advertisements and telemarketing pitches deceived consumers, the agency announced on July 31....more
8/13/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Advertising ,
Automotive Industry ,
CARS Rule ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Section 5 ,
Service Contracts ,
Telemarketing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On August 8, 2024, the plaintiffs filed their brief in opposition to the CFPB’s motion to dissolve the preliminary injunction in the lawsuit challenging the CFPB’s credit card late fee final rule (“Rule”). In their brief, the...more
8/13/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CARD Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion to Dissolve ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
The FDIC is seeking comment on proposed changes to its regulation governing parent companies of industrial banks and industrial loan companies—Part 354 of the FDIC Rules and Regulations....more
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra on Thursday defended his agency’s proposed rule to prohibit the listing of medical debt on credit reports, contending that such debts are not a fair indication of a person’s financial health....more
8/12/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Lenders ,
Medical Debt ,
Proposed Rules
On August 2, 2024, the CFPB, the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, the NCUA, the FHFA, the CFTC, the SEC and the Treasury Department proposed a joint rule intended to establish standards to promote the ability of each...more
On July 19, we blogged about comments Acting Comptroller Hsu made before the Exchequer Club on July 17 particularly his decision to review prior OCC preemption determinations in light of the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in...more
8/7/2024
/ Cantero v Bank of America NA ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Mortgage Escrow Account ,
National Bank Act ,
New Regulations ,
OCC ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
State Banks
The CFPB’s latest focus on consumer fees is targeting payment processors for school lunches. The CFPB says that families who choose to purchase school lunches are being forced to pay fees to companies that process their...more
8/6/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Public Schools ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
School Districts ,
School Lunch Programs
The FDIC board on July 30 approved a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to strengthen the prudential protections of the agency’s safety and soundness rule for brokered deposits (12 CFR 337.6)....more
8/2/2024
/ Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Brokered Deposits ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules
The FDIC board on July 30 agreed to request information on deposit data that currently is not reported in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Call Reports—including data on uninsured deposits....more
The federal banking regulators (The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) issued on July 25 a lengthy joint statement...more
8/1/2024
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banks ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Public Comment ,
Request For Information ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Relationships
FirstCash, a national pawnshop chain, is asking a federal judge to confirm that it has a statutory defense to all of the CFPB’s claims that it violated the Military Lending Act (MLA) while also asking the judge to drop three...more
8/1/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Military Lending Act ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Payday Loans ,
Regulatory Authority
On July 29, 2024, the CFPB filed a motion to dismiss the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce as a Plaintiff for lack of standing and if granted, transfer the case to a the Federal District Court for D.C. In its brief, the CFPB...more
7/31/2024
/ Article III ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Standing
The federal banking regulators are seeking comment to better understand the relationship between financial institutions and third parties that work for them....more
7/31/2024
/ Banking Regulators ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Public Comment ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Relationships
Banking regulators have issued a joint statement outlining the potential risks that financial institutions face in arrangements with third parties to deliver bank deposit products and services and examples of risk management...more
The CFPB warned on July 24, 2024, that confidentiality agreements that employees of a company are required to sign likely violate federal law if those agreements imply that employees could face retaliation from their...more
7/30/2024
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Whistleblowers
Congress must adjust to the demise of the Chevron Deference doctrine by drastically improving its regulatory expertise, witnesses told a House Committee on July 23....more
On July 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or “Bureau”) proposed an interpretive rule that states (1) EWA products fall under the definition of “credit” under the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) and...more
7/25/2024
/ Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interpretive Rule ,
Loans ,
Payday Loans ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has set oral arguments for Oct. 7 in the challenge of the Federal Trade Commission’s Combating Auto Retail Scams Rule (“CARS Rule”). The petition, filed on January 5, 2024 by the National...more
7/23/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Oral Argument ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices